Businesses and individual taxpayers across the country sighed with relief after Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) extended the tax filing deadline from June 30 to July 5, 2025. This swift decision follows intense public pressure from the public and the intervention by the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ), also known as the Office of the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman’s office had publicly criticised the KRA for what it termed widespread “error messages” and “system disruptions” on its iTax platform in the days leading up to the original deadline. These technical hitches prevented a significant number of taxpayers from submitting their returns on time, leading to widespread anxiety over potential penalties.

“The Commission observed with grave concern the widespread challenges faced by taxpayers due to KRA’s IT system failures, which directly impede their ability to fulfil their statutory obligations. We reiterate that taxpayers should not be penalised for system malfunctions outside their control, and we commend the KRA for heeding our call to extend the deadline and uphold fairness in tax administration.”  Under chairman Charles Dulo, CAJ had issued a strong press release on July 1, highlighting the “unwarranted administrative injustice” caused by KRA’s technical failures. The Ombudsman emphasised that citizens should not be penalized for system failures beyond their control and urged the KRA to not only extend the deadline but also waive penalties for those affected.

The taxman seeks to implement tax policy measures that will boost revenue collection to over Ksh.4 trillion in the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy (MTRS) to boost the nation’s economic activity. These efforts include implementing the National Tax Policy and MTRS 2024/25-2026/27, strengthening tax administration for enhanced compliance by expanding the tax base, minimizing tax expenditures, and sealing revenue loopholes.

The KRA, in its brief statement announcing the extension, acknowledged “technical challenges experienced by some taxpayers. They urged taxpayers to utilise the extended period to comply and assured them of improved system stability.

 “The Kenya Revenue Authority acknowledges that some taxpayers experienced technical challenges while attempting to file their returns on June 30, 2025. We have therefore extended the deadline for the submission of Income Tax returns for the calendar year 2024 to July 5th, 2025, to ensure all taxpayers have adequate time to comply,”  KRA said.