Pay & working terms · 4 min read
P9 form in Kenya: your certificate of pay and tax
What the P9 form is, when your employer should give it to you, what to check on it, and how it helps you file your return by 30 June.
Every employee with a KRA PIN has to file an income tax return each year, and the P9 form is the document that makes it quick. It is your employer's record of everything you were paid and all the PAYE deducted in the year. Here is what KRA's own guidance says about it and how to use it.
What the P9 is
The P9A is the tax deduction card on which an employer records each month's pay, benefits and PAYE for an employee. KRA's employer guide calls the certified copy given to the employee a certificate of pay and tax deducted. KRA publishes the current template on its website.
There are variants: P9A (HOSP) where an employee saves in a registered home ownership savings plan, and P9B where the employer pays the tax on the employee's behalf.
When your employer should give it to you
- At the end of the year. KRA's guide says that immediately after 31 December the employer should prepare the card for each employee whose pay had PAYE deducted during the year, and distribute certified copies.
- When you leave. The same guide says that when a liable employee leaves, the employer should prepare and hand over a certificate of pay and tax up to the date of cessation, which is the last day you were paid.
If you had more than one employer in the year, ask each one for its P9. Your return has to include income from all of them.
What to check on it
KRA's 2025 template has a row for each month and columns for basic salary, non-cash benefits, value of quarters, total gross pay, the affordable housing levy, SHIF, contributions to a post retirement medical fund, owner occupied interest, retirement contributions, chargeable pay, tax charged, personal relief, insurance relief and PAYE.
- Your name and KRA PIN, and the employer's PIN.
- Twelve months of pay, or the months you actually worked there.
- Gross pay each month, matching your payslips.
- The housing levy and SHIF columns: the template notes they are deductible from December 2024.
- Personal relief and the PAYE deducted each month.
Compare the totals with your payslips. A month missing from the P9 or a PAYE figure that differs from the payslip should be corrected by payroll before you file.
Filing your return by 30 June
KRA says individual income tax returns must be filed on or before 30 June of the following year, and that every individual with a KRA PIN must file each year whether or not they earned income. If you had no income, you file a nil return.
To file an employment income return you need your KRA PIN, your iTax password and the P9 from each employer. Keep a copy of the filed return and the acknowledgement.
Penalties for filing or paying late
KRA lists the late filing penalty as the higher of 5 per cent of the tax due or KSh 2,000. Late payment of tax attracts a penalty of 5 per cent of the tax due and interest of 1 per cent a month on the unpaid tax until it is paid.
A missing P9 is not a reason to file late. Ask your employer early, in writing, and keep your payslips as a fallback record.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a P9 form in Kenya?
The P9A tax deduction card on which your employer records your pay, benefits and PAYE for the year. KRA's employer guide calls the copy given to you a certificate of pay and tax.
When should my employer give me a P9?
After 31 December each year, and when you leave the job, covering pay and tax up to your last paid day.
When is the deadline to file returns in Kenya?
On or before 30 June of the following year, according to KRA.
What is the penalty for filing late?
The higher of 5 per cent of the tax due or KSh 2,000, according to KRA.