Kenyans earning below Ksh.30,000 to get PAYE relief in CS Mbadi’s tax reform
Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS) John Mbadi has announced the government’s plan to exempt over 1.5 million employed Kenyans earning below Ksh.30,000 from paying Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax.
Speaking in Meru on Monday, CS Mbadi said the Ministry will present the Tax Laws Amendment Bill before Parliament for approval of the reforms ahead of the publication of the Finance Bill 2026.
“We have agreed with the President that low-income earners in this country should be given a reprieve. He has directed me to take it to Parliament. I don’t think there is any MP who will oppose that,” he said
“We have said the government should come for me and leave that person. Anybody earning Ksh.30,000 and below in Kenya should not pay PAYE. You pay zero.”
According to the National Exchequer, about 3,650,165 are salaried and 1.5 earn Ksh.30,000 and below.
CS Mbadi added that the Bill will also include a 5% PAYE reduction proposal for Kenyans earning between Ksh.30,000 and Ksh.50,000.
“We are reducing the tax rate by 5% to 25%. We are trying to put some money in your pockets,” he added.
This is in efforts to cushion low and middle-income Kenyans from high taxation and help them sustain themselves amid persistent cost-of-living pressures.
Currently, the PAYE tax cap affects Kenyans earning as low as Ksh.24,000, as experts have argued that easing the financial pressure on salaried workers could revive consumption and stabilise the economy weighed down by weak household demand.
