The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has announced that taxpayers affected by intermittent downtime on the iTax portal will not be required to shoulder penalties and interest caused by the system failure during September 2026.
The taxman said the disruption affected key services, including return filing and payment, at a time when taxpayers were working to meet statutory deadlines. The difficulties came just days before the September 20 deadline for filing August Value Added Tax (VAT) returns.
KRA said it will identify the specific periods when iTax services were unavailable or difficult to access and use that information to determine the penalties and interest eligible for relief.
“The waiver will be effected in accordance with Section 89(5A) of the Tax Procedures Act, taking into account the period during which the affected iTax services were unavailable or intermittently inaccessible,” KRA said.
Relief will cover verified downtime
The authority clarified that the waiver will not be a blanket removal of penalties and interest for all taxpayers. KRA will first verify the period affected by the system problems before making the necessary adjustments to taxpayer accounts.
This means taxpayers who were unable to file returns or make payments because of the iTax problems will have their cases assessed against the confirmed downtime period.
The disruption has added another headache for taxpayers already racing against statutory deadlines, with an online tax system that decides to take a breather at the worst possible time being an especially unwelcome surprise.
Section 89(5A) of the Tax Procedures Act provides a legal basis for waiving penalties and interest arising from certain electronic tax system problems. KRA has previously used the provision when technical difficulties affected taxpayers’ ability to meet filing requirements.
The latest waiver is separate from the 2026 Tax Amnesty Programme, which covers qualifying penalties, interest and fines relating to tax liabilities for periods up to December 31, 2025. The amnesty runs until December 31, 2026.
KRA urged taxpayers to continue trying to file their returns and make payments once the system becomes accessible. The authority said its technical teams will undertake the necessary system processes to ensure that penalties and interest directly attributable to the verified downtime period are waived.
“The Authority regrets the inconvenience caused and appreciates taxpayers for their patience and cooperation,” KRA said.
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