Affordable Housing Levy
Employees and employers in Kenya both pay the Affordable Housing Levy under the Affordable Housing Act, 2024. It replaced the earlier “affordable housing relief”, which no longer exists.
The levy
- Employee: 1.5% of gross monthly salary, deducted by the employer.
- Employer: a matching 1.5% of the employee’s gross monthly salary.
- Cap: none.
- Remit: by the 9th day of the month following the payroll month, with the PAYE return on KRA iTax.
Effect on PAYE
Since the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024 took effect on 27 December 2024 (PAYE for December 2024 onwards), the employee’s levy is deducted from gross pay when working out taxable pay (Income Tax Act, section 15(2)(ac)).
The old affordable housing relief (Income Tax Act section 30A, 15% of the employee’s contribution up to Ksh. 108,000 a year) was repealed by the same Act and is no longer given.
Source: KRA public notice of 19 December 2024, “Amendments to PAYE Computation Pursuant to the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024”.
How to get on to the affordable housing scheme
Government information portal: Boma Yangu
Application for home allocation: Boma Yangu Individual Registration