Combined PAYE across two jobs.
Correct combined PAYE
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If each applies relief
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Monthly shortfall
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Annual shortfall
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Personal relief is yours once, not per employer
Every resident employee in Kenya gets personal relief, a flat tax credit that the rate this calculator applies sets at KES 2,400 a month. It is what makes roughly the first KES 24,000 of monthly pay effectively tax-free, because PAYE on that slice at the lowest band comes to about the same KES 2,400 the relief wipes out. The credit attaches to you as a taxpayer, not to each payslip. Hold two jobs and you are still entitled to exactly one lot of personal relief, not two. This is the quiet rule that trips up people who take on a second salaried role, and it is precisely what this tool exists to expose.
The problem is that each employer runs its own payroll in isolation. Employer A does not know about Employer B. Left to themselves, both will helpfully apply the KES 2,400 relief, so between them they hand you KES 4,800 of relief when the law allows only KES 2,400. You enjoy slightly fatter take-home through the year, then meet a tax bill you did not budget for when you file. These figures and the PAYE bands behind them are the ones the calculator models under the current regime, and because the bands and the relief amount are reset by Finance Acts, confirm the live numbers with the Kenya Revenue Authority before relying on them.
Two jobs at KES 80,000 and KES 40,000
Suppose Job A pays KES 80,000 a month and Job B pays KES 40,000, a combined KES 120,000. The correct PAYE works out on the full KES 120,000 with relief applied once. The wrong version, where each employer subtracts the relief, undercharges you. The gap is the shortfall you must settle. All figures use the bands and the KES 2,400 relief this calculator applies.
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The chart shows the two PAYE figures side by side. The shorter bar is what your two payrolls take if each applies relief, and the slice above it, in grey, is the tax that quietly goes unpaid each month until you reconcile.
How to stop the shortfall building
The fix is administrative and simple. Tell your second employer not to apply personal relief, so only your main employer claims the KES 2,400. Better still, ask the lower-paying employer to deduct PAYE on your second salary as if it sat on top of your main income, at the marginal band rather than starting fresh from the lowest band. That way the right tax is taken month by month and you owe little or nothing at filing. Either way, name your main job as the one that carries the relief, usually the higher-paying one, and keep the instruction in writing with the payroll team.
A common mistake and who this is for
The mistake that hurts most is treating the second salary as clean money. Because both payrolls under-deduct, the extra job feels more generous than it is, and people commit the apparent surplus to spending. Then the annual return lands and, in this example, KES 91,400 is suddenly due in one go. Set aside the monthly shortfall the tool shows and the bill becomes a non-event. This calculator is for anyone holding two concurrent jobs, for moonlighters adding a salaried side role, and for HR or payroll staff explaining to a new joiner why their take-home should not be as high as a naive payslip suggests. Note that this models two salaried employments under PAYE. If your second income is freelance or consultancy rather than employment, the picture changes, since that income is taxed differently and may carry its own withholding.
Which job should keep the personal relief?
By default the relief stays with your main employment, which is normally the higher-paying one, and the second employer is told to drop it. It does not change the total tax due either way, since you are only ever entitled to one relief. Putting it on the higher salary simply keeps the monthly deductions tidiest. What matters is that exactly one employer applies the KES 2,400 the calculator models, not both.
Will the KRA know I have two jobs?
Yes, increasingly so. Each employer files PAYE returns against your KRA PIN, so two sets of filings under the same PIN reveal the dual employment when your annual return is assessed. That is exactly when an under-deduction surfaces as a balance due. Rather than waiting for it, settle the shortfall this tool estimates, or have the second job deduct the correct amount from the start, and confirm the position with the KRA if your pay structure is unusual.