Your NSSF deduction
Tier I + II, 2026 rates
SHA is the Social Health Authority; SHIF is the Social Health Insurance Fund it administers. They are not two separate payroll deductions. The current SHA premium page sets salaried contributions at 2.75% of gross monthly income, with a KES 300 minimum and no upper ceiling.
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Calculate the monthly deduction
| Gross monthly income | SHIF contribution |
|---|---|
| 10,000 | 300 (minimum) |
| 30,000 | 825 |
| 50,000 | 1,375 |
| 100,000 | 2,750 |
| 200,000 | 5,500 |
For this simple salaried calculation, take the larger of KES 300 and gross monthly income multiplied by 0.0275. Do not apply the NSSF earnings ceiling to SHIF. An employee earning above KES 108,000 continues to pay SHIF on the applicable gross income.
How SHIF affects PAYE
KRA lists employee SHIF contributions as an allowable deduction from employment income. That lowers taxable pay before the PAYE bands are applied. It is not an extra 15% insurance-relief credit: applying both treatments to the same contribution would overstate the relief.
For example, a KES 2,750 SHIF deduction lowers PAYE by KES 825 if the full deduction falls within the 30% band. Its net cash cost in that example is KES 1,925. The actual saving depends on the person’s taxable income and other deductions; it is not a universal rebate.
What happened to NHIF?
The transition to the SHA system began in October 2024. An old NHIF income-band table should not be used to calculate a current SHIF salary deduction. When reviewing an older payslip, use the system and tax treatment applicable to that period rather than rewriting it using today’s rules.
Employment and household assessment are different
Employers calculate and remit salaried deductions to SHA. For non-salaried households, SHA uses a means-testing process to assess household income. A salary calculator is not a substitute for that assessment, nor does paying a contribution mean every procedure at every hospital is covered.
Check your account and cover
Match the deduction to your payslip, verify your registration and contribution record using the official SHA member service, and check the contracted facility and benefit tariff before treatment. If a deduction is missing from your account, ask payroll for its remittance evidence. Do not infer a contribution holiday from an old headline about court proceedings.
See how SHIF fits into the full PAYE calculation for a worked example.
Sources and review date
Reviewed on 21 October 2026. Use the rules for the period being calculated; historical payslips may use different limits.