If KRA’s latest tax amnesty email landed in your inbox and your first thought was, “Okay, but what if I actually owe KRA money and cannot afford to pay it all at once?”, well, this is for you.
The good news is that the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has provided an option for taxpayers who have outstanding principal tax but cannot make a lump sum payment.
Under the 2026 KRA Tax Amnesty Programme, eligible taxpayers can apply for a structured payment plan through iTax and pay their outstanding principal tax in instalments, provided the full principal amount is cleared by 31 December 2026.
The incentive is significant: once the qualifying principal tax has been fully paid according to the programme’s conditions, KRA will waive the related penalties, interest and fines covered by the amnesty.
However, before you log into iTax, understand that the tax debt itself is not being wiped away. The amnesty mainly provides relief from qualifying penalties, interest and fines. Your outstanding principal tax still has to be paid.
What Is the KRA Tax Amnesty 2026?
The 2026 Tax Amnesty Programme was introduced under the Finance Act, 2026 and took effect on 1 July 2026. It provides a 100% waiver of qualifying penalties, interest and fines relating to tax liabilities and debts accrued on or before 31 December 2025, and ends on 31 December 2026.
This means that tax debts arising from 2026 onwards are not covered by this particular amnesty. If you have a tax liability from 1 January 2026 onwards, the normal tax rules, penalties and interest continue to apply.
In who qualifies for the 2026 KRA Tax Amnesty and how the 100% penalty waiver works we focus on what happens if you qualify but simply cannot afford to clear the principal tax in one payment.
Can You Pay Your KRA Tax Debt in Instalments?
Actually, yes. KRA provides two ways for taxpayers with outstanding qualifying principal tax to settle it during the amnesty period.
The first is to pay the outstanding principal tax in full at any point before 31 December 2026.
The second is to apply for a structured payment plan through iTax, an option that is particularly useful if your KRA ledger shows a tax balance that you cannot realistically clear in one go.
The important condition is that the principal tax covered by the agreed payment plan must be fully paid by 31 December 2026 for you to benefit from the amnesty on the related penalties, interest and fines.
How Many Instalments Can You Make?
The number of instalments depends partly on when you enter the arrangement. KRA’s current guidance says a payment plan applied for in July 2026 could have a maximum of six instalments, with the arrangement running only up to 31 December 2026.
The practical lesson therefore is that the earlier you arrange your payment plan, the more time you have to spread the principal tax across the remaining months of the amnesty period.
How to Apply for a KRA Tax Amnesty Payment Plan on iTax
KRA says taxpayers who cannot make a one-off payment can apply for the payment arrangement through the iTax portal.
1. Log into your KRA iTax account
Go to the KRA iTax portal and log into your account using your PIN and password. If you have not used iTax in a while, it may be worth checking your profile and tax ledger before starting the application.
You can also read our KRA iTax Guide 2026: Everything You Need to Know for a broader explanation of the different services available on the platform.
2. Go to the Payments menu
Once you are logged into iTax, open the Payments menu and look for the option labelled: “Apply Payment Plan (new)”
Select it to begin setting up the payment arrangement.
3. Select the relevant tax period or periods
You will then need to select the tax period or periods relating to the qualifying amnesty debt.
Remember that the 2026 amnesty applies to qualifying tax liabilities accrued up to 31 December 2025. Also, do not assume that every balance appearing on your KRA account qualifies.
4. Go back to Payments and select Payments Registration
After setting up the payment plan, return to the Payments section. Select Payments Registration to proceed with generating the payment.
5. Select the tax details
You will need to select the relevant:
- Tax head
- Tax sub-head
- Tax period
Make sure you are selecting the correct tax liability and period before proceeding.
6. Confirm the amount you are paying
KRA’s guidance says that, where necessary, taxpayers should adjust the payment amount so that they are paying the outstanding principal tax only for the amnesty arrangement.
In other words, don’t assume that every amount displayed on the screen needs to be paid for you to benefit from the amnesty.
Check what is principal tax and what relates to penalties, interest or fines covered by the programme.
If your iTax ledger does not appear to match your records, or you believe a payment has not been correctly reflected, it is better to have the matter reconciled with KRA rather than blindly paying an amount you do not understand.
What Happens After You Pay the Principal Tax?
This is where the actual benefit of the amnesty comes in. Once the outstanding qualifying principal tax has been fully paid in accordance with the programme, KRA says the applicable penalties, interest and fines are waived.
The taxpayer’s ledger is then updated, and an amnesty certificate is generated.
The certificate is sent to the email address registered on iTax. You can also download it through your iTax profile.
According to KRA, the download path is:
Taxpayer Profile → Useful Links → Consult and Reprint Acknowledgement Receipts and Certificates → Business Process: Debt and Enforcement → Sub Process: Amnesty Certificate
It is worth keeping this certificate for your records once you receive it.
What If You Have No Principal Tax, But Have Penalties?
Not everyone receiving a KRA amnesty notification necessarily has a principal tax bill waiting for payment. You may discover that your account has penalties or interest but no outstanding principal tax.
For qualifying periods, KRA says taxpayers who have already paid their principal tax by 31 December 2025 qualify for an automatic waiver of the related penalties, interest and fines. No separate amnesty application is required in that situation – a relief for taxpayers who have outstanding late filing penalties but no principal tax.
If you have unfiled returns relating to the qualifying period, you need to file the outstanding returns during the amnesty period. KRA says eligible late-filing penalties can then be automatically waived where there is no principal tax due.
If you are simply trying to keep your KRA account compliant and have no taxable income, our guide on how to file KRA nil returns online in Kenya can walk you through that process.
What If You Disagree With the KRA Tax Debt?
What if you log into iTax and discover a tax liability that you do not believe you owe? Don’t automatically include a disputed amount in your payment plan simply because it appears on your ledger.
KRA’s guidance says taxpayers should select the periods with debt they agree with when generating a payment or applying for the amnesty payment plan, while leaving disputed debts out for resolution.
You should then contact your respective KRA Tax Service Office and follow up on the disputed amount.
KRA also advises taxpayers to provide the necessary documentation to help resolve discrepancies, including issues involving missing payments or incorrect principal tax liabilities.
This is particularly important because the amnesty deadline is not something you want to discover you missed while waiting for an unresolved tax dispute to be sorted out.
What About Someone Who Has Not Been Filing Returns?
You may still be able to benefit from the amnesty. KRA says taxpayers who have not filed returns for qualifying periods can file the outstanding returns during the amnesty period.
Where there is no principal tax due, qualifying late-filing penalties can be waived after the outstanding returns are filed.
If filing the returns results in principal tax becoming payable, that principal amount will need to be settled to qualify for the applicable amnesty relief.
This is one reason it is worth checking your iTax account instead of ignoring the KRA notification.
For a general overview of filing, penalties, tax obligations and other iTax services, see our KRA iTax Guide 2026.
What If the KRA Debt Is for a Deceased Person?
Tax matters do not necessarily disappear when someone dies.
If you are handling the affairs of a deceased taxpayer, you may need to deal with their KRA PIN and outstanding tax obligations as part of administering the estate.
Because tax matters involving an estate can be more complicated than an ordinary individual taxpayer’s account, it is advisable to get clarification from KRA where necessary.
Bittom line, however, is that the 2026 KRA Tax Amnesty is not a promise that every outstanding tax debt will simply be erased.
For taxpayers who owe qualifying principal tax from periods up to 31 December 2025, the principal still has to be paid.
What makes the current programme valuable is the opportunity to have qualifying penalties, interest and fines waived once the conditions are met. And if paying the principal in one lump sum is beyond your means, KRA has provided a structured payment-plan option through iTax.
