Kenya's double taxation agreements and claiming treaty relief
Kenya Revenue Authority / National Treasury · sources read 4 Oct 2026
Kenya has double taxation agreements in force with the UK, Germany, France, South Africa, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Zambia, the UAE, Qatar, Korea, Iran, Seychelles and Singapore. To use one, get a KRA tax residence certificate for the other country, and if both countries tax the same income, Kenya can credit the foreign tax, up to the Kenyan tax on that income.
- Fee
- We couldn't confirm a fee from the official page. Check it there before you pay.
- Deadline
- MAP request: within 3 years of being notified of the tax action
- Where
- Kenya Revenue Authority, Treaties and International Policy office (Competent Authority), Times Tower, Nairobi; returns on iTax
Steps
- Check the National Treasury list that the treaty with that country is in force. For example, the UK treaty has been in force since 1977.
- Get a KRA tax residence certificate to show the other country you are resident in Kenya.
- If foreign tax was paid on the income, claim it as a credit against the Kenyan tax on the same income.
- Taxed against the treaty? Ask KRA's Competent Authority for a Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP).
Watch out
- A signed treaty only helps once it is in force. China's, signed in 2017, is not in force, and nor are the Netherlands' and Mauritius' treaties.
- The foreign tax credit can't be more than the Kenyan tax on that income or the foreign tax, whichever is lower.
- A company resident in a treaty country loses the treaty benefit on Kenyan income if 50% or more of it is owned by people who are not residents of that country, unless it is listed there.
Who can apply
- Kenyan tax residents with income from a country that has a treaty in force with Kenya.
- Residents of a treaty country with income from Kenya, as the treaty overrides normal Kenyan income tax rules.
Official sources (3)
- Double Taxation Agreements treasury.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Treaties and International Policy kra.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Income Tax Act (Cap. 470), revised 2026 kra.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026