Tax for Kenyans living abroad (diaspora)
Kenya Revenue Authority · sources read 4 Oct 2026
Living abroad doesn't end your KRA duties: if you have a PIN, file a return on iTax every year, a nil return if you had no income. If you're a non-resident earning rent from property in Kenya, it's taxed at 30% of the gross rent, filed and paid by the 20th of the next month.
- Fee
- We couldn't confirm a fee from the official page. Check it there before you pay.
- Deadline
- Non-resident rental income tax: return and payment by the 20th of the month after the month the rent is paid for
- Where
- Online on the KRA iTax portal; Kenyan missions abroad offer filing support
Steps
- Check if you're still a Kenyan tax resident: you are if you keep a permanent home in Kenya and were here at any time in the year, or spent 183 days or more here in the year.
- Log in to iTax and file your annual return. No Kenyan income? File a nil return.
- If you're a non-resident letting property in Kenya, file and pay the non-resident rental income tax by the 20th of the month after the rent is paid.
- Need help filing or with your PIN? Visit any Kenyan mission abroad.
Watch out
- The 7.5% monthly rental income tax is only for residents. As a non-resident, rent from property in Kenya is taxed at 30% of the gross amount, as a final tax.
- Asking KRA to make your PIN dormant doesn't stop the clock. Keep filing until KRA officially tells you the PIN or tax obligation is cancelled.
- Non-residents don't get personal relief on Kenyan income.
Who can apply
- Kenyans abroad who earn, or expect to earn, any income from Kenya need a KRA PIN, whether resident or not
- Everyone who already has a PIN must file every year, even with no income
Official sources (5)
- Kenyans Living Abroad: KRA PIN & Tax Obligations kra.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Individual Income Tax kra.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- PIN Dormancy kra.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Income Tax Act (Cap. 470), revised to Finance Act 2026 kra.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- iTax portal itax.kra.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026