SHIF is 2.75% of gross pay, with a KES 300 minimum.
Monthly SHIF
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Annual SHIF
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Effective rate
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The deduction that replaced NHIF on your payslip
If you noticed a new line on your payslip and a slightly smaller net pay sometime after late 2024, this is usually why. The Social Health Insurance Fund, run under the Social Health Authority, took over from the old National Hospital Insurance Fund as the country's mandatory health contribution. The structure changed in a way that matters for your pocket: instead of NHIF's fixed bands that capped what top earners paid, SHIF is a straight percentage of your gross salary. This calculator turns your monthly gross into the SHIF deduction and shows what it adds up to over a year.
It is built for any salaried employee in Kenya who wants to know exactly what is coming off for health cover, and for employers and payroll staff who have to compute and remit it. If you are self-employed or outside formal employment, you still fall within the scheme but the contribution basis can work differently, so treat the figures here as the employee-on-gross-salary case.
A flat percentage with a floor and no ceiling
The rule the calculator applies is 2.75 percent of your gross monthly salary, subject to a minimum of KES 300 a month. There are two features worth sitting with. First, there is no upper cap. Under the old NHIF, the highest earners paid a fixed top-band amount no matter how much they made. SHIF removed that ceiling, so somebody earning KES 500,000 pays 2.75 percent on the whole lot, which is a much larger sum than NHIF ever took. Second, the KES 300 floor only matters for low earners. Because 2.75 percent of KES 10,909 is almost exactly KES 300, the minimum only bites below roughly that salary level. Above it, the percentage always wins. Both the rate and the minimum sit in recently introduced rules, so confirm the current figures with the Kenya Revenue Authority or the Social Health Authority before relying on them.
SHIF on a 60,000 salary
Take the tool's default of KES 60,000 gross a month. The percentage clears the floor comfortably, so the calculation is a single multiplication, then a times-twelve to annualise.
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The chart below shows the monthly SHIF contribution and the remaining take-home before other deductions.
A relief that softens the cost
There is a silver lining worth knowing. SHIF contributions qualify for insurance relief, a tax credit set at 15 percent of qualifying premiums in the rules this site models. That means part of what you pay for SHIF can come back to you by reducing your PAYE, so the true cost of the deduction is a little lower than the headline 2.75 percent suggests. The relief is capped, and the interaction between SHIF, PAYE, and the relief cap has been evolving, so do not assume the full 15 percent always flows through. A common misunderstanding is treating SHIF as a tax. It is not a tax in the ordinary sense; it is a contribution that funds your health cover, and the benefit you get is access to that cover rather than nothing in return.
One practical edge case to flag: if your pay swings month to month, perhaps because of variable allowances or commission, your SHIF will swing with it, since it is recalculated on each month's gross. Budget for the deduction to rise in your high-earning months rather than assuming a flat figure.
Does my employer also pay a SHIF amount for me?
SHIF is structured as an employee contribution deducted from your salary, unlike the Housing Levy where the employer matches your 1.5 percent. So the 2.75 percent shown here is borne by you, not split with your employer. Your employer's role is to deduct it and remit it on time. If you want to see how SHIF stacks alongside NSSF, the Housing Levy, and PAYE in your overall deductions, a full take-home calculator is the better tool.
Will paying SHIF every month actually get me treatment when I need it?
SHIF is the mechanism that funds your entitlement under the national scheme, and staying current on contributions is generally what keeps you and your registered dependants covered. The specifics of what is covered, waiting periods, and how to register dependants are administered by the Social Health Authority rather than set by this calculator, so check the current benefit package and registration rules directly with the SHA.