KRA hits Sh1 trillion revenue mark a month ahead of schedule

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has collected Sh1.010 trillion in revenue by October 2026 to hit the Sh1 trillion mark a month earlier than in previous financial years.

In a statement on Thursday, November 5, the authority attributed the performance to improved collections from domestic taxes and Customs, as it targets Sh3.268 trillion by the end of the 2026/2027 financial year.

KRA also exceeded its October revenue target, collecting Sh260.630 billion against a target of Sh258.304 billion. This represented a performance rate of 100.9 per cent and a surplus of Sh2.327 billion.

October collections grew by 15.5 per cent compared to the same month last year, when revenue growth stood at 8 per cent. In October 2024, growth was 6.5 per cent.

Domestic revenue accounted for the largest share, raising Sh165.447 billion against a target of Sh164.110 billion. This represented a surplus of Sh1.337 billion and growth of 18.1 per cent compared to October last year.

The performance was driven by above-target collections across several tax categories, including Domestic Value Added Tax (VAT), Excise Duty, Corporation Tax, Individual Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and Stamp Duty.

Domestic Excise Duty exceeded its target for the first time in a long period, recording a surplus of Sh945 million and growth of 54.1 per cent.

KRA attributed the increase to higher remittances from manufacturers of keg beer, premium beer, wine and spirits and tobacco products, which recorded respective growth rates of 0.3 per cent, 43.5 per cent, 110.8 per cent and 94.1 per cent.

The growth in premium beer, wine and spirits and tobacco collections was attributed to increased deliveries.

However, remittances from manufacturers of soft drinks and bottled water declined by 4.8 per cent and 96.4 per cent, respectively. KRA attributed the drop in bottled water collections to policy changes.

On the Customs side, collections reached Sh94.793 billion in October, the highest monthly revenue collection in KRA's history. This surpassed the previous record of Sh92.527 billion recorded in July 2026.

Customs exceeded its October target by Sh1.009 billion, representing a performance rate of 101.1 per cent and growth of 11.3 per cent compared to the same period in the previous financial year.

The performance was driven by non-oil taxes, which recorded a surplus of Sh7.243 billion and growth of 26 per cent.

Corporation Tax collections reached Sh23.932 billion against a target of Sh20.077 billion, representing a performance rate of 119.2 per cent and growth of 31.6 per cent.

The electricity, manufacturing, transportation and wholesale sectors accounted for approximately 81 per cent of Corporation Tax collections in October.

The four sectors recorded average instalment tax growth of 38.1 per cent during the month, compared to cumulative growth of 35.9 per cent between July and October 2026.

Domestic VAT collections also exceeded the October target, raising Sh33.367 billion against a target of Sh33.323 billion. This represented a surplus of Sh45 million and growth of 22.1 per cent.

Gross domestic VAT growth accelerated to 21.9 per cent in September and October, up from 12.2 per cent in July and August 2026.