Rental income tax in Kenya: a guide for landlords

What it is

Monthly rental income tax (MRI) is a simple tax on residential rent, set out in section 6A of the Income Tax Act. You pay a flat 7.5% of the rent you actually received each month. Because it is a final tax, that rent is not declared again in your annual return, and repairs, agent fees, loan interest and other costs cannot be deducted from it.

The rate was 10% until 31 December 2023 and has been 7.5% since 1 January 2024. The Finance Bill 2026 proposed taking it back to 10%. The Finance Act 2026 that was passed left it at 7.5%, so some articles that report 10% as the new rate are wrong.

Who it applies to

MRI applies when all of these are true:

• you are resident in Kenya, as an individual, a company or a partnership;
• the property is residential, such as a house, a flat or a bedsitter;
• your residential rent for the year is more than KES 288,000 (KES 24,000 a month on average) and not more than KES 15 million.

Below KES 288,000 a year, MRI does not apply. Above KES 15 million, the rent goes in your annual return with your other income, at the normal rates and with expenses allowed. Inside the band you can also choose the normal regime instead, by writing to the Commissioner to opt out.

Commercial property such as shops and offices is not under MRI. That rent is declared in the annual return, where expenses can be deducted.

Landlords who live abroad are not under MRI either. From 1 July 2026, rent a non-resident earns from Kenyan property is taxed at 30% of the gross rent as a final tax, filed and paid by the 20th of the next month. This does not apply where a resident agent receives the rent and deducts the tax. See managing a Kenyan property from abroad.

When tenants or agents deduct the tax for you

Some payers take tax off the rent before paying you. A company or institution renting from you, or an agent collecting rent for you, deducts 7.5% only if KRA has appointed them in writing as a withholding or rental income tax agent. What they deduct appears as a credit on your MRI return, so keep the withholding certificates they give you.

How to file on iTax

1. Register the property once: on iTax, open the Registration menu and choose "Register Property details".
2. File the return each month: go to Returns, then File Return, and pick "Income Tax - Rental Income". Enter the rent received for the month. iTax works out the tax and fills in any withholding credits.
3. Pay: go to Payments, then Payment Registration, and choose Income Tax, "Income tax - Rent", Self-Assessment. Pay by M-Pesa or at the bank using the payment registration number (PRN) it gives you.

If you received no rent in a month, file a nil return for that month rather than skipping it.

KRA also runs eRITS, a portal for rental income that sits alongside iTax. Registering on it is not compulsory yet. Draft regulations published in April 2026 would make it so, and would require an opt-out from MRI to be given at least three months before the end of the year. They were not final when this guide was checked.

Keeping the records

MRI is charged on rent received, not rent invoiced. A tenant who owes you two months adds nothing to this month's tax until they pay. So the record you need is a list of what each tenant actually paid, by month, with any tax deducted at source.

PropertyView builds that list from the payments you record in its accounts. Each month it prepares the MRI figure from rent received, applies the withholding certificates you have entered, and shows how far through the year's band you are. You still file on iTax yourself.

Checked against the Income Tax Act, the Finance Act 2026 and KRA guidance on 18 October 2026. This is a plain-language summary, not tax advice. For your own position, speak to a tax adviser or KRA.