Monthly Rental Income (MRI) tax is the tax itself: a simplified Kenyan tax charged at 7.5% of qualifying gross residential rent, without expense deductions. It is declared and paid monthly by the 20th of the following month; KRA's dedicated rental system is eRITS.
Who MRI applies to
MRI covers residential rental income within the KSh 288,000–15,000,000 annual band. Below KSh 288,000 a year you are outside the regime; above KSh 15,000,000 you fall under the standard income-tax regime instead. Commercial rent is taxed differently.
How it is calculated
MRI is a flat 7.5% of the gross rent you collect — you do not deduct expenses first. For example, KSh 80,000 collected in a month means KSh 6,000 MRI for that month. Try the MRI tax calculator for your own figure.
Filing and deadline
You declare and pay monthly by the 20th of the following month. KRA rolled out eRITS to manage rental properties, declarations and payment; the official access route is erits.kra.go.ke or eCitizen. Keeping a clean, per-tenant record of rent received makes this a quick monthly task rather than a scramble — see the full MRI tax guide.
MRI vs eRITS vs eTIMS
| Term | What it is | Main job |
|---|---|---|
| MRI | A tax regime | Calculates tax on qualifying gross residential rent. |
| eRITS | KRA's rental-income system | Registers properties and supports rental tax declaration and payment. |
| eTIMS | KRA's electronic invoicing system | Creates and transmits electronic tax invoices. |