Every Kenyan citizen above 18 years should file his or her tax returns annually. However, if you are unemployed or still a student, you do not have a source of income and thus have no returns to file. That is where the nil returns option comes in. Please note that being self-employed counts as employment and you should therefore pay your taxes as required. Filing taxes in Kenya begins from January to June of every year. Failure or delay to do so attracts a Ksh 2000 fine for every missed year. You should therefore try to avoid the last minute rush by filing your taxes early. Here is a guide on how to file nil returns.

Requirements

• Working internet connection
• Your KRA pin
• Your iTax password
• Working email address

If you do not remember your iTax password, you can choose the ‘forgot password’ option. You will need to insert your KRA pin and solve an arithmetic problem. iTax will then send you a temporary password to your email. Use this to log in to your portal and then reset it with a password you can easily remember.

Steps to follow

1. Go to your browser and type in itax.kra.go.ke on the address bar. This will take you to the iTax portal homepage.
2. On the left hand side, you will see the option of putting in your KRA pin and iTax password. Carefully fill both boxes and click the ‘next’ button.
3. You will land on your iPage on the iTax portal. Familiarize yourself with the various options and tabs so that you will know how to access them whenever you need them.
4. On the top most bar, look for the ‘Returns’ tab and click on it. A drop down menu will appear. Click on ‘File Nil Returns.’
5. On the new page, you will have three fields to fill. On the first box, choose the ‘self’ option, which indicates the type of applicant you are. The second one requires you to fill in your KRA pin, and the last the kind of taxpayer you are which is ‘Income tax resident.’ Press the ‘next’ button to continue.
6. The next page requires you to fill in the period you wish to file your returns. Since this is 2020, you are filing returns from last year. Therefore choose 1/01/2019 as the ‘from’ date. The ‘to’ date will automatically fill up. Click the ‘submit’ button to continue.
7. If you are successful, the next page will come with a confirmation message for the completed process and a link to download your acknowledgement receipt. Click on this link and the PDF version of the receipt will automatically download to your computer.
8. You can save this receipt in your computer and also download it as proof in case the need arises. You should also email yourself a copy for safe keeping purposes. That way, you can access it from wherever you are.

N/B

If you got your KRA pin this year, you do not need to file returns until after the 31^st of December 2020. But make sure to file returns annually to avoid any penalties and fines,

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