Your mortgage relief
Qualifying interest; saving depends on tax band
The safest way to avoid paying too much PAYE is to make sure payroll has applied deductions and reliefs you actually qualify for. Buying an unnecessary policy or locking away money solely for a tax saving can leave you with less usable cash.
_1.jpeg)
Deduction or relief?
A deduction reduces taxable income before the bands are applied. A relief reduces the resulting tax. A KES 10,000 deduction may save KES 3,000 where it all falls in the 30% band; a KES 1,500 relief reduces tax by KES 1,500, subject to the tax available to offset.
Check these items on your payslip
- Resident personal relief: KES 2,400 per month.
- Employee SHIF and Housing Levy: allowable deductions, not additional insurance or housing tax credits.
- Registered pension contributions, including NSSF: subject to the pension deduction limits.
- Qualifying owner-occupied mortgage interest: interest rather than the entire loan repayment.
- Qualifying life, health or education insurance premiums: insurance relief subject to policy and statutory conditions.
- Post-retirement medical fund contributions: a separate allowable deduction subject to its limit.
- A valid disability income-tax exemption certificate, where applicable.
Provide evidence before payroll closes
Send policy certificates, premium statements, mortgage interest statements, registered scheme details and any exemption certificate to payroll. KRA’s employer guidance requires relevant supported deductions and reliefs to be applied. A verbal request or an unregistered savings arrangement is not enough.
Avoid false “tax hacks”
Renaming a cash allowance does not make it tax-free. Ordinary commuting, rent, school fees and personal loan repayments do not automatically become employee income-tax deductions. A SACCO deposit is not the same as a contribution to a registered pension scheme. Do not claim an expense twice through payroll and again as if payroll had never recognised it.
Families and shared costs
Marriage does not create a general dependent-spouse PAYE credit or allow arbitrary transfers of unused personal relief. Where a qualifying policy covers a family member, establish who paid and who is entitled to claim; do not claim the same premium twice. Joint property ownership alone does not establish entitlement to deduct the whole mortgage interest. For mixed spousal business or investment income, check the applicable return rules with KRA rather than using a salary illustration as filing advice.
Compare the cash impact
An extra pension contribution can reduce tax while also reducing take-home pay because the contribution goes into retirement savings. Choose the contribution with your budget and access needs in mind. The detailed guides to insurance relief, mortgage interest and pensions show the differences.
Sources and review date
Reviewed on 21 October 2026. Use the rules for the period being calculated; historical payslips may use different limits.