KRA Compliance Checklist for Kenyan Landlords (2026)

Once: set up

1. Check you’re in the MRI regime. Residential rent above KES 288,000 and up to KES 15,000,000 a year. Not sure? Use the rental income tax calculator.
2. Have an active KRA PIN and iTax and eCitizen access.
3. Register every rental property on eRITS, with its units and tenants. How to register on eRITS.
4. Check whether eTIMS applies to you. KRA’s invoicing rules cover people carrying on business, and business tenants need an eTIMS receipt to claim rent as an expense. eTIMS for landlords.
5. Collect rent into an account in your name, like your own bank or M-Pesa payout account, not a caretaker’s personal line, so every shilling is traceable.

Every payment

• Record who paid, how much, and which month it covers.
• Issue an eTIMS receipt for the payment, if eTIMS applies to you.
• Send the tenant their receipt.

Every month, by the 20th

• Reconcile deposits against rent owed.
• File the return for last month’s rent and pay 7.5% of the gross amount received.
• If no rent came in, file a nil return.

Always

• Keep leases, receipts and filing acknowledgements where you can find them if KRA asks.
• Update eRITS when tenants move in or out, or rent changes.
• Know your exposure: every late month costs at least KES 2,000 in late filing penalties. See penalties.

Or let software help with the list

Domus takes on part of this list today: it collects rent over M-Pesa, matches each payment to a tenant and keeps the monthly rent totals. eTIMS receipts, return preparation and a penalty estimate are coming soon. Domus for landlords.