Landlords, Agents To Be Connected To KRA’s Tax System

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is seeking to boost monthly rental income compliance among landlords and property owners with through the Electronic Rental Income Tax System (eRITS).

Speaking during the launch of the system, National Treasury Principal Secretary Dr. Chris Kiptoo said eRITS which is built on KRA’s Enterprise Integration Platform, Gava Connect is to set to streamline compliance for the real estate sector from a technology perspective.

“The government is committed to ensuring that the tax system remains fair and that compliance is as seamless as possible. With eRITS, we are moving towards a smarter, more efficient tax system that benefits everyone,” said Kiptoo.

According to KRA Commissioner General Humphrey Wattanga the system is a voluntary compliance tool that aims to support and enhance tax compliance among rental property owners and agents.

“eRITS is designed to enable seamless integration with the KRA ecosystem for purposes of tax computation, filing, and payment; and is accessible through the Gava Connect API portal for system-to-system integration, and as a service through the eCitizen platform. The intention is to augment voluntary compliance within the
sector while reducing administrative burdens associated with taxation.” he stated.

The Monthly Rental Income (MRI) which was introduced in 2016 is applicable to landlords earning between Ksh 288,000 and Ksh 15 million annually.

The MRI tax rate was reduced from 10pc to 7.5pc, from 1st January 2024, demonstrating the Government’s commitment to easing the burden on taxation among taxpayers.

In the last financial year 2023/2024, tax revenues collected through MRI stood at Ksh 14.4 billion, translating to a 5.2pc year on year growth compared to a collection of Ksh 13.6 billion and Ksh 12.3 billion in the previous financial years.