The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has issued a new directive to employees, emphasizing that they should request P9 forms from their employers to facilitate their tax filing process.
The P9 Form serves as an official document provided by employers, summarizing an employee’s total salary, benefits, allowances, pension contributions, and all Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax deducted throughout the calendar year.
“Salaried individuals, please obtain your P9 form from your employer to ensure accurate tax filing. It’s a quick and simple procedure on iTax or eCitizen,” stated KRA.
Without the P9, employees must manually consolidate figures from 12 separate monthly payslips, a time-consuming process that substantially increases the likelihood of errors during filing.
KRA has now issued a direct message, urging all salaried Kenyans to take this simple yet crucial step before the June 30th deadline.
KRA’s directive comes at an appropriate time, as the annual income tax return filing period runs from January 1 to June 30, with penalties awaiting those who miss or incorrectly file.
These penalties are substantial, with non-compliant taxpayers facing a fine of Ksh20,000 or a 5 percent penalty on the tax owed, whichever amount is higher.
The form streamlines the process by directly providing the figures needed for Section F, which covers employment income, and Section M, which details all PAYE deducted by the employer.
It also contains pre-calculated information on personal relief, National Social Security Fund contributions, insurance premiums, and the Affordable Housing Levy, assisting taxpayers in accurately determining their final tax liability or any potential refund.
For employees with mortgage loans or pension contributions, the P9 Form clearly displays annual totals, making it simple to input deductible amounts within the allowable fields on the iTax return.
Five key figures to obtain from the form include the Employer PIN, Total Taxable Pay, Total PAYE Deducted, Defined Pension Contributions, and the Personal Relief amount already applied by your employer.
This initiative also aims to address the problem of individuals being incorrectly flagged for non-payment despite having already paid taxes, which is a significant concern often arising from discrepancies between withholding taxes and final declarations, or errors in the iTax system.
The measure is designed to ensure employees maintain tax compliance with the Kenya Revenue Authority by fulfilling four fundamental obligations: registration, timely filing of returns, prompt payment of tax liabilities, and accurate reporting of income.