The rates SSA Payroll uses.
Payroll statutory rates are public law. We publish exactly the profile our engine uses so you can verify every computation. In force: Kenya — February 2026 (built-in), effective from 2026-02-01.
Reviewed against the Finance Act, 2026: no change to PAYE bands, reliefs or contribution rates. Its Affordable Housing Act amendment is administrative. Two changes we are tracking: qualifying employer gratuity contributions become exempt from 1 July 2026, and benefits paid on an employee's death become exempt from 1 January 2027.
PAYE — monthly bands
| Monthly taxable pay (KES) | Rate |
|---|---|
| 0 – 24,000 | 10% |
| 24,000 – 32,333 | 25% |
| 32,333 – 500,000 | 30% |
| 500,000 – 800,000 | 32.5% |
| Above 800,000 | 35% |
Reliefs
KES 24,001 is a taxable pay threshold, not a gross pay one. NSSF, SHIF and the Housing Levy come off first, so on a plain salary PAYE only begins at roughly KES 26,741 gross.
Order of operations — why our PAYE differs
Since 27 December 2024, SHIF, the Affordable Housing Levy and post-retirement medical fund contributions are deducted from taxable pay before PAYE is charged — they are no longer reliefs against tax. Deductible pension and provident contributions are capped at KES 30,000 a month. SSA Payroll computes in that order on every payslip; tools that still treat SHIF and the Levy as reliefs overstate PAYE.
NSSF — Tier I and Tier II
Tier I is remitted to NSSF in every case. Tier II may be contracted out to an approved occupational or umbrella scheme on NSSF reference-scheme approval, in which case only Tier I reaches the Fund and the Tier II amount is remitted to the private scheme. SSA Payroll computes both tiers separately on every payslip, so a contracted-out employer can remit each tier to the right destination.
SHIF
Affordable Housing Levy
NITA training levy
Exchange rates — CBK indicative
Indicative CBK mean rates, hand-checked 30 August 2026. The live CBK feed is not responding right now, so these stored figures are in use.
These are indicative mean rates, not dealing rates, and they are the exact figures the payroll calculator converts with. Verify them at the Central Bank of Kenya rates page.
Sources
- PAYE bands · KRA — Income Tax Act, Third Schedule (as amended by the Finance Act 2023)
- NSSF · NSSF — NSSF Act No. 45 of 2013 — Year 4 schedule
- SHIF · SHA — Social Health Insurance Act, 2023
- Housing levy · State Department for Housing — Affordable Housing Act, 2024
- NITA levy · NITA — Industrial Training (Training Levy) Order