Kenya's main tax laws and where to read them
National Treasury / Kenya Law · sources read 4 Oct 2026
Kenya's core tax laws are the Tax Procedures Act (how tax is administered), the Income Tax Act, the VAT Act and the Excise Duty Act. Read the latest version of each free on Kenya Law (new.kenyalaw.org); each year's Finance Act amends them.
- Where
- Online, free: Kenya Law (new.kenyalaw.org), under Laws of Kenya.
Steps
- Go to new.kenyalaw.org, open Laws of Kenya and search the Act by name (for example 'Income Tax Act'). Check the page says it is the latest version.
- For filing, assessments, penalties, objections and other procedures, read the Tax Procedures Act (Cap. 469B). It applies across all tax laws.
- For the tax itself, read the Act for that tax: Income Tax Act (Cap. 470) for income, VAT Act (Cap. 476) for VAT, and Excise Duty Act (Cap. 472) for excise duty.
- Check for changes from recent amending laws, such as the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024 and the Finance Act, 2026.
Watch out
- Kenya Law keeps older versions too. If the page says it is an old version, click through to the latest one before relying on a rate.
- Rates change through the yearly Finance Act. For example, the Finance Act, 2026 removed excise duty on bottled water from 1 July 2026.
- No tax can be imposed, waived or changed except by law, so a rate you see on social media is not valid unless an Act says so.
Official sources (7)
- Tax Procedures Act, Cap. 469B new.kenyalaw.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Income Tax Act, Cap. 470 new.kenyalaw.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Value Added Tax Act, Cap. 476 (version 27 December 2024 to 30 June 2025) new.kenyalaw.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Excise Duty Act, Cap. 472 new.kenyalaw.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- The Constitution of Kenya, 2010 treasury.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Amendments to PAYE Computation Pursuant to the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024 kra.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Removal of Excise Duty on Bottled Water kra.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026