Kenyans who fail to file tax by June 30 to miss out on essential services

An employee of the Kenya Revenue Authority assists a client to file iTax returns. [File, Standard]

Kenyans who do not file tax returns by June 30 deadline will not apply for jobs, open bank accounts or register pieces of lands after KRA vowed to de-register their Personal Identification Numbers (PINs).

For companies, schools and self-help groups that have failed to file their tax returns, the owners will not be able to get government services that require PIN numbers.

In a notice published on Monday, May 3, 2021, Kenya Revenue Authority said persons who have failed to file their tax returns in the past and in the current financial year will lose their PINs by July 1, 2021.

“The Commissioner of Domestic Taxes shall de-registered PINs of those who fail to file their tax return by June 30 and remove them from the KRA system,” read the notice.

KRA targets 62,727 PINs for de-registration by the end of June, this year, a move the taxman believes will help enforce tax compliance.

The said PINs targeted for de-registration and removal from the KRA system are linked to an estimated 7,107 individual accounts with the remaining ones, comprising companies, schools and self-help groups.

The agency also asked taxpayers to take advantage of the Voluntary Tax Disclosure Programme and pay their outstanding liability to avoid heavy penalties.

“We also encourage taxpayers to take advantage of the Voluntary Tax Disclosure Programme and pay their outstanding liability to avoid penalties."

The filing of tax returns for the 2020 year of income started on January 1, 2021, and will end on June 30, 2021.

All annual tax returns for the year 2020 for individuals and entities should be submitted online through the iTax platform by the June deadline.

The iTax portal can be accessed through https://itax.kra.go.ke. KRA encourages taxpayers to file their returns early in order to avoid the end of June deadline rush.