Take-home on the regulated minimum wage.
Monthly net pay
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NSSF
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SHIF
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Housing Levy
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PAYE
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Why a minimum-wage payslip needs its own calculator
Plenty of payslip tools assume a comfortable salary and quietly show a big PAYE figure. At the bottom of the wage scale, the picture is different, and getting it wrong matters most to the people who can least afford a surprise. The lowest-paid worker in Kenya still has statutory deductions taken at source, but the income tax line is usually zero. This tool defaults to the general Nairobi minimum wage, which the calculator sets at about KES 15,202 a month, and shows exactly what lands in the worker's hand after the deductions that genuinely apply. The minimum wage itself is set by government order, not by the KRA, and it differs by region and job grade, so treat the default as the Nairobi general rate and confirm the order that covers your role.
The four deductions, and why PAYE is the small one
Four lines come off a Kenyan payslip before take-home. The calculator applies NSSF pension at 6 percent of pensionable pay, SHIF health at 2.75 percent of gross, the Affordable Housing Levy at 1.5 percent of gross, and then PAYE on what is left. The reason PAYE comes out at zero on the minimum wage is the personal relief. Every resident gets a monthly tax credit, set in this tool at KES 2,400, and since the first band of tax is 10 percent, that credit wipes out the tax on the first KES 24,000 of taxable pay. A minimum-wage earner sits well below that line, so the income tax due is fully cancelled by the relief.
A worked payslip on the Nairobi minimum wage
Running the default KES 15,202 through the rates this calculator applies gives the breakdown below. NSSF takes 6 percent split across its two earnings tiers, SHIF takes 2.75 percent of gross, and the Housing Levy takes 1.5 percent of gross. Taxable pay falls to roughly KES 13,643, the tax on it is comfortably smaller than the KES 2,400 relief, so PAYE is nil. Take-home settles near KES 13,643.
| Line | Amount (KES) |
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Figures rounded to the nearest shilling, so the deduction lines may not add to the exact net.
Where the take-home shifts as pay rises
The zero-PAYE result holds only while taxable pay stays under the relief ceiling. Once gross climbs past roughly KES 27,000 or so, taxable pay crosses the KES 24,000 mark and a thin slice of 10 percent tax starts to bite after relief. NSSF also has a ceiling: it stops growing once pensionable pay reaches the upper earnings limit, capping the employee share at KES 6,480 a month under the tiered structure this tool uses. SHIF and the Housing Levy, by contrast, are flat percentages with no cap, so they keep rising with every shilling of gross. Knowing which deductions plateau and which do not helps you read any future raise correctly.
Who should lean on this tool
It is built for low-wage employees checking that an employer has deducted fairly, for small businesses budgeting the true cost of a junior hire, and for anyone negotiating an entry-level offer who wants the net rather than the headline gross. A common error is to forget the employer also pays a matching 1.5 percent Housing Levy and a matching NSSF contribution on top of the wage, so the cost to the business is higher than the gross alone. The rates here follow the post-2024 payroll regime, but minimum-wage orders and statutory rates have both moved recently, so confirm the current figures with the KRA and the relevant wage order before relying on them.
Is the minimum wage the same across Kenya?
No. Kenya sets minimum wages by region and by occupation, with Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu on the higher general rate and other towns and rural areas lower. There are also separate scales for specific sectors such as agriculture and domestic work. This calculator defaults to the Nairobi general rate, so adjust the gross field to your applicable wage order if you are elsewhere or in a scheduled occupation.
Do casual and part-time workers face the same deductions?
The statutory framework is broadly the same once someone is in formal employment, but very short casual engagements can be treated differently, and SHIF in particular has a minimum monthly contribution of KES 300 that applies even on tiny pay. If you work irregular hours, your monthly deductions can look uneven from one payslip to the next, so check each statement against the gross actually earned that month.