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KenyaTax

Payroll

Contractor and consultant payments register

Record payments to contractors and consultants, work out the tax to withhold and track which certificates you have issued.

Contractor and consultant payments register template

People who are not on your payroll are paid differently, and tax may have to be withheld from what you pay them. This register records each invoice, applies the withholding rate for the type of service, shows the net amount to pay and tracks whether the withholding certificate has been issued.

Small businesses that hire freelancers, consultants and contractors, and accountants who must remit withholding tax on time.

What is included

  • Withholding rate chosen by the type of service
  • Tax withheld and net amount payable
  • Certificate issued or outstanding
  • Total withholding to remit at the top
  • Summary of tax withheld by type of service

Screenshots

  • Contractor and consultant payments of Contractor and consultant payments register
  • Tax withheld by type of service of Contractor and consultant payments register

How to use it

  1. Check the withholding rates on the Rates sheet against KRA's current table.
  2. Record each invoice with its date, the contractor, the type of service and the amount before VAT.
  3. Read the tax to withhold and the net amount to pay.
  4. Mark the certificate as issued once you have given it to the contractor.

Templates are tools to help with your own records. They are not tax or legal advice. Check the figures against official sources before filing or paying.

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What the contractor and consultant payments register does

People who are not on your payroll are paid differently, and tax may have to be withheld from what you pay them. This register records each invoice, applies the withholding rate for the type of service, shows the net amount to pay and tracks whether the withholding certificate has been issued.

Who it is for

Small businesses that hire freelancers, consultants and contractors, and accountants who must remit withholding tax on time.

How to use the workbook

  1. Check the withholding rates on the Rates sheet against KRA's current table.
  2. Record each invoice with its date, the contractor, the type of service and the amount before VAT.
  3. Read the tax to withhold and the net amount to pay.
  4. Mark the certificate as issued once you have given it to the contractor.
  5. Save a copy under a new name for each month or year, so earlier records stay as they were.

What is inside

  • Withholding rate chosen by the type of service
  • Tax withheld and net amount payable
  • Certificate issued or outstanding
  • Total withholding to remit at the top
  • Summary of tax withheld by type of service

The workbook has these sheets: Instructions, Payments, By service, Rates. The main table has the columns Date; Contractor; Type of service; Invoice amount (before VAT); Withholding rate; Tax withheld; Net amount payable; Certificate issued. Yellow cells are for you to fill in and grey cells calculate by themselves, so leave the grey cells alone. The example rows show how it works; type over them with your own entries.

Tips for getting it right

  • Withholding tax is remitted to KRA by the 20th of the following month.
  • Ask every contractor for their PIN and keep it with the invoice.
  • Confirm the correct rate for each service before you pay.
  • Give each contractor a certificate so they can claim the credit.

Why keep this record

Staff records go wrong in small, repeated ways: a figure typed twice, a deadline forgotten, a promise that nobody wrote down. A tidy workbook that everyone uses the same way removes most of those problems. It also gives you something to show an employee, an auditor or a labour officer when a question comes up months later, and it makes the next payroll quicker because the facts are already in one place.

Questions people ask

Do I need to know Excel formulas? No. Type into the yellow cells and the rest is worked out for you. The formulas are visible if you want to see how a figure is reached.

Can I add rows or change the layout? You can add your own columns to the right and your own notes. If you insert rows inside a table, copy the grey formula cells down so the new rows calculate too.

Will it work on my phone or in Google Sheets? Yes for viewing and typing, but dropdown lists and the charts look best in desktop Excel or LibreOffice.

Keeping it safe and up to date

Payroll records are personal data and tax records at once, so keep the file somewhere only the people who need it can open, and keep each month's copy for at least five years. Statutory rates such as NSSF limits and the Housing Levy change, so check the Rates sheet against the official source before you rely on a figure.

Read how to run payroll for a small business for the wider picture. Free calculators that go with it: Withholding tax calculator, Freelancer tax calculator. See more payroll templates or ask us for a custom one.

The workbook works in Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets. It is a tool to help you work out and record figures, not tax, legal or accounting advice, and it is not affiliated with the Kenya Revenue Authority. If something does not work as described, contact us and we will put it right.

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