The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) will phase out its long-standing Excel-based income tax return filing system and replace it with a web-based platform as part of reforms introduced under the Finance Act, 2026.

The new system, expected to be rolled out in 2027, will allow taxpayers to file returns directly through an internet browser without downloading and completing Excel spreadsheets.

The changes are intended to support the staggered filing deadlines introduced through amendments to Section 52 of the Income Tax Act and improve the efficiency of tax return processing.

Speaking on the changes, KRA said the new filing calendar would spread the workload across different filing periods and reduce pressure on the iTax system.

“We have staggered returns in the Act so that the individual returns will be due by April and the persons, the non-natural persons will be due by June. That makes then the traffic not coming at the same time. And are we transferring the problem we had in June to April? No, because most of the filers are individuals,” KRA stated.

The authority added that additional measures were being implemented to improve system stability.

“The first thing is we’re introducing web-based returns and these returns we’re not going to have to require you to fill the Excel anymore. It will be web-based,” KRA added.

New filing calendar

Under the amended law, natural persons, including salaried employees whose income is taxed through Pay As You Earn (PAYE), will be required to file annual income tax returns by April 30 following the end of their year of income.

Non-natural persons, including companies, will file their returns by June 30.

Nil return filers, including unemployed persons, students, inactive PIN holders and taxpayers with no taxable income, will submit their returns by January 31. The revised filing dates will first apply to returns for the 2026 year of income, which will be filed in 2027.

KRA said the staggered calendar would ease congestion that has traditionally been experienced when all taxpayers filed returns within the same period.

Digital tax services

The authority is also expanding the use of WhatsApp for filing tax returns after introducing the service on April 1, 2026, for taxpayers with simple returns.

KRA said the upgraded service will allow taxpayers to submit a wider range of returns through the messaging platform. Its AI-powered virtual assistant, Shuru, is also being enhanced to support more tax services.

“Shuru will have stabilized because now whatever were the cheating problems she’ll have been here for more than six months so she’ll be of better use and we want to extend what you can do on WhatsApp not just the what we had for employees. We want to extend this that you can file a whole range of returns on WhatsApp.”

In addition, amendments to Section 75 of the Tax Procedures Act now allow KRA to auto-populate tax information and generate tax documents, including withholding tax certificates.

Tax amnesty

The reforms come as KRA implements a six-month tax amnesty programme that began on July 1, 2026.

The programme waives penalties, interest and eligible fines on tax liabilities incurred up to December 31, 2025.

Taxpayers who have already paid the principal tax qualify automatically, while those with outstanding principal amounts are required to clear them through the iTax system by December 31, 2026, to benefit from the amnesty.

Monthly PAYE obligations remain unchanged.

Employers are required to continue filing monthly PAYE returns through iTax, while KRA has maintained the Fringe Benefit Tax market interest rate at eight per cent for the period between July and September 2026. The prescribed deemed interest rate and the low-interest benefit rate also remain at eight per cent during the same period.