Unlike a number of years ago when Kenyans relied on Huduma centers and KRA branches to file their returns resulting to long queues as the deadline approached, Kenyans today can easily file their own returns at the comfort of their homes.
Below is what one ought to know in the filing of returns as employees as the June 30th deadline clocks.
What you need to file Returns on iTax
- A KRA pin to enable you to access the portal
- Your employer’s information (if employed) including his/her KRA PIN.
- Your employer’s P9 Form as it contains all the information required when filing your returns.
- All financial statements should be close
- Your mortgage interest certificate/Underwriter’s PIN/Insurance Premium Certificate Withholding tax certificates, if need be
- Any relevant documents regarding claims for deductions or income received
- A smart device such as a laptop, tablet or smartphone connected to the internet
- Experience in Microsoft Office programs such as Excel used to answer some of the questions asked by the institution to verify your claims or even employment.
How to file returns on KRA iTax
- Access the official KRA website and login in using your PIN and password.
- Press the login button; you will get a security question seeking to verify ownership of your online KRA account.
- Answer the question correctly to allow you to proceed to the next step
- Scroll to the navigation bar, select e-returns, a set of options should appear
- Scroll downwards and click on file returns
- Select the right Tax application before clicking next
- The page that follows contains information regarding the filling process as well as a link to download the KRA file returns form.
- Download this form (it should be either in Excel or ODS format) and open it on your device. (The tax-returns form contains different fields which should be filled with correct information.)
- After filling in all the required details, save the document on your device as a zip file then return to the file returns online KRA portal.
- After accessing the page, select the time period for which you are filing the taxes (by this time, your document should already be in zip format)
PS: You are required to upload it on this page before agreeing on the terms and conditions then click on submit.
The I tax system will validate the business PIN you entered and successfully complete your process to file KRA returns online or display an error message if authentication fails.
How to file KRA PAYE Returns Online
The KRA page on domestic taxes has a list of the different types of PAYE form offered by the institution.
To file your PAYE returns on I Tax, follow the following steps
- Access the official KRA website and log in using your PIN and password
- Under the returns section, click on file returns then select income Tax followed by the PAYE option
- Once you click on PAYE, the website will redirect you to another page where you can download the form
- The document, which is available in both Excel and Open Office format, should have a variety of tabs, which should be filled with factual information
- Make sure you fill in all the details correctly to avoid repeating the process all over again
- After filling in the details, save the document on your machine where you can access it easily
- Return to the iTax page and under the ‘Returns’ section click file returns (You will be redirected to the e-Returns page where you will be required to fill in details such as your PIN and TAX Obligation to mention a few before pressing the next button and then be asked to fill in the return period, which in this case should be every month before uploading the saved zip document to the KRA portal)
- Agree to the terms and conditions then click submit to file your PAYE returns on iTax, expect a returns receipt at the end.
The process of how to file annual returns KRA is almost similar to the one above with the only glaring difference being the par-period. However, most Kenyans are paid on a monthly basis and as such are eligible to PAYE and VAT taxes.
It is important to note that past 30th June 2019, anyone who shall NOT have filed their returns will attract a fine of 2,000 shillings.