Payroll software in Kenya
Payroll software in Kenya
PayrollMaster Africa is payroll software for Kenyan employers. It calculates PAYE, NSSF, SHIF and the Affordable Housing Levy on every payslip, files the monthly returns with KRA, and pays staff in Kenyan shillings. Kenyan companies use it to run compliant payroll without hiring a dedicated payroll specialist.
Compliance
What must a Kenyan employer deduct from every payslip?
5 statutory items, collected by 4 different bodies. PayrollMaster calculates each one on the same payslip.
Kenyan employers pay monthly, usually on or before the last working day. Since December 2024, SHIF and the housing levy are allowable deductions that reduce taxable pay before PAYE is calculated — which changes net pay even when no headline rate moves.
| Deduction | Authority | Paid by | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| PAYE Pay As You Earn | Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) | Employee | Graduated 10%–35% across five monthly bands, with personal relief of KES 2,400 per month Source · in force from 2023-07-01 |
| NSSF National Social Security Fund | National Social Security Fund (NSSF) | Employer + employee | 6% employee + 6% employer, on pensionable pay up to KES 108,000/month (Year 4 rates) Source · in force from 2026-02-01 |
| SHIF Social Health Insurance Fund | Social Health Authority (SHA) | Employee | 2.75% of gross pay, minimum KES 300/month, no upper cap Source · in force from 2024-10-01 |
| Housing Levy Affordable Housing Levy | Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) | Employer + employee | 1.5% employee + 1.5% employer of gross pay, no cap Source · in force from 2024-03-19 Sources disagree. In force under the Affordable Housing Act 2024, which the High Court upheld. A consolidated constitutional challenge was heard by a five-judge Court of Appeal bench on 19 January 2026 and, as at 14 July 2026, no judgment has been published. The levy stands until one is. This is the only genuinely unresolved rate on the site. |
| NITA levy National Industrial Training Levy | National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) | Employer | KES 50 per employee per month, employer-paid Source Sources disagree. Remittance frequency is unclear: the levy is quoted per employee per month but reported by some sources as payable annually. |
Rates last reviewed 2026-07-14 against Kenya Revenue Authority and other official sources. Where authorities genuinely conflict, both readings are shown rather than resolved. Statutory rates change with every finance act — confirm current figures with a local practitioner before relying on them. PayrollMaster applies the current rates centrally, so your payroll run does not depend on this table being fresh.
What we solve
What PayrollMaster does for Kenyan payroll teams
Compliance is table stakes. What makes Kenyan teams switch is everything around it — the casual workers, the staff loans, the leave, and the questions that land on HR every payday.
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Multi-country payroll
One account, one process, and each market’s statutory rules kept current for you.
For Kenya, that means PAYE, NSSF, SHIF, Housing Levy, NITA levy applied on every payslip and filed with KRA.
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Casual & gig workforce
Casuals paid correctly and compliantly, on the same run as everyone else.
Kenyan casual workers are checked against local minimum-wage floors, with sub-monthly PAYE and any withholding tax handled automatically.
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Payroll for accounting firms
Every client’s payroll in one place, switchable in a click, visible at a glance.
Manage Kenya clients alongside the rest of your book, each on Kenya’s own statutory rules.
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Statutory compliance
When the law changes, you do nothing — your next run is already right.
In Kenya, PayrollMaster tracks PAYE, NSSF, SHIF, Housing Levy, NITA levy and the KRA filing calendar for you.
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Staff loans & advances
Loans issued, deducted and tracked to zero without a side spreadsheet.
Deductions run on the Kenya payroll cycle and show on each employee’s Kenya payslip.
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Employee self-service
The payroll questions stop reaching your inbox.
Kenyan employees see their statutory deductions itemised, on the phone they already own.
What we have
Everything in the Kenya payroll platform
Fifteen areas, one system, for Kenya. Not a feature list bolted on — the platform a payroll team actually runs on.
Payroll
Run a pay cycle end to end, at any size.
Payroll engine
A full pay run, calculated in one click.
Pay components
Any earning, deduction or contribution, your way.
Payslips
Payslips your way, delivered for you.
Approvals
One inbox for every sign-off.
Compliance
Statutory rules, returns and reports that hold up to an audit.
Statutory compliance
Statutory rules that update themselves.
In Kenya, PayrollMaster applies PAYE, NSSF, SHIF, Housing Levy, NITA levy and produces the returns KRA expects.
Reports & analytics
The numbers your accountant asks for.
People
The whole employee record, leave and self-service.
Employee management
The whole employee record, in one place.
Leave & holidays
Leave balances that count themselves.
Employee self-service
The questions stop reaching your inbox.
Flexible workforce
Casual and gig payroll, loans and advances.
Casual & gig payroll
Casual and gig workers on the same platform.
Kenyan casual workers are paid against local minimum-wage floors, with sub-monthly PAYE handled correctly.
Loans & advances
Staff loans that reconcile themselves.
Platform
Integrations, agencies, security and the things that scale.
Accounting integrations
Payroll lands in the system you already run.
Multi-company & agencies
Run payroll for every client from one account.
Security & access
The most sensitive data you hold, treated that way.
Platform
Localised, branded and built to grow into.
Pricing in Kenya
What does payroll software cost in Kenya?
PayrollMaster is priced per employee per month and billed in Kenyan shillings (KES). There is no setup fee, and statutory filing with Kenya Revenue Authority is included rather than charged per submission.
See all plansQuestions
Payroll in Kenya: common questions
Is PayrollMaster KRA compliant?
Yes. PayrollMaster calculates PAYE using KRA’s current graduated bands, applies personal relief, and produces the monthly PAYE return in the format KRA’s iTax system expects. Statutory deductions for NSSF, SHIF and the Affordable Housing Levy are calculated on the same payslip and remitted together.
Does PayrollMaster handle SHIF now that NHIF has been replaced?
Yes. SHIF replaced NHIF as Kenya’s statutory health deduction in October 2024, and PayrollMaster deducts SHIF on every payslip and remits it to the Social Health Authority. If your payroll still produces an NHIF line, it is producing an incorrect payslip.
How much does payroll software cost in Kenya?
PayrollMaster charges per employee per month, billed in Kenyan shillings, with no setup fee. A 25-person Kenyan company pays less than the cost of outsourcing payroll to a local accounting firm, and the price includes statutory filing rather than charging separately for it.
Can PayrollMaster pay employees into Kenyan bank accounts and M-Pesa?
Yes. PayrollMaster calculates net pay in Kenyan shillings and records each employee’s payment method — bank, mobile money, cash or cheque, with multiple accounts and salary splits — then tracks the status of every payment on the run. Payslips are generated and emailed in bulk, and no run is final without an authorised approval.
Run Kenyan payroll without the spreadsheet
Start free and run one real Kenya month — the deductions, the payslips, and the filing that comes out of it. Compare it against whatever you use today before you switch anything.