PAYE Tax in Kenya 2026
Learn how Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax is calculated in Kenya for 2026. Covers current tax bands, step-by-step calculation examples, personal relief, insurance relief, and filing deadlines.
HR Management Made Simple for Kenyan Businesses
Complete HRMS with Kenya-compliant payroll (PAYE, NSSF, SHIF, Housing Levy), GPS attendance, leave management, and employee self-service. Built for SMEs with 10-200 employees.
No credit card required. 14-day free trial.
Everything You Need to Manage Your Workforce
From payroll to attendance, leave to performance — SmartHR handles it all so you can focus on growing your business.
Kenya-Compliant Payroll
Automatic PAYE, NSSF, SHIF & Housing Levy calculations. Generate payslips, P9 forms, and statutory reports in one click.
GPS Attendance
Track employee attendance with GPS verification, geo-fencing, and photo capture. Works offline for field teams.
Leave Management
Digital leave applications with approval workflows. Track balances, accruals, and carry-forward automatically.
Employee Management
Complete employee records, document management, org charts, and employment history tracking.
Field Tracking
Real-time GPS tracking for field staff. Route history, activity logging, and geo-tagged photo reports.
Mobile App
Employee self-service on Android & iOS. Clock in/out, apply for leave, view payslips — all from their phone.
Reports & Analytics
Comprehensive dashboards and reports. Payroll costs, attendance trends, leave utilization, and turnover analysis.
Statutory Compliance
Stay compliant with KRA, NSSF, SHIF, and Kenya's Data Protection Act. Automatic rate updates.
Built for Kenya 🇰🇪
The Only HRMS You Need for Kenyan Statutory Compliance
PAYE Tax Calculation
Automatic calculation using current KRA tax bands. Personal relief, insurance relief, and disability exemptions included.
NSSF (Tier I & II)
New NSSF rates with tiered calculations. Both employee and employer contributions computed automatically.
SHIF Deductions
SHIF (Social Health Insurance Fund) at 2.75% of gross salary, calculated automatically for all employees.
Housing Levy & M-Pesa
Housing Levy calculated at current rates. Pay salaries directly via M-Pesa B2C disbursement.
Compliant With
KRA
PAYE
NSSF
NSSF
SHIF
SHIF
HL
Housing Levy
NITA
NITA
Sample Payslip Breakdown
Gross SalaryKES 50,000.00
NSSF (Tier I & II)-KES 3,000.00
SHIF (2.75%)-KES 1,375.00
Housing Levy (1.5%)-KES 750.00
PAYE-KES 5,845.85
Net SalaryKES 39,029.15
Mobile App
Your HR in Your Pocket
Give your employees the power to manage their HR needs from anywhere. Clock in with GPS, apply for leave, view payslips — all from their mobile device.
- GPS clock in/out with photo capture
- Works offline — syncs when back online
- Leave applications & balance tracking
- View & download payslips
- Supervisor approvals on the go
Built for Every Kenyan Industry
From security guards to field sales reps, SmartHR adapts to your industry's unique needs.
Simple, Transparent Pricing
Base fee + per-employee pricing. No hidden fees. Cancel anytime.
Pay 10 months, get 12 with annual billing (~17% discount)
Starter
Up to 25 employees
KES 1,000
/month base
+ KES 50 /employee/month
- Core HR (employee records)
- Web-based GPS attendance
- Leave management
- Employee self-service
- Basic reports
- Email support
Most Popular
Start Free Trial
Professional
Up to 100 employees
KES 3,000
/month base
+ KES 100 /employee/month
Setup: KES 5,000
- Everything in Starter +
- Kenya-compliant payroll
- Payslip generation
- Loan & expense management
- SMS notifications
- Geo-fencing & shifts
- Statutory reports
Business
Up to 250 employees
KES 6,500
/month base
+ KES 150 /employee/month
Setup: KES 10,000
- Everything in Professional +
- Field GPS tracking
- M-Pesa disbursement
- Recruitment & onboarding
- Performance management
- Training & exit management
- Advanced analytics
Enterprise
Unlimited employees
Custom
Contact Sales
Tailored to your needs
- Everything in Business +
- White-label branding
- API access
- Biometric integration
- Dedicated account manager
- On-premise option
Resources & Guides
Learn about Kenyan payroll, HR best practices, and statutory compliance.
Popular Guides
NSSF Contributions Kenya 2026
Complete guide to NSSF contribution rates in Kenya for 2026. Covers Tier I and Tier II calculations, maximum caps, employer obligations, remittance deadlines, and penalties.
SHIF Kenya 2026
Complete guide to SHIF (Social Health Insurance Fund) in Kenya for 2026. Learn the 2.75% rate, how SHIF replaced NHIF, calculation examples at multiple salary levels, and employer obligations.
Latest Blog Posts
HR Management
GPS Attendance Tracking for Field Teams in Kenya
Managing field teams in Kenya? Learn how GPS attendance tracking eliminates buddy punching, improves accountability, and simplifies payroll for distributed workforces.
Feb 05, 2026
·
7 min read
Payroll & Tax
How to Set Up Payroll for a New Business in Kenya
Starting a new business in Kenya? Here is a step-by-step guide to setting up your payroll, registering with statutory bodies, and staying compliant from day one.
Jan 20, 2026
·
6 min read
Payroll & Tax
KRA PAYE Tax Bands Kenya 2026 - Complete Breakdown
A complete breakdown of KRA PAYE tax bands for 2026, with calculation examples showing how much tax you pay at different salary levels.
Jan 10, 2026
·
5 min read
Frequently Asked Questions
SmartHR Kenya is a comprehensive cloud-based Human Resource Management System (HRMS) built specifically for Kenyan businesses. It covers the full HR lifecycle including employee management, attendance tracking with GPS, leave management, Kenya-compliant payroll processing (PAYE, NSSF, SHIF, Housing Levy), recruitment, performance management, and more. It is designed for SMEs with 10 to 200 employees across industries such as security, NGOs, construction, logistics, and field sales.
Yes! SmartHR Kenya fully supports multi-branch management. If your company has multiple branches or locations, you can manage them all from a single account. Each branch can have its own employees, departments, shift schedules, and reporting structure while sharing company-wide policies like leave rules, payroll settings, and approval workflows. You get consolidated reports across all branches as well as branch-specific insights.
Absolutely. SmartHR Kenya takes data security seriously. All data is encrypted in transit using SSL/TLS and sensitive payroll data is encrypted at rest. We implement role-based access control, comprehensive audit logging, session management, and two-factor authentication (2FA). The platform complies with Kenya's Data Protection Act 2019 and includes features for data access requests and consent management. Daily automated backups ensure your data is always recoverable.
SmartHR Kenya automatically calculates and processes all major Kenyan statutory deductions: PAYE (Pay As You Earn) using the latest KRA tax bands, NSSF (National Social Security Fund) with Tier I and Tier II calculations, SHIF (Social Health Insurance Fund) at 2.75% of gross salary, and the Housing Levy at 1.5% employee and employer contributions. All rates are configurable and updated when Kenya's Finance Bill introduces changes, so you never need to worry about compliance.
Yes. SmartHR Kenya has a native mobile app for Android and iOS. Employees can clock in/out with GPS verification, apply for leave, view payslips, submit expense claims, and access the full self-service portal from their phones. The app also works offline for areas with poor connectivity — punches are queued locally and synced automatically when a connection is restored. The mobile app download link is provided once you activate a free trial or paid subscription.
Ready to Transform Your HR?
Join hundreds of Kenyan businesses using SmartHR to simplify payroll, attendance, and employee management.