Unit trust growth net of fees and withholding tax.
Value after tax
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Total contributions
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Gross growth
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WHT on income
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What a unit trust is, and who should use this tool
A unit trust pools money from many Kenyan savers and invests it in a mix of bonds, treasury bills, equities, or money market instruments, depending on the fund. You buy units, the fund manager invests on your behalf, and your stake grows as the underlying assets earn interest, dividends, and capital appreciation. This calculator is for anyone running a monthly contribution into a fund and wanting an honest projection of where it lands after the two things that quietly erode returns: the annual management fee and the tax taken on the income the fund earns.
It suits the saver building a goal over several years, school fees, a deposit, a retirement top-up, rather than someone trading in and out. The model assumes you keep contributing every month and stay invested for the full term, because that steady compounding is exactly where unit trusts do their best work.
How the projection treats fees and tax
The mechanics here are deliberately conservative. First the calculator subtracts the management fee from your gross annual return, so a fund quoting 10 percent with a 1.5 percent fee compounds at a net 8.5 percent. That net rate is applied monthly to your opening balance and to each contribution as it lands. Then, on the total growth at the end of the term, it applies a 15 percent withholding tax to approximate the tax the fund suffers on its income.
That tax assumption deserves a word, because Kenyan funds are taxed at source on different income types. Interest income generally carries a 15 percent withholding tax and dividends a 5 percent withholding tax, both treated as a final tax for resident investors, which is the structure the KRA applies. This tool uses the single 15 percent interest rate across all the growth as a cautious estimate, which slightly overstates the tax on a dividend-heavy or capital-gains-heavy fund. Treat the after-tax figure as a careful lower bound rather than a precise number, and confirm the current withholding rates with the KRA, since they have shifted across recent Finance Acts.
KES 5,000 a month for eight years, projected
Suppose you start with KES 50,000, add KES 5,000 every month, expect a 10 percent gross return, pay a 1.5 percent management fee, and stay invested for eight years. The fund therefore compounds at a net 8.5 percent. Using the rates this calculator applies, here is how it resolves.
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The chart in the results panel shows the after-tax pot split into the money you put in and the money the fund earned for you, with the slice the taxman takes marked off the growth.
A tip worth more than it looks. The management fee is small per year but ruthless over time. Drop the fee in this example from 1.5 percent to 0.5 percent and the net return rises a full percentage point, which over eight years of compounding adds tens of thousands of shillings to the final pot. When two funds chase the same assets, the cheaper one usually wins on the only number that reaches your pocket.
Are unit trust withdrawals taxed again when I cash out?
For a resident, the withholding tax the fund suffers on interest and dividends is generally a final tax, so you are not taxed a second time on that income when you redeem your units. Gains within the fund are a separate matter and depend on the assets held. This calculator models tax inside the fund only and does not add a redemption tax. Confirm the treatment for your specific fund and tax status with the KRA or your fund manager.
Why does the after-tax figure feel lower than the headline return promised?
Because the headline return is gross, and three things sit between it and your balance: the management fee shaves the compounding rate every year, withholding tax takes a cut of the income, and inflation erodes the real spending power of what is left. This tool handles the first two explicitly. For the third, run the result through a separate inflation or real-return view to see what the pot is worth in today's money.
Should I use a lump sum or monthly contributions?
The maths rewards getting money invested sooner, so a lump sum you already hold beats drip-feeding the same amount. But most people do not have a lump sum, and monthly contributions enforce a savings discipline while smoothing your average buy price across market ups and downs. Use the initial investment field for cash on hand and the monthly field for what you can commit from each payslip.