TSC explains June 2026 PAYE increase for teachers and secretariat staff
By Ndiritu Wanjiru, June 26, 2026The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has explained why thousands of teachers and Secretariat staff experienced higher Pay As You Earn (PAYE) deductions in their June 2026 salaries, attributing the adjustment to the correction of a payroll system error.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, June 26, 2026, the Commission said it had received concerns from employees regarding the increased PAYE deductions reflected in the June 2026 payroll.
“The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has received concerns regarding adjustments to Pay As You Earn (PAYE) deductions reflected in the June 2026 payroll,” TSC noted in a statement.
TSC explained that the issue arose after the implementation of Section 7 of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024, which amended Section 15(2) of the Income Tax Act to exempt employee contributions to the Affordable Housing Levy (AHL) Fund and the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) from income tax.
TSC has further noted that to comply with the new law, the system administrator of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD) reconfigured the payroll system to apply the tax exemptions, a move the Commission said was intended to benefit TSC employees.
The commission has confirmed that during the reconfiguration process, an unintended system error occurred.
According to TSC, National Social Security Fund (NSSF) contributions, which had already been configured as tax-exempt, were mistakenly recaptured for tax relief purposes.
This resulted in teachers and secretariat staff receiving a duplicate tax relief on their NSSF contributions, leading to incorrect PAYE calculations.
“The Commission identified the anomaly through its routine payroll system reviews and immediately took corrective action in the June 2026 payroll for both teachers and secretariat staff,” the statement read.
As a result, PAYE deductions in the June payroll were adjusted to align with the correct tax computation as provided under the law.
TSC assures accurate deductions
TSC clarified that the increase in PAYE deductions was not the introduction of a new tax or levy, but rather the correction of a payroll system configuration error to ensure accurate tax calculations going forward.
“The PAYE adjustment reflected in the June 2026 payroll arose from the correction of the payroll system configuration and was necessary to ensure accurate computation of Pay As You Earn deductions going forward,” the Commission said.
The Commission expressed regret over any inconvenience or concern caused by the adjustment and thanked employees for their understanding as it works to maintain compliance with the country’s tax laws.