KRA Penalty Calculator 2026
Late filing, late payment, and the interest that keeps running - estimated for all six KRA tax regimes, with your 2026 amnesty savings shown side by side. Know the real number before you talk to KRA.
KES 10,000 or 5% of tax due (whichever higher)
Max 60 months. Type the exact number or tap a preset.
Enter your principal tax due and months late - the estimate builds instantly. Nothing is stored or sent.
How KRA penalties actually stack up
A KRA penalty is never one number - it is two components growing on different clocks. The late-filing penalty is a one-off charge applied when a return misses its deadline: the higher of a regime minimum or a percentage of tax due (5% for VAT, 25% for PAYE, with minimums from KES 2,000 to KES 20,000 depending on the regime). The late-payment interest is the compounding part: 1% per month on every shilling of unpaid principal, and it does not stop for negotiations, audits, or forgetfulness. That is why two businesses with the same missed VAT return can owe wildly different totals eighteen months later.
The order you fix things in matters more than most people realise. KRA's discretionary waivers are materially more likely to succeed when you have already filed the outstanding return and paid or arranged the principal - you're then asking for relief on the penalty and interest, not the tax itself. And for debt that predates January 2026, the 2026 tax amnesty does something no waiver application can: it wipes 100% of the penalties, interest and fines, leaving only the principal. The calculator above shows both numbers side by side so you can see exactly what the amnesty saves you before the 31 December 2026 window closes.
One caution the calculator can't encode: waiver outcomes depend on your specific file - the notice dates KRA used, whether an assessment is final, and what you've already disputed. The figures here are planning-grade estimates built on KRA's published rules. When the number is large enough to matter, have a human read the actual notice before you pay anything. That's the flat-fee work Smart VAT Kenya does every week.
Late-filing penalties by regime (2026)
| Regime | Late-filing penalty | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| VAT | Higher of KES 10,000 or 5% of tax due | 1% / month |
| PAYE | Higher of KES 10,000 or 25% of tax due | 1% / month |
| Individual income tax | Higher of KES 2,000 or 5% of tax due | 1% / month |
| Company income tax | Higher of KES 20,000 or 5% of tax due | 1% / month |
| Withholding tax | 10% of tax due (cap KES 1,000,000) | 1% / month |
| Turnover tax | Higher of KES 2,000 or 5% of tax due | 1% / month |
KRA penalties - FAQs
What is the KRA penalty for late VAT filing?
The higher of KES 10,000 or 5% of the tax due, plus 1% monthly interest on unpaid principal. Even a nil return filed late attracts the flat KES 10,000 - which is why filing on time, even nil, is always cheaper than any waiver process.
Can I negotiate penalties down without paying anything first?
You can apply, but approval odds improve dramatically once the return is filed and the principal is paid or arranged. KRA's stated position is that waivers reward compliance, not promises - so the sequence is file, pay principal, then apply for the penalty and interest.
Does the amnesty apply to penalties KRA already assessed?
It depends on the debt's age and status: pre-2026 principal qualifies, but taxes declared after the window opened and cases with a final agency decision are excluded. Run the amnesty checker for a structured answer, or send the notice to us for a read before the 31 December 2026 deadline.
Why is my penalty bigger than 5% of the tax?
Because the late-filing penalty and the monthly interest stack, and the higher-of minimums can exceed the percentage on small tax amounts. A KES 30,000 VAT bill three months late carries KES 10,000 penalty + KES 900 interest - more than a third of the original tax. The calculator above separates the two components so you can see what drove the total.
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