Kenya Turnover Tax Calculator (Small Businesses)
1.5% of a small business’s gross sales: who pays it, when it is due, and late penalties.
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- Free preview: your turnover, the rate, the band, the eligibility and VAT checks and the due date, with every computed amount hidden.
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Income Tax Act, section 12C Kenya · turnover tax for small businesses, the checks and the due date · Sources
Is your business under turnover tax?
How the tax is worked out
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Your year
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If you file or pay late
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Rules used and official sources
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Tax rules and rates change. This calculator follows the rules described on this page and may not cover every situation. Check the official source or a qualified tax professional before filing or invoicing.
How this tool is checked
- Based on
- the rules of Kenya.
- Sources
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This guide cites 4 sources, among them:
- Tests
- 9 automated tests check its results.
- Found an error?
- Report a problem or write to support@mysmartcopilot.com, with what you entered and the result you expected.
About the Kenya Turnover Tax Calculator (Small Businesses)
Work out turnover tax (TOT) for a small business in Kenya. A resident person — an individual, a partnership or a company — whose business turnover is more than Ksh 1,000,000 and no more than Ksh 25,000,000 in a year pays 1.5% of the gross receipts every month, as a final tax with no expenses deducted (section 12C of the Income Tax Act and its Third Schedule).
Enter a month’s or a year’s turnover: the calculator checks whether the business is under turnover tax — the band, residence, and income it never covers such as rent and professional fees — works out the tax, gives the date the monthly return and payment are due, tells you when VAT registration applies too, and works out the penalties and interest if you filed or paid late. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Without a pass the page shows a free preview of your own result: your turnover, the rules, the checks and the due date, with every computed amount hidden until you unlock it with a Premium pass.
How to use it
- Choose whether you are working out a month’s return or a year, and enter the gross turnover: all sales and fees received, before expenses.
- Pick the month of the return, who runs the business and what the turnover is from.
- Open The year and an election to enter the turnover you expect for the year, or a written election out of turnover tax.
- Open Filed or paid late? and enter the dates to see the penalties and interest.
- Read whether turnover tax applies, the tax and when it is due. With a Premium pass, or after unlocking this result, copy the summary or download it as a CSV file; without one the page shows a free preview.
Examples
Turnover tax Ksh 6,750 a month, Ksh 81,000 for the year; at Ksh 5,400,000 a year the business must also register for VAT if its sales are taxable supplies.
Turnover tax Ksh 45,000, Ksh 3,750 a month on average.
No turnover tax: Ksh 840,000 a year is not more than Ksh 1,000,000; the income goes in the annual income tax return.
Tax Ksh 3,000; late return Ksh 1,000, late payment Ksh 150, interest Ksh 60 for 2 months.
Who pays turnover tax
Section 12C charges turnover tax on a resident person whose turnover from business is more than Ksh 1,000,000 and does not exceed, or is not expected to exceed, Ksh 25,000,000 in a year of income. The rate is 1.5% of the gross receipts of the business (Third Schedule, Head B, paragraph 9). It does not apply to rental income, to management, professional or training fees, or to income subject to a final withholding tax, and a person can elect in writing to the Commissioner to be taxed under the Act’s other provisions instead. KRA adds that it does not apply to non-resident taxpayers and that no expenses are deducted: it is a final tax.
Returns, records and VAT
The tax period is a calendar month: the return is filed and the tax paid on or before the 20th of the following month (section 12C(4)), and the business keeps the records the Tax Procedures Act requires (section 12C(7)). Turnover tax does not replace VAT: a person whose taxable supplies are Ksh 5,000,000 or more in any twelve months registers for VAT within 30 days (VAT Act, section 34; KRA).
Late returns and late payment
Under the Tax Procedures Act a late turnover tax return costs Ksh 1,000 (section 83(1)(b)), late payment costs 5% of the tax (section 83A), and late payment interest runs at 1% a month or part of a month on the unpaid tax, as simple interest that never exceeds the tax (section 38).
Limitations
- Business turnover only: rent, management, professional and training fees and income under a final withholding tax are never under turnover tax.
- Below or above the band, or after an election out, the business is taxed in the annual income tax return: that tax is not worked out here.
- VAT itself is not worked out: the VAT calculator does that once you are registered.
- An estimate from the Income Tax Act, the Tax Procedures Act and KRA’s guidance, not tax advice: KRA decides what you owe.
Privacy
On this device: nothing is sent
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, Kenya Turnover Tax Calculator (Small Businesses) shows your turnover, the rate, the band, the eligibility and VAT checks and the due date, with every computed amount hidden. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded or copied. A Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment that never renews, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
What is the turnover tax rate in Kenya?
1.5% of the gross receipts of the business (Income Tax Act, Third Schedule, Head B, paragraph 9). On Ksh 450,000 of sales in a month that is Ksh 6,750.
Who qualifies for turnover tax?
A resident person whose business turnover is more than Ksh 1,000,000 and not more than Ksh 25,000,000 in a year, except for rent, management, professional or training fees and income under a final withholding tax.
When is turnover tax paid?
Every month: the return and the tax for a calendar month are due on or before the 20th of the following month.
Can I deduct expenses?
No. Turnover tax is charged on gross sales and is a final tax. A business that wants to deduct its expenses can elect in writing to be taxed under the Act’s other provisions instead.
Do I still need to register for VAT?
Yes, once your taxable supplies reach Ksh 5,000,000 in any twelve months: turnover tax and VAT are separate (VAT Act, section 34).
Is what I enter sent anywhere?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing you enter is uploaded or stored on a server.