More Kenyans are now filing their nil tax returns through the government’s eCitizen portal than via the Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) iTax system, reflecting growing frustration with the taxman’s legacy online platform.
For the first time, KRA this year allowed nil returns – filed by those with no income in the year – to be submitted via eCitizen to ease access and boost compliance, which has consistently lagged.
As of early June, about 12 million taxpayers had filed nil returns through eCitizen, compared to just two million via iTax, according to KRA Deputy Commissioner for Taxpayer Services Patience Njau.
“The KRA platform is designed for tax services, not for the normal citizen. That’s why most people struggle with it,” said Ms Njau.
“We’re working on improving the iTax portal, but we realised that even if we simplify it as much as possible, just the fact that it is a tax portal scares people away. On eCitizen, it’s very simple.”
The shift underscores the longstanding challenges many Kenyans face navigating iTax, which was launched in 2011 to replace manual filing but has often driven users to cyber cafés and tax agents for help—even for simple tasks such as nil returns.
The iTax platform has always involved a rigorous sign in process, including solving an arithmetic problem to prove humanity, and in most cases changing the password and security questions frequently.
In contrast, eCitizen requires only a national identification number and a phone number to sign in, with a one-time password (OTP) sent to the phone or email address for verification.
According to Ms Njau, Kenyans have been complaining of the tedious process of using iTax, with annual compliance on returns filing consistently falling short by about 20 percent.
“This year, we are on course to surpass the 83 percent compliance rate we recorded last year, due to the simplification of the process,” Ms Njau said.
KRA launched eCitizen-based tax services this year to expand access and boost compliance.
In addition to nil returns, the platform now supports checking tax compliance status, generating compliance certificates, viewing tax statements, and making income and VAT payments for individuals and businesses.
Although eCitizen now hosts over 5,000 government services, the Auditor-General has consistently raised concerns about the platform’s governance, warning of inadequate State control despite it holding vast troves of citizens’ personal data.
KRA says it joined the platform because eCitizen is the primary portal for government services, and its own services will remain free, even though most others attract a fee—part of which goes to the private company that operates the platform.
