KRA compliance · 5 min read
Monthly Rental Income Tax: Deadlines and Penalties
Monthly Rental Income (MRI) tax is due every month, not once a year. Miss the 20th and KRA adds a late filing penalty, a late payment penalty and monthly interest. Here's exactly how each one works.
The deadline: the 20th of the following month
Rent you receive in a month is declared and paid by the 20th of the next month. Rent received in September is due by 20 October; rent received in December is due by 20 January. The return and the payment have the same deadline.
If you received no rent in a month, you still file: KRA requires a nil return for any month with no rent. See our guide to MRI nil returns.
Who this applies to
MRI applies to resident individuals and companies whose residential rental income is above KES 288,000 and up to KES 15,000,000 a year. The tax is 7.5% of gross rent (effective 1 January 2024), and it is a final tax: you can’t deduct repairs, loan interest or management fees.
The three charges for being late
| Charge | Individuals | Companies |
|---|---|---|
| Late filing | KES 2,000 or 5% of the tax, whichever is higher | KES 20,000 or 5% of the tax, whichever is higher |
| Late payment | 5% of the tax due | |
| Interest | 1% of the tax per month or part of a month | |
The late filing penalty has a floor. Even a month with very little tax, or a nil return filed late, costs at least KES 2,000 for an individual.
Worked example
A landlord with five units at KES 20,000 collects KES 100,000 in September. MRI is KES 7,500, due by 20 October. If they file and pay in mid-December (two months late):
- Late filing: KES 2,000 (the KES 2,000 floor beats 5% of KES 7,500)
- Late payment: KES 375
- Interest for two months: KES 150
That’s KES 2,525 on top of the KES 7,500 tax, for a single month. For smaller landlords whose monthly tax is under KES 2,000, the late filing penalty alone is bigger than the tax.
Estimate your own figures with the rental income tax calculator.
How to never miss the 20th
- Record every rent payment the day it arrives, with the tenant and the month it covers.
- Reconcile M-Pesa and bank deposits against rent owed before the 15th, so you file on real numbers.
- File a nil return for vacant months instead of skipping them.
- Use software that prepares the return from your ledger. Domus builds each month’s eRITS return from the rent it collected and flags anything that would block filing.
Last reviewed 30 September 2026. This page is general information, not tax advice; confirm your position with a KRA-registered tax agent.