SACCO share dividends and deposit interest, net of tax.
Total net payout
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Net share dividend
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Deposit interest
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Dividend WHT (5%)
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Two payouts from one membership
Belonging to a SACCO usually means your money sits in two different pockets, and each one pays you in its own way. Your share capital, the buy-in that makes you a member-owner, earns a dividend declared once a year out of the society's surplus. Your deposits, the savings you build up to qualify for loans, earn interest. They are taxed differently and announced separately, so the headline "my SACCO paid 12 percent" can mean two quite different things. This calculator pulls the two apart, applies the right tax to each, and shows the combined cash you actually receive.
The split matters because members often mix the two up and either over or underestimate what is coming. Dividends reward ownership and are paid on shares. Interest, sometimes called interest on deposits or a deposit rebate, rewards saving and is paid on your deposit balance. A member with a large deposit balance but modest shares earns most of their return as interest, and vice versa, so the same overall sum can be taxed quite differently depending on how it is divided.
The one tax this tool applies, and the rates it does not set
There is a single tax in play here, and it is a clean one. The dividend on your shares carries withholding tax, deducted by the SACCO before the money reaches you, at the rate this calculator applies of 5 percent. For most members that withholding is final, meaning there is nothing further to pay on the dividend at filing. The deposit interest is shown in full in this tool. Treat the 5 percent as the figure modelled here and confirm the current SACCO dividend withholding position with the Kenya Revenue Authority, since withholding rates have been adjusted by recent Finance Acts. By contrast, the dividend rate and interest rate you type in are not statutory at all. Each SACCO declares its own rates at its annual general meeting, and they vary year to year with the society's performance, so use last year's figures only as a guide and replace them with your SACCO's actual declaration when you have it.
A member with KES 200,000 in shares and KES 500,000 in deposits
Take a member holding KES 200,000 of share capital and KES 500,000 of deposits, whose SACCO declares a 12 percent dividend on shares and 8 percent interest on deposits. The 5 percent withholding bites only on the share dividend.
| Step | Working | KES |
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The member receives KES 62,800 in total. Notice how small the tax is in the scheme of things: just KES 1,200 of withholding on a combined return of KES 64,000. The live chart in the results panel above shows the two income streams stacked, with the thin tax slice off the dividend.
Where reality can diverge from the estimate
A few real-world wrinkles sit outside this calculation, and knowing them keeps you from being surprised. First, many SACCOs do not pay your dividend and interest as cash. They often plough part of it straight back into your shares or deposits, growing next year's base instead of hitting your bank account, so the "payout" can be a paper credit. Second, the interest shown here is gross; some societies and instruments attract their own withholding on interest, so confirm with your SACCO whether what you see is before or after any deduction. Third, a member who also earns large interest elsewhere may have a wider tax picture than this single tool captures.
The common mistake is comparing SACCOs purely on the headline dividend rate. A 14 percent dividend on a tiny share requirement can be worth less in shillings than a 10 percent dividend at a society that demands larger shareholding, and the interest rate on deposits often matters more for your total return than the dividend does. Look at the combined net figure this tool produces, in shillings, rather than chasing the biggest percentage. Because the withholding treatment can change with each Finance Act, and because every SACCO sets its own rates, confirm the current position with the KRA and your society before relying on the number.
Is the 5 percent withholding on my SACCO dividend the final tax?
For most resident members, yes, the withholding deducted on the share dividend is treated as a final tax, so there is typically nothing more to pay on it when you file. That is why the tool shows the net dividend as money in hand. Your wider circumstances can occasionally change this, and withholding rules shift with Finance Acts, so confirm the current treatment with the KRA if your income is substantial.
Why is no tax shown on my deposit interest?
This calculator deliberately shows deposit interest in full and applies withholding only to the share dividend, because the dividend withholding is the clear, consistent deduction across SACCOs. Interest treatment varies more by society and instrument, with some applying their own withholding and some not, so the tool leaves it gross and asks you to confirm with your SACCO rather than guessing a rate that may not apply to you.