VAT registration and monthly filing guide

What the vat registration and monthly filing guide gives you

Registering for VAT is easy; staying compliant takes habits. This guide takes you from deciding to register, through the iTax registration, issuing eTIMS-compliant invoices, recording input and output VAT, preparing and filing the monthly return and paying, to avoiding the penalties and keeping the records an audit would ask for.

Who it is for

Business owners who are about to register or have just registered, and bookkeepers who prepare VAT returns.

How to use it

1. Decide whether you must register using the threshold test.
2. Follow the registration steps on iTax.
3. Set up invoicing and recording as described.
4. Use the monthly return worksheet to file on time.
5. Keep a signed or dated copy with your records, so you can show what was agreed or done.

What is inside

• Registration decision and steps
• eTIMS invoicing requirements
• Recording input and output VAT
• Monthly return worksheet
• Penalties and records

The document is a ready-to-print PDF with these parts: 1. Do you have to register?, 2. Registering on iTax, 3. Invoicing, 4. Monthly return worksheet, 5. Penalties and records. It is laid out for A4, with the headings, tables and tick boxes already in place, so you can print it and fill it in by hand, or type into it with a PDF editor.

Tips for getting it right

• Register as soon as you cross the threshold, not after.
• Keep supplier invoices; no valid invoice means no input claim.
• File on time even with a nil return.
• Reconcile VAT to the ledger every month.

Why it helps

Most tax trouble comes from late or missing records rather than from the tax itself. When the figures are collected as they happen, preparing a return becomes a matter of copying totals, not of searching for receipts. A workbook that follows the same layout as the return also makes it easier to spot a number that looks wrong before KRA does, and to explain it if asked.

Questions people ask

Can I edit it? It is a PDF, so it is meant to be printed and completed, or filled with a PDF editor. If you want to change the wording, copy the text into Word or Google Docs and adapt it to your business.

Is it legal advice? No. It is a practical starting point written for Kenya. Rules change, so check the current position and ask a professional where the stakes are high.

Will it work on my phone? Yes for reading. For filling in and printing, a computer or a PDF app works best.

Keeping it safe and up to date

Tax figures change with each Finance Act, so check the Rates sheet against KRA's current guidance before you file. Keep the supporting documents with the workbook, and keep each year's copy for at least five years in case KRA asks for proof.

Read the KRA filing calendar for small businesses for the wider picture. Free calculators that go with it: Vat calculator, Vat registration checker, Vat return calculator. See more tax templates or ask us for a custom one.

This document is general information, 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.

Related guides, calculators and templates

• Free calculator: VAT Calculator
• Free calculator: VAT Registration Threshold Checker
• Free calculator: VAT Return Calculator
• Guide: How to set up an M-Pesa till or Paybill for your business and account for it
• Guide: Tax on selling personal items and second-hand goods online
• Guide: Importing clothes and textiles: duty and classification
• Another template: VAT basics cheat sheet for Kenyan businesses
• Another template: Turnover tax vs VAT comparison workbook
• Another template: VAT input and output register (up to 2,000 invoices)

Need something different? Request a custom template, browse all guides or see every Excel template.