What first-time filers need to know
If you have a KRA PIN, you have a filing obligation, and your first return is usually the annual individual income tax return due by 30 June. New businesses additionally start filing VAT (if registered) and PAYE (if they have employees) monthly. The platform for all of it is iTax at itax.kra.go.ke.
The most reassuring thing for a first-timer is that the process is designed for self-service and, with the right information ready, takes minutes. Most first-time anxiety comes from not knowing which return to file and not having login details, both easily solved.
What you need: your KRA PIN and iTax password, and your income and tax figures for the period. If you are employed, your employer's P9 form summarises your pay and PAYE. If you run a business, your sales and eTIMS records provide the figures.
How to file for the first time, step by step
Follow these steps for your first return.
- 1
Step 1: Get your login ready
Make sure you can log in to itax.kra.go.ke with your KRA PIN and password. If you have never logged in, use the first-time/forgot-password flow, which sends to your registered email.
- 2
Step 2: Identify your return
For most first-timers it is the resident individual income tax return. If you employ staff, you also file PAYE; if VAT-registered, VAT. File the income tax return first.
- 3
Step 3: Gather your figures
Employed: use your P9 form from your employer (it shows pay and PAYE). In business: use your sales and eTIMS records. Note any tax already deducted.
- 4
Step 4: Complete the return
In iTax, choose File Return, select the obligation and period, and enter your income, deductions and tax paid. The template validates your entries.
- 5
Step 5: Submit and save the acknowledgement
Submit the return and download the acknowledgement receipt as proof of filing.
- 6
Step 6: Pay any balance
If a balance is due, generate the e-slip and pay by M-Pesa, bank or agent before the deadline. If your PAYE already covered it, there may be nothing to pay.
First-time filer mistakes
Leaving it to the last day
First filings can hit snags (password resets, missing P9). Start a few days before the deadline so you have time to resolve issues.
Not having a P9 (employed)
Employed first-timers need the P9 form from their employer to fill the return correctly. Request it early.
Filing the wrong return
Choosing the wrong obligation (for example a company return as an individual) causes confusion. For most individuals it is the resident individual income tax return.
Assuming no income means nothing to do
Even with no income, you file a nil return. First-timers often skip this and incur a penalty.
Going in without records (business)
New business owners who never set up proper records struggle to file. Start with a system that produces eTIMS-aligned figures from day one.
A first-time business owner files smoothly
A new business owner in Nairobi faced her first VAT and PAYE filings and felt overwhelmed. She had a POS that issued eTIMS invoices, but she had never logged in to iTax.
She reset her iTax password, confirmed her VAT and PAYE obligations, and used her eTIMS data for the VAT figures and her payroll for PAYE. The first filings, done a few days before the deadline, went through without a hitch.
Because she had accurate records from day one, her first filing experience was smooth, not stressful, and set the routine for every month after.
Trading without eTIMS-compliant tax invoices risks KRA penalties, blocked VAT input claims for your customers, and receipts a business buyer cannot expense.
Veira signs every sale to KRA eTIMS automatically, so each receipt is compliant the moment it prints, with no separate device to reconcile.
How Veira gives first-timers clean figures from day one
New to KRA compliance? Veira handles eTIMS from your first sale, so your VAT figures are accurate and reconciled before your first filing, and its payroll produces correct PAYE for the P10. You file from real records, not a scramble.
Starting right is far easier than fixing a mess later. Veira sets up your records correctly from day one so every return, including your first, is straightforward, from KES 2,999 a month.
Frequently asked questions
How do I file KRA returns for the first time?
What do I need to file for the first time?
Which return do I file first?
What if I had no income my first year?
Do I need an accountant to file for the first time?
How do I avoid first-time filing stress?
Your first KRA filing is far less daunting with login ready, figures gathered, and time to spare. And if you run a business, starting with accurate eTIMS records makes it effortless. Veira sets you up right from day one, from KES 2,999 a month. Book a free demo and file your first return with confidence.