How to Apply for a KRA PIN

Lately, we have been getting lots of questions on KRA PIN. And today, we are privileged to host Michael, who has been working as an assistant in a busy cyber café assistant, to answer our questions related to the KRA PIN. He has helped at least hundreds, if not thousands of people through the KRA PIN application and recovery processes. He has dealt with the various situations and complications that tend to arise in the process of applying for (and recovering) KRA PINs. So he has quite a bit of knowledge that he can help us with, as we try to understand the KRA PIN application process. We will be trying to find answers to the most frequently asked questions about the KRA PIN: like what website one can apply for a KRA PIN from, what steps one needs to follow while applying for a KRA PIN, how to retrieve a lost KRA PIN… and so on.

Welcome, Bwana Michael.

Thank you for having me.

Perhaps you can start by telling us where one can apply for a KRA PIN. What are my options, if I want to apply for a KRA PIN, in terms of where I can do it?

Well, to the best of my understanding, you have three options in terms of where you can apply for a KRA PIN. 

The first option is where you can apply for a KRA PIN by yourself, in your home or office – if you have a computing device that is capable of accessing the Internet, and if you know how to use web-based applications such as KRA’s iTax application. 

The second option is that of applying for a KRA PIN at a cyber café. 

The third option is that of applying for a KRA PIN at KRA (Kenya Revenue Authority) offices. There may also be situations where you can get KRA PIN application assistance at a Huduma Center.

Thank you. Please advise us on how one can go about applying for a KRA PIN by himself at home or at the office.

Well, it is quite straightforward. So you just turn on your computing device – whether that happens to be a desktop computer, laptop or anything else. 

Then you launch the browser, you know, the application you usually use to access the Internet. That could be Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer… you get the drift eh?

Once the browser is on, go to the KRA iTax website – its address is simply itax.kra.go.ke. When you get to the KRA  iTax website, you will see somewhere where it says ‘Do you want to apply for a PIN?’ and below that is a button that says ‘Register’. Click on that button. 

On the page you are taken to, specify which type of taxpayer you are: like if you are an individual, select the ‘Individual’ option. Then under mode of application, you may select ‘Online Form’. Then click on the ‘Next’ Button. 

Carefully fill in the form on the page you are taken to, and by the end of it all, you will get a KRA PIN which you can start using straightaway.

Sounds easy enough. Now tell us how one can go about applying for a KRA PIN at a cyber café.

When it comes to applying for a KRA PIN at a cyber café, you have two options. If you know how to use web-based applications (such as KRA’s iTax application), you can go to a cyber café, take a position behind one of the computers, and proceed to apply for the KRA PIN by yourself, using the cyber café’s computers. In that case, the steps to follow would be similar to what we described in the earlier questions. So that is where you launch the browser, go to the iTax website (itax.kra.go.ke), click to indicate that you wish to ‘Register’ and proceed to fill in the necessary form.

 The other option is that of having a cyber café assistant help you through the process of applying for a KRA PIN. This option works very well if you don’t know how to use web-based applications, such as KRA’s iTAX application. So you just venture into a cyber café, inform the cyber café assistants that you want to apply for a KRA PIN, and they proceed to do so on your behalf. The most important thing here is to ensure that you take note of the email address they use in applying for the KRA PIN, as well as the KRA iTax password they create for you. Those things can be very important in the future, should you want to recover the KRA PIN/should you lose the KRA PIN certificate you got the first time.

What is the cyber café assistant likely to ask me, before applying for a KRA PIN on my behalf?

The cyber café assistant will want to know whether you have obtained a KRA PIN before. If you have obtained a KRA PIN before, then what he would be doing for you wouldn’t be 'applying' for a KRA PIN, but rather, recovering/reprinting a KRA PIN. It is important to understand that you can only have one KRA PIN. You may print/photocopy numerous KRA PIN certificates, but the KRA PIN itself is always one. 

Now if it emerges that you have indeed never obtained a KRA PIN before, the cyber café assistant will want to know whether you have an email address. If you don’t have an email address, he may create one for you, usually at a small extra cost. This usually applies for individuals who are not computer literate, and therefore don’t have email addresses. So the cyber café assistants have to create email addresses for such individuals, before proceeding to apply for KRA PINs on their behalf. Of course, the cyber café assistant -- if in doubt -- may ask you if you have the requisite cyber café fees for KRA PIN application.

Just for the sake of clarity, what is the website to visit, if one wishes to apply for a KRA PIN?

Oh, I thought it was too obvious to mention: the website to visit, if one wishes to apply for the KRA PIN is Kenya Revenue Authority’s iTax portal, which is accessible at itax.kra.go.ke.

How much does it cost to apply for a KRA PIN?

Well, my understanding is that the KRA itself doesn’t charge anything for KRA PIN registration. But if you are applying for a KRA PIN at a cyber café, then the cyber café assistants will charge you for the service rendered to you. The actual charges vary from place to place: with some cyber cafes charging as little as 200 Kenyan shillings for KRA application, whereas others charge as much as 500 shilings.  Of course, if you know how to use web-based applications (like the KRA iTAX application), and you proceed to apply for a KRA PIN for yourself at a cyber café using the cyber café’s computers, you would then only need to pay for the time spent in the exercise. So if you spend 50 minutes in the exercise, and the cyber café charges 1 shilling per minute, that would work out to 50 shillings? So, the bottomline is that the KRA doesn’t charge anything for the KRA PIN, but if you are applying at a cyber café, then you have to pay for the service. It is worth mentioning that having applied for a KRA PIN, you will be required to file tax returns annually thereafter – and that is something you also need to have at the back of your mind.

Does it make sense to have a KRA PIN certificate laminated?

Some cyber café assistants are likely to strongly recommend lamination of the KRA PIN certificate. That is because when the KRA PIN certificate is laminated, it gets the look of an important document, and the person handling it is likely to handle it with the care it deserves... 

You have to understand that some of the people who go to apply for KRA PINs at cyber cafés are individuals who may not remember the email addresses used in the application as well as the KRA iTax portal passwords given to them in the course of the application. So if they happen to lose the KRA PIN certificates, it can be very hectic recovering them. That is why they are encouraged to have their KRA PIN certificates laminated, so as to minimize the chances of the KRA PIN certificates getting lost or torn. 

In the old days, when KRA PINs used to be issued at KRA offices, they were not laminated, but they were usually printed in card-like papers that made them look as the important documents they really are. 

It is also important to understand that the cyber café assistants who recommend the lamination of KRA PIN certificates are driven by the profit motive. That is because the KRA PIN certificate lamination is usually done at an extra cost (different from the KRA PIN application cyber café fee), and that translates into an extra profit for them.

Do I need to carry my ID card while going to apply for a KRA PIN?

You will definitely be required to enter your ID card number while applying for a KRA PIN. You will also be required to enter the ID card’s place and date of issue. Now whereas most people have the ID card number committed to memory, very few people can remember the exact place and date of issue for the ID card. That is why it makes sense to have the ID card with you while going to apply for a KRA PIN – otherwise your KRA PIN application will get stuck when you are unable to provide ID card place and date of issue details that match those in the system.

Do I need to have an email address while going to apply for a KRA PIN?

At some point in the KRA PIN application form, you will be required to enter your email address. It is a mandatory field that has to be filled in. So, yeah, you really need to have an email address while applying for a KRA PIN. If you don’t have an email address, you can create one in a matter of minutes and proceed with the KRA PIN application. A KRA PIN application is unlikely to get stuck on account of lack of email address because it is so easy to create one on platforms such as Gmail and Yahoo Mail.

Do I need to have a phone to apply for a KRA PIN?

Well, one of the details that have to be entered in the KRA PIN application form is the mobile number (1) and your application would be stuck if you don’t have a phone number. Thankfully, a mobile SIM card costs as little as 50 to 100 bob – which means that you shouldn’t allow your KRA PIN application to get stuck on this account.

Why are so many people seeking to apply for KRA PIN nowadays?

To my mind, the main reason would be in the fact that the Kenyan government has become much keener with taxpayer registration. In practical terms, you find that there are things that you could do previously without a KRA PIN which now can’t be done without the credential. For instance, you find that many banks insist that you need to have a KRA PIN, before allowing you to open an account. You also find that many employers demand that you have a KRA PIN, before hiring you. Ot you have a situation where even if you are hired without a KRA PIN, most employers nowadays pay through bank accounts and to open a bank account, you need a KRA PIN. You also find that you need to have a KRA PIN before undertaking many types of transactions: like where, for instance, it can be very hard to buy a vehicle or a piece of land without a KRA PIN. So you find that the KRA PIN has become a very essential document, and that is why we are seeing an upsurge in the numbers of people seeking KRA PIN application help.

What are the benefits of having a KRA PIN?

Well, the KRA PIN is a document that can potentially open doors for you. In other words, if you don’t have a KRA PIN, there are some opportunities that may be out of reach for you. That is like where you find that you can’t open a bank account without a KRA PIN (yet there are so many individuals and organizations that won't pay you in cash. They only pay through bank account). Or where you find that some employers won’t hire you, unless you have a KRA PIN. And needless to say, government tenders would be out of reach for you, if you don’t have a KRA PIN... 

Now, of course, you have the option of applying for a KRA PIN when you are asked for it. But what if the KRA iTax system happens to be ‘down’ that day? So it becomes clear if you obtain a KRA PIN proactively, it is better. That way, whenever you are asked to produce it, you have it ready at hand.

Can my employer apply for a KRA PIN on my behalf?

Well, nowadays, most employers except their employees to apply for their own KRA PINs through iTax. Employees who are computer literate and know how to use web-based applications such as the KRA iTAX application are able to apply for themselves. Those who don’t know how to use such applications go to cyber cafes to apply for their KRA PINs with the cyber café assistants’ help. 

Even in the old days, before online KRA application was possible (via KRA iTax), the people seeking to apply for KRA PINs would usually have to visit the KRA offices in person for the same. So what the employer would typically do is grant you (as an employee ) a one or two day off to go to KRA offices to apply for a KRA PIN.

What type of information will have to provide while applying for a KRA PIN?

In the course of applying for a KRA PIN, you will be required to provide information about your citizenship: are you a Kenyan, non-Kenyan resident or non-Kenyan non-resident? If, for instance, you select to indicate that you are a Kenyan citizen, you will be required to provide further information about yourself, including your ID card number, your full names and your address. You will also have to provide information about the work you do: your profession or calling. Then you will have to provide information about your tax obligation details – mostly for things like income tax, value added tax (VAT) and turnover tax. A very critical bit of information you will be required to provide is with respect to your income sources: like if you have employment income, if you have business income and if you have rental income. On the KRA PIN application form, the fields that have to be filled in will be specially marked (say, with a red asterisk) so the whole thing is quite straightforward.

What next, after obtaining a KRA PIN?

Well, the most important thing is for you to ensure that you file your tax returns annually. You have to understand that the very act of applying for a KRA PIN translates into having registered as a taxpayer. Now that you have registered as a taxpayer, the next step is to ensure that you file your returns. Even if you have earned nothing, you are still expected to file nil returns. And you need to understand that you are at risk of being charged a penalty, if you fail to file your returns. So it is very important.

How do I go about applying for a KRA PIN for a company?

Uhm, the procedure you follow in applying for a KRA PIN for a company is similar to the procedure you follow in applying for a KRA PIN for an individual. So the first step is to go to the KRA iTAX portal – at itax.kra.go.ke. Once you are at the KRA iTax portal, you will see somewhere where it says ‘Do you Want to Apply for a PIN?’. Below that is a ‘Register’ button. Click on the ‘Register’ button. On the page you are taken to, under taxpayer type, select ‘Non Individual’. That is the most important thing. Then specify how you wish to register – like, for instance, by selecting the ‘Online Form’ option. Then click on the ‘Continue’ button.  Fill in the form in the page you are taken to and by the end of it all, you will have gotten a KRA PIN for your company.

What if I have lost my KRA PIN certificate (yet I am being asked for it somewhere)?

Well, this is where the whole question of KRA PIN recovery arises. It can be a straightforward issue or it can be a bit complicated, depending on what you can remember/what you took noted of during the original KRA PIN application. 

Like, for instance, if you can remember the email address through which the KRA PIN certificate was sent to you – that is, both the email address and the password -- then it is a very simple thing. You just log into that email account, click on the email through which the KRA PIN certificate was sent (if you didn’t delete it) and proceed to simply reprint the KRA PIN certificate for presentation to whoever wants it.

If you can’t remember the email through which the KRA PIN certificate was sent to you, but you remember your KRA iTAX password, you can still be in a position to recover your KRA PIN. You would just need to go the iTAX portal (itax.kra.go.ke), and once there, you will see somewhere where it says ‘Do you have a PIN’ and below that is a space for you to enter the PIN number or user ID. So enter the user ID, then click on the ‘Continue’ button. On the next screen, enter your KRA iTAX password. Then, once you are logged in, put your mouse over the ‘Registration’ main menu item, and then click on the ‘Reprint PIN certificate’ option. There, you would have your KRA PIN certificate again!

If you can’t remember the login credentials for the email address you used in applying for the KRA PIN, and you also don’t remember your KRA iTax login credentials, then it gets slightly more complicated. Your options would be to talk to the KRA people, and try to get assistance from them that way. Thankfully, KRA nowadays has a call center with people who are quite helpful. So you can reach the KRA call center through facebook (facebook.com/kracare), through Twitter (@KRACare) and through email (callcenter@kra.go.ke). Tell the about your predicament, and they would assist you – of course after verifying that you are indeed the owner of the KRA PIN you are trying to recover.