How to File KRA Nil Returns in Kenya: Step-by-Step on iTax and the KRA App

If you have a KRA PIN but earned no income in Kenya last year, you still have to file a nil return. It's free and takes under five minutes on iTax or the KRA M-Service app.

Skip it and KRA charges a KES 2,000 penalty. Here are the steps, with what to click at each one.

Quick facts before you start

Who needs to file a nil return?

Anyone with an active KRA PIN who had no employment, business, rental or other taxable income during the year has to file a nil return. KRA's own guidance is direct about it: "I have a PIN but have not traded. Do I have to file returns? Yes you need to file a NIL return" (KRA, Taxpayer FAQs, checked October 2026). That covers students between semesters, people who were job-hunting all year and anyone between contracts. In short, anyone with a PIN and nothing to declare.

If you're currently without income but looking for something, our round-up of ways to make money online in Kenya using just your phone is worth a look before next year's filing season comes around.

If you earned anything at all during the year (even one freelance gig, one month of a job, or rent from a room you let out) you don't file nil. You file the real return instead. See our full guide on how to file KRA returns if that's you.

What you need before you start

A nil return is simpler than a normal one. You don't need a P9 or any supporting documents. You just need:

• Your KRA PIN.
• Your iTax password. Forgotten it? Use the "Forgot Password" link on the iTax homepage; the reset goes to your registered email.

How to file a nil return on iTax, step by step

1. Log in. Go to itax.kra.go.ke and sign in with your PIN and password.
2. Go to Returns. KRA's own instructions for this are short: "go to your iTax profile, Returns, and select the NIL return option" (KRA, Taxpayer FAQs.
3. Select the obligation. Choose "Income Tax – Resident Individual", which is the one almost everyone filing nil uses.
4. Confirm the return period. This runs 1 January to 31 December of the year you're declaring, or your actual registration date if you only got your PIN partway through the year.
5. Submit, then download your acknowledgement receipt straight away. You'll need it later for a Tax Compliance Certificate or anything else that checks your KRA status.

How to file through the KRA M-Service app

The M-Service app (free on the Google Play Store) is built mainly for nil returns and a few specific obligations, rather than full returns with a P9. KRA's own steps, still linked from its current pages: choose "Tax Returns," select "Nil Return," pick the obligation from the list (Income Tax (Resident or Non-Resident), Income Tax Partnership or Company, VAT, PAYE, Excise, or Monthly Rental Income) then confirm the period and the remaining details and submit (KRA, M-Service app guidance. Pick "Income Tax – Resident Individual" if, like most people reading this, that's the obligation on your PIN.

Why your nil return might get rejected this year

KRA has been tightening checks on nil returns. Business press reported that KRA briefly paused nil filing on iTax in early 2026 to check taxpayer records, then switched it back on with an automatic system that compares nil returns with withholding tax certificates, eTIMS (electronic Tax Invoice Management System) records and import data (Business Daily Africa). KRA's own data, quoted in that report, found nearly 400,000 taxpayers who'd had tax withheld in a year but still filed nil. Most were consultants and contractors who thought withholding tax was their final tax, when it's only an advance on what they owe.

If any withholding tax was deducted from you, any M-Pesa till or eTIMS invoice was issued in your name, or anything was imported under your PIN during the year, don't file nil. File the real return instead, even if the amount is small.

Don't want to file nil every year?

If you're registering for a PIN for the first time (say you're a university student applying for a HELB loan, or a diplomat posted to Kenya) ask for a PIN Without Obligation (PWO) instead of the standard PIN. Select "Yes" when iTax asks if you want a PWO during registration, and as long as you're not earning, you won't have an annual return to file at all (KRA, step-by-step guide for application of PIN Without Obligation.

This mainly helps new applicants. If you already have a PIN registered with the Income Tax obligation, which is most people reading this, KRA's own guide says the ability to switch an existing PIN over to PWO was still being developed as of this guide. Your alternative, if you won't be earning for a long stretch, is to ask KRA to cancel the obligation or put your PIN on dormancy; both are handled through iTax or a KRA Tax Service Office, and you keep filing as normal until KRA confirms the change in writing. The moment you start earning anything, even a small side hustle, you'll need to add the Income Tax obligation back, and our list of side hustles for university students is a good place to start planning for that. Once you have a number to work with, run it through our Kenya PAYE calculator to see what you'd owe.

The deadline that's changing (and the one that isn't)

Right now, nil returns follow the same deadline as every other individual return: 30 June each year, for the previous calendar year's income. That doesn't change for the return you'd file by 30 June 2026, covering 2025.

From 1 January 2027, the Finance Act 2026 moves the deadline for individuals to the last day of the fourth month after the tax year ends. That's 30 April, because individuals use the calendar year (KRA, Finance Act 2026: What It Means for You). KRA's own explainer says this covers "individual taxpayers, self-employed persons, partnerships", the same Income Tax – Resident Individual obligation nil filers use, with no separate, earlier date for nil returns. So a nil return for the 2026 income year, which you'd file in 2027, is due on 30 April 2027, not 30 June 2027.

You may have seen reports of a separate, earlier deadline of 31 January for nil filers. That date was floated while the Finance Bill 2026 was still in Parliament, as part of an earlier Treasury proposal to give nil filers one month after year-end. The law signed on 23 June 2026 doesn't include it: every individual gets the same fourth-month deadline. Until KRA says otherwise in writing, plan around 30 April 2027, not 31 January.

The penalty for filing late

The law sets the late filing penalty at 5% of the tax due or KES 2,000, whichever is higher (KRA, Taxpayer FAQs). A nil return has no tax due, so 5% of it is nothing, which leaves the flat KES 2,000. That amount is fixed once you miss the deadline and doesn't grow the longer you wait. What really costs you is the delay: an unfiled return can block a Tax Compliance Certificate, which you need for job applications, tenders, loans and some visas.

There's also a tax amnesty running at the moment: KRA is waiving penalties, interest and fines on tax liabilities due up to 31 December 2025, as long as the actual tax owed is cleared by 31 December 2026 (same KRA source). If you've got older, unresolved tax matters on your PIN alongside your nil filing, this is the window to deal with them.

Mistakes to watch out for

• Filing nil when you had tax withheld or an invoice in your name. The validation checks described above are built to catch exactly this, and it's likely to get flagged or rejected rather than quietly accepted.
• Paying a cyber café agent for something that takes five minutes on your phone. A nil return has no figures to work out, so there's nothing an agent can do that you can't.
• Letting nil returns pile up for years without checking your options. If you'll have no income for a long stretch, ask about PIN cancellation or dormancy, or apply for a PWO if you're registering fresh.
• Not saving the acknowledgement receipt. You'll need it later, and iTax doesn't always make it easy to find again if you skip downloading it at the time.
• Assuming a PIN you "don't use" doesn't need a return. It does. The KES 2,000 penalty doesn't care why you didn't file.

For more on managing your money as a Kenyan taxpayer, browse our Kenya personal finance guides or the wider Kenya hub.

Frequently asked questions

Do university students need to file a KRA nil return?

Yes, if you already have a PIN with the Income Tax obligation and had no income during the year. That covers most students who got a PIN for a HELB application or an internship. If you're getting your very first PIN, ask for a PIN Without Obligation instead, and you can skip nil returns for as long as you're not earning.

What if I had tax withheld but didn't really earn much?

File the real return, not a nil one. Withholding tax is an advance payment, not your final tax bill, and KRA's validation system now checks nil filings against withholding tax and eTIMS records. A nil return in that situation is likely to be rejected or flagged, even if the amount involved is small.

Can I close my KRA PIN instead of filing nil returns every year?

Not instantly, and not for everyone yet. KRA's PIN Without Obligation works best for new PINs. If you already have a PIN with the Income Tax obligation, ask KRA about cancelling the obligation or making the PIN dormant, but keep filing until KRA confirms the change in writing.

Is the nil return deadline really moving to 31 January 2027?

Based on the Finance Act 2026 as signed into law, no. Nil returns follow the same 30 April 2027 deadline as any other individual return, for the 2026 income year onward. A separate, earlier one-month deadline for nil filers was part of an earlier proposal while the bill was still before Parliament, but it isn't in the version that passed.

What happens if I never file a nil return?

You'll owe a flat KES 2,000 late penalty when you do file, and an outstanding return can block a Tax Compliance Certificate, which you need for job applications, tenders, loans and some visas. It won't go away on its own. See the full penalty and interest breakdown for non-filers if you want to know exactly what KRA does next.

Do I need a P9 or any documents to file a nil return?

No. A nil return only needs your KRA PIN and iTax password. There's no income to show, so nothing to attach.