Kenya Income Tax (PAYE) Calculator

How PAYE is calculated in Kenya

Kenya taxes employment income through PAYE (Pay As You Earn) — a progressive system where your income is split across bands, and each band is taxed at its own rate. Only the portion of your income that falls inside a given band is taxed at that band's rate; earning more doesn't push your whole salary into a higher bracket, only the slice above each threshold.

Once the bands are applied, KRA subtracts a fixed monthly personal relief of KES 2,400 from the result — that's the actual PAYE due.

Current monthly PAYE bands

Personal relief: KES 2,400 per month. Source: KRA — individual income tax bands and resident personal relief, as of 21 July 2026. Finance Act 2026 restructures these bands, but not before 1 January 2027.

Worked example: KES 80,000 a month

Try KES 80,000 in the calculator above and you'll see the working: the first KES 24,000 is taxed at 10% (KES 2,400), the next KES 8,333 at 25% (KES 2,083), and the remaining KES 47,667 at 30% (KES 14,300) — KES 18,783 in tax before relief. Subtract the KES 2,400 personal relief, and PAYE due is KES 16,383, leaving take-home pay of KES 63,617 before any NSSF, SHIF or Housing Levy deductions.

What reduces your taxable income

PAYE is charged on taxable income, not raw gross pay. Two deductions are applied before the bands: your NSSF contribution, and any voluntary contribution to a registered retirement scheme, up to KES 30,000 a month (see the Pension Contribution Tax Relief Calculator). For the full picture after every statutory deduction — NSSF, SHIF, and the Affordable Housing Levy — use the Net Pay Calculator below.