Kenya
Kenya: 5 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment, and what it is known for.
Forming a company
Company types in Kenya
The 5 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
What it is known for
Where Kenya is in the world’s top 10 on a measure anyone can check, the best rank first. Only the top is shown; a low rank is never stated.
- World’s1stWorld-leading exports Tea, whether or not flavouredUS$1.4 bn · 18.3% of world exports of 188 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
A rank is among everything the source reports for that year, so it moves when the source adds or drops economies. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Doing business here
Business accounts
Providers whose own published list of countries names Kenya. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.
Not in our records No provider's country list has been read for Kenya.
EU listings
Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.
- EU high-risk third countries (AML)
- Not listed
- EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- Not listedOfficial EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17
Official sites
The authorities’ own sites for Kenya: where to register, file and check.
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Kenya belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.
- African Continental Free Trade Area
- Free trade area · since 30 May 2019
Covers goods, services.
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means a Member State that has ratified or acceded to this Agreement and for which the Agreement is in force
- East African Community customs union and common market
- Single market · since 7 July 2000
Covers goods, services, establishment, capital, movement of people, a common external tariff.
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The Republic of Rwanda and the Republic of Burundi acceded to the EAC Treaty on 18 th June, 2007 and became full Members of the Community with effect from 1 st July, 2007.
- COMESA Free Trade Area
- Free trade area · since 31 October 2000
Covers goods.
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Burundi and Rwanda joined the FTA on 1st January 2004.
Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.
Tax
Company tax
Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.
- Corporate income tax
- 30%
- Distributions
- Not in our records
- Audit
- Not in our records
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Not in our records
- Annual registry fee
- Not in our records
VAT
The tax on what the company sells in Kenya, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- The tax
- Value Added Tax (VAT)
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VAT is an indirect tax that is paid by the person who consumes taxable goods and taxable services supplied in Kenya and/or imported into Kenya.
- Standard rate
- 16%
The 8% rate that applied to certain petroleum products was deleted by the Finance Act, 2023, leaving the 16% general rate and the 0% zero rate.
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There are two (2) tax rates:- 16% (General rate) – this rate applies to all taxable goods and taxable services other than zero-rated supplies.
- Other rates
- 0% Specific supplies listed in the Second Schedule to the VAT Act, 2013 (zero-rated supplies)
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0% (Zero-rate) – this rate applies to specific supplies listed in the Second Schedule to the VAT Act, 2013.
- Registration threshold
- KES 5,000,000
taxable goods and taxable services supplied; in a year
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Any person supplying or who expects to supply taxable goods and taxable services with a value of Kshs 5 Million or more in a year is required to register for VAT.
- A foreign company
- Registers from its first taxable supply
A non-resident making supplies in Kenya over the internet, an electronic network or a digital marketplace must register whether or not the taxable supplies meet the KES 5 million threshold, under a simplified registration and filing system; KRA's page names no representative requirement.
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Non-resident persons making supplies in Kenya over the internet or an electronic network or through a digital marketplace are required to register for VAT whether or not the taxable supplies meet the annual turnover threshold of KES 5 million.
- Returns filed
- Monthly
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VAT is due on or before the 20 th day of the following month. This includes both the return and payment.
- Tax authority
- Registration page read 2026-10-22
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Kenya, tax year 2026, as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- 6 months after the end of the accounting period · each year
KRA: a company files its annual return within six months after the end of its accounting period (for a December year end, 30 June of the following year).
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Companies are required to have their books of accounts audited before filing their annual return within six months after the end of their accounting period.
- Corporate tax, final payment
- 4 months after the end of the accounting period · each year
KRA: the instalment tax paid during the year is deducted from the total tax payable and the balance is due and payable by the last day of the 4th month after the accounting year (30 April for a December year end).
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balance of tax (if any) is due and payable by the last day of the 4th month after the accounting year
- Corporate tax, instalments
- 20 April · each quarter
KRA: companies pay tax in four equal instalments, due and payable by the 20th of the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th month of the accounting period (for a December year end: 20 April, 20 June, 20 September, 20 December). The rule records the first instalment. The instalment is calculated on the prior-year or current-year basis.
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The instalment tax is tax paid in advance and is due and payable by 20th of the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th month of a company’s accounting period.
- Personal income-tax return
- 30 June · each year
KRA: an individual files the return for a year of income anytime between 1 January and 30 June of the following year. Every individual with a PIN must file, whether or not they earned income.
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You can file your Individual Income Tax Returns for a particular year of income, anytime between 1st January to 30th June of the following year.
- Personal income tax, final payment
- 30 June · each year
KRA: the individual files the return by 30 June of the following year and then pays the tax due (a payment slip is generated on iTax after filing). For an employee whose tax is fully withheld as PAYE the balance is commonly nil; the same 30 June date applies to the return and to any balance.
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You can file your Individual Income Tax Returns for a particular year of income, anytime between 1st January to 30th June of the following year.
- Personal income tax, instalments
- 20 April · each quarter
KRA: instalment tax is spread evenly at 25% of the tax due and payable on the 20th of the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months of the year of income for all taxpayers except those in the agricultural sector (who pay in two instalments). It is determined on the prior-year basis (110% of the prior year's tax) or the current-year basis. The rule records the first instalment.
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The installments are spread evenly at 25% of the tax due and payable on the 20 th day of the 4 th , 6 th , 9 th and 12 th months of the year of income for all taxpayers expect those in the Agricultural Sector.
- VAT return
- Day 20 of the following month · each month
KRA: VAT is due on or before the 20th day of the following month; this includes both the return and the payment. Withheld VAT is remitted by withholding VAT agents on the 20th day of the month following the deduction.
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VAT is due on or before the 20 th day of the following month. This includes both the return and payment.
- Payroll withholding
- Day 9 of the following month · each month
KRA: an employer deducts PAYE from employees' emoluments and remits the amount to KRA, and files the PAYE return through iTax, on or before the 9th day of the following month. A nil return is filed where there is no PAYE to declare.
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Employers are required to deduct tax (PAYE) ... and remit the amounts deducted to KRA on or before the 9th day of the following month. A PAYE return should also be filed through iTax on or before the 9th day of the following month.
Running the company
Running a company here
Not in our records The authorities’ pages on running a company have not been read for Kenya yet.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Kenya exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Kenya’s own trade; it does not compare places.
| Product (HS heading) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Value, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tea, whether or not flavoured HS 0902 | 17.4% | 16.9% | 16.0% | US$1.4 bn |
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils HS 2710 | 4.9% | 3.9% | 10.4% | US$905 m |
| Cut flowers and flower buds of a kind suitable for bouquets or for ornamental purposes, fresh, dried, dyed, bleached, impregnated or otherwise prepared HS 0603 | 8.6% | 8.9% | 9.0% | US$779 m |
| Dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes and mangosteens, fresh or dried HS 0804 | 3.1% | 3.4% | 3.6% | US$315 m |
| Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion HS 0901 | 4.2% | 3.4% | 3.6% | US$311 m |
| Medicaments (excluding goods of heading 3002, 3005 or 3006) consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, put up in measured doses (including those in the form of transdermal administration systems) or in forms or packings for retail sale HS 3004 | 1.7% | 1.9% | 1.9% | US$164 m |
| Portland cement, aluminous cement, slag cement, supersulphate cement and similar hydraulic cements, whether or not coloured or in the form of clinkers HS 2523 | 1.3% | 1.9% | 1.7% | US$147 m |
| Men's or boys' suits, ensembles, jackets, blazers, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts (other than swimwear) HS 6203 | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.6% | US$136 m |
| Meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen HS 0204 | 1.2% | 1.6% | 1.5% | US$132 m |
| Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, clad, plated or coated HS 7210 | 1.8% | 1.5% | 1.4% | US$123 m |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$8.7 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.