VAT invoice rules in Kenya

In Kenya an invoice must show your KRA PIN, itemised lines, and VAT separately at the applicable rate — 16%, with 16% applying to most work. An electronic tax invoice bearing the control unit invoice number. Returns are monthly, due by the 20th.

The Kenya rule people miss

Kenya requires invoices to be generated through a compliant electronic tax invoice management system for registered businesses, with the invoice carrying a control unit serial number and a QR code. A hand-written or plain-PDF invoice will not support your customer's input claim.

When VAT registration becomes compulsory

Registration is mandatory once taxable turnover exceeds KSh 5 million in any twelve months.

Assessed on a rolling twelve months in most systems, not your financial year — which is the detail that catches people out.

Which VAT rate applies to what

An 8% band previously applied to petroleum products; the working assumption for services is 16%, with zero-rating for exports and a separate exempt list including most financial services and unprocessed agricultural produce.

Bands are defined by what you supply, not by who buys it.

How often you file in Kenya

Monthly, due by the 20th. eTIMS — the electronic tax invoice management system — means an invoice has to be generated through an approved system before your customer can claim the input tax on it, so the software you invoice from is now a compliance decision rather than a preference.

A worked VAT example

Invoice KSh 4,100 with a 5% discount shown on the document:

• Net before discount: KSh 4,100
• Discount at 5%: −KSh 205
• Taxable value: KSh 3,895
• VAT at 16%: KSh 623.2
• Total due: KSh 4,518.2

The discounted value is what gets taxed — discounts, deposits and advance payments covers where that stops being obvious.

Correcting an invoice in Kenya

A credit note must be generated through eTIMS against the original invoice, and the window for adjusting the output tax is limited — an agreement reached with the customer months later may no longer be recoverable from the KRA.

Invoicing outside Kenya

Exported services are zero-rated where consumed outside Kenya, an area that has been repeatedly litigated — the place-of-consumption test is applied narrowly.

Charging tax to a client in another country covers the general shape.

Record keeping in Kenya

Five years. What to hand your accountant at year end.

The universal fields — number, both parties, dates, lines, tax separately, total — apply on top of the local rules above. Rates change: checked to mid-2026, a starting point rather than tax advice; verify against the Kenya Revenue Authority.

Set your country once in EstimateBill and the tax is labelled correctly on every invoice after that — GST and GSTIN in India, VAT in the UK, Sales Tax and EIN in the US, across 58 countries.