KRA Collects Sh7.8 Billion from Taxpayers Outside Formal Tax Records

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) says its ongoing push to widen tax compliance is beginning to deliver results after collecting Sh7.8 billion this year from taxpayers who were previously outside its formal tax records.

According to KRA, the amount was collected from about 97,000 individuals and entities, marking progress in efforts to expand tax collection beyond traditional taxpayers.

KRA Commissioner for Micro and Small Taxpayers George Obell said the revenue came from people and businesses that had either never paid tax before or had made an initial payment but had not continued with further payments for months.

The authority attributes the gains to recent interventions aimed at improving how taxes are assessed, collected, and monitored. Among the measures highlighted is the digitisation of services, which KRA says has strengthened its ability to track compliance and bring more taxpayers into the system.

The collection forms part of a wider government effort to increase compliance in segments that have traditionally been difficult to tax. These include micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), transport operators, informal businesses, online platform workers, and self-employed earners.

At the same time, the Treasury has proposed stronger powers for KRA under the Finance Bill, 2026. The proposals include allowing the use of third-party data to assess income and generate pre-populated tax returns.

KRA says the broader goal is to move toward what it describes as a real-time digital revenue administrator rather than a retro tax collector, as it seeks to improve revenue collection and strengthen tax compliance across the economy.