Are you guys ready?
Kenya's tax filing deadline is changing, and this is more than just moving a date on the calendar.
From 2027, individual taxpayers will have to file their annual income tax returns by 30th April instead of 30th June. That's two months less to get your records in order.
Why should this concern you as a business owner? 🏷️ Because filing a return is not where the work begins. Your books need to be ready before you file.
Here are 3 things to pay attention to: 🔰 Close your books early. Don't wait until April to start chasing missing invoices, recording expenses or correcting errors. Aim to have your books closed by 31st March. 🔰 Reconcile your records. Your bank, M-Pesa, sales, purchases and eTIMS records should tell a consistent story. Investigate differences while there is still time to resolve them. 🔰 Don't wait until the deadline to file. KRA will be validating declared income and expenses against available tax data. Last-minute filing leaves little room to correct missing or inconsistent information.
The biggest mistake would be to carry on with the old habit of cleaning up your books just before the deadline. Make 31st March your internal deadline. April should be for reviewing and filing, not reconstructing an entire year's accounts.
If your books are reconciled monthly, the April deadline is just a date. If they aren't, it's a countdown.
