How to get a KRA PIN using your ID, for the first time in Kenya

What you need before you start

• Your national ID details. Residents who aren't citizens use an alien ID card.
• An email address you can open, because iTax sends a one-time password to it in the PIN Without Obligation form.
• Your employer's PIN, if you're employed.
• Your business certificate details, if you run a business.

The name on your PIN comes from your ID details, so check your date of birth against your ID before you type it. KRA lists separate requirements for non-Kenyans working here, including an employer's introduction letter, the employer's PIN and a valid work permit.

Which PIN do you need?

• A normal PIN, with tax obligations: for a job, a business or any income. You'll have to file a return every year, even a nil one.
• A PIN Without Obligation: for people with no taxable activity who still need a PIN. KRA's own example is students who need a PIN to access higher education loans. You won't be required to file returns.

Once you start earning, KRA says you must amend a PIN Without Obligation and add the right tax obligations. If you already have a PIN with obligations, KRA says the move to a PIN Without Obligation is still being developed, so you can't count on switching.

Steps for a normal PIN

• Open the iTax portal in a browser, on a computer, tablet or phone.
• Choose Individual as your taxpayer type.
• Choose Online Form as the mode of registration.
• Fill in Section A with your basic information, Section B with your obligation details and Section C with your source of income.
• Submit the form. You'll get an acknowledgment receipt with a reference number, which you use to track the application while you wait for approval.

• iTax portal

Steps for a PIN Without Obligation, such as for HELB

• On the iTax portal, select New PIN registration.
• Set taxpayer type to Individual, mode of registration to Online form, and answer Yes to the question on registering for a PWO. Read the notes that pop up, then click Next.
• Set residential status to Kenyan and pick your profession from the list.
• Type your national ID number and your date of birth as it is on your ID. The rest of your details and your parents' details fill in by themselves.
• Fill in your physical address, postal address and phone number.
• Type your email address and click Send OTP. Enter the one-time password sent to that email.
• Give your reason for wanting a PIN, tick the data privacy box and upload any document that supports your registration.
• Submit, then download the PIN certificate.

Your PIN is 11 characters long, starts with A and ends with a letter. You'll find it at the top right of the certificate.

How to print your PIN certificate again

• Log in to iTax.
• Open the Registration tab and choose Reprint my Certificate.
• Choose your applicant type and click Submit.

If you've forgotten your PIN or password, call KRA on 0711 099 999 or email callcentre@kra.go.ke. Send details only to those official contacts.

When a job asks for your PIN

Employers need your PIN to run PAYE on your pay, usually once they've offered you the job. A first application needs only your CV unless the advert says otherwise. Don't send your PIN certificate or an ID scan to someone you haven't checked, and don't pay anyone to get a PIN as a condition of a job. Applying for a job is free.

Once you have a normal PIN, your next duty is the yearly return. Put the deadline in your calendar now.

• How to file KRA nil returns
• First job: KRA PIN, NSSF and SHA
• Free CV builder

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