WHT an appointed agent deducts on rent for immovable property.
WHT deducted
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WHT rate
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Net rent to landlord
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The appointed-agent system, explained simply
Rent withholding tax in Kenya only exists because the KRA found that taxing scattered individual landlords directly was leaky. So it appoints agents, often property management companies or large tenants, who must deduct tax from the rent they pay over and remit it on the landlord's behalf. If you are a landlord with an appointed agent, you do not receive the full rent; the agent skims a fixed percentage first. This calculator models that deduction and shows the net rent that actually lands in the landlord's account.
The rate the calculator applies is 10 percent of the gross rent for a resident landlord and 30 percent for a non-resident, on immovable property such as a house, shop or office. Those are the figures in the tool and they reflect the established rent withholding structure, but withholding rates are revisited in successive Finance Acts, so confirm the current rate with the KRA before relying on it for a real payment.
The detail residents miss: it is a credit, not the final bill
For a resident landlord the 10 percent is not a separate tax on top of everything else. It is an advance against the monthly rental income tax, the MRI, which is charged at 7.5 percent of gross rent. Here is the part that surprises people: the rate withheld, 10 percent, is actually higher than the 7.5 percent tax ultimately due on that rent. So the deduction often overshoots the real liability, and the surplus is not lost. It is set against the MRI and any excess is refunded or carried forward when the landlord reconciles their position with the KRA.
A KES 100,000 monthly rent, resident landlord
Take a resident landlord whose agent collects KES 100,000 a month in rent. Using the resident rate this calculator applies, the agent deducts as follows.
| Item | Amount |
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The agent sends KES 90,000 to the landlord and KES 10,000 to the KRA. But the landlord's real rental tax on that rent is only KES 7,500, so KES 2,500 has been withheld over the true bill and can be reclaimed or offset. Switch the landlord to non-resident and the picture changes entirely: 30 percent on KES 100,000 is KES 30,000, leaving KES 70,000, and for a non-resident that 30 percent is a final tax with no reconciliation against MRI.
Rent WHT is not the same as commercial VAT
A common mix-up is treating this deduction as the only tax touching a rental. It is not. Commercial property rent can also attract VAT at the standard rate of 16 percent where the landlord is registered, which is a separate charge added to the rent rather than withheld from it. Residential rent is treated differently. The takeaway is that this calculator handles the income tax withholding piece only; if you let commercial space, check the VAT position with the KRA as well, because the two interact.
Does every landlord have rent withheld?
No. The deduction applies where the KRA has appointed an agent to withhold on a landlord's rent. A landlord renting directly to a tenant with no appointed agent in the chain would not have rent withheld this way, and would instead account for the 7.5 percent MRI themselves. Where an agent is appointed, the obligation to deduct sits firmly with that agent.
Why withhold 10 percent if the tax is only 7.5 percent?
The withholding rate is set deliberately above the MRI rate so the KRA captures the tax with a cushion, accepting that many landlords will be due a small refund or credit at reconciliation. It is a collection mechanism, not the final measure of what is owed, which is exactly why keeping your withholding certificates matters for claiming the difference back.
Is the non-resident 30 percent really final?
For rent on immovable property paid to a non-resident, the 30 percent withheld is generally treated as a final tax, meaning there is no further Kenyan return to file on that rental income and no reconciliation against MRI. A non-resident should still check whether a double taxation agreement between Kenya and their country of residence alters the position.