EXPLAINER: Why KRA iTax Slows During Last-Minute Tax Filing Rush
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has verified problems in its iTax platform after several taxpayers reported issues using the system on the last day to file 2025 income tax forms.
In a statement made on Tuesday, June 30, KRA stated that the online tax filing platform is now seeing exceptionally high traffic as millions of taxpayers rush to meet the June 30 filing deadline.
The tax office cautioned that users may face intermittent delays or trouble accessing the iTax system.
However, they blamed the interruption on a surge in the number of persons filing their returns at the same time.
“KRA has experienced a significant surge in traffic on the iTax system as millions of taxpayers race to file their annual tax returns ahead of the filing deadline,” the authority said in a statement.
Update Alert 🚨
iTax is experiencing high traffic as taxpayers file their 2025 Income Tax Returns.
Users may experience delays or difficulty accessing the platform.
KRA technical teams are working to keep the system stable.
Thank you for your patience.@KRACare pic.twitter.com/zqnLUEjPFb— Kenya Revenue Authority (@KRACorporate) June 30, 2026
“As a result, some users may experience intermittent delays.”
KRA said its technical teams are currently working around the clock to maintain system stability and ensure taxpayers can continue filing their returns despite the heavy demand.
The taxman urged taxpayers to continue accessing the iTax platform or use the *222*5# USSD service to submit their returns as efforts to stabilise the system continue.
The notice came after numerous Kenyans took to social media to complain about slow loading times, failed logins and difficulties completing their tax returns as the filing deadline of Tuesday midnight drew closer.
Some users also reported slow response times from KRA’s AI-powered filing assistant, Shuru, which was introduced this year to help automate the tax filing process.
“This system is down. Shuru, the AI assistant, is not working, and your offices, especially the Isiolo KRA office, are not operational,” one social media user wrote.
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“This and other evidence will help us challenge your unfair actions in the future.”
Risk of Non-filing
Last Saturday, KRA ruled out extending the June 30 deadline for filing 2025 income tax returns.
They urged millions of taxpayers yet to submit their returns to do so before the Tuesday midnight deadline.
The tax authority maintained that the statutory filing deadline remained unchanged despite concerns over technical challenges that some taxpayers had experienced while accessing the iTax platform.
KRA also warned that taxpayers who fail to file their annual returns on time risk more than just late-filing penalties, noting that they could be subjected to default tax assessments.
Under the law, KRA may estimate a taxpayer’s tax liability and issue an assessment based on the information available if returns are not filed within the prescribed deadline.
EXPLAINER: Why KRA iTax Slows During Last-Minute Tax Filing Rush
