National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF)
NHIF Current Employee Contribution Rates
Source: NHIF Employers Web Page
Gross income (Kshs)
Monthly Premium Amount (Kshs)
Up to 5,999
150
6,000 – 7,999
300
8,000 – 11,999
400
12,000 – 14,999
500
15,000 – 19,999
600
20,000 – 24,999
750
25,000 – 29,999
850
30,000 – 34,999
900
35,000 – 39,999
950
40,000 – 44,999
1,000
45,000 – 49,999
1,100
50,000 – 59,999
1,200
60,000 – 69,999
1,300
70,000 – 79,999
1,400
80,000 – 89,999
1,500
90,000 – 99,999
1,600
100,000 and above
1,700
Rules Regarding NHIF Contributions
Legal reference: NHIF ACT, CAP 255 (2012 Revision)
Section of the Act on Contributions: Part III, Sections 15 to 20
15. Contributions to the Fund
(1) Subject to this Act, any person—
(a) who is ordinarily resident in Kenya; and
(b) who has attained the age of 18 years; and
(c) whose total income, whether derived from salaried or self-employment, in the immediately preceding month, was not less than such amount as the Board, in consultation with the Minister, may prescribe, shall be liable as a contributor to the Fund.
(2) A person liable as a contributor under this section shall pay to the Board:
(a) in the case of a person whose income is derived from salaried employment, a standard contribution; or
(b) in the case of a person whose income is derived from self-employment, a special contribution, in accordance with this section.
(3) A contribution under subsection (2) shall be at such rate, depending on the person’s total income, as the Board, in consultation with the Minister, may determine.
(4) A person to whom this section applies shall pay the contribution to the Board on the first day of each month or on such later date as the Board, in consultation with the Minister, may prescribe.
(5) In this section, “income” means such income as the Board, in consultation with the Minister and the Minister for Finance may prescribe for the purposes of this Act.
16. Standard contributions
(1) A person liable to pay a standard contribution under section 15 shall pay such contribution through monthly deductions from his salary or other remuneration and the employer of such person shall be liable to deduct and to pay the contribution to the Board on behalf of and to the exclusion of that person.
(2) An employer shall not be liable under this section to pay the standard contribution in respect of any person employed by him for any month:
(a) in which he was not at any time the employer of that person (except where the employment is terminated in the month immediately preceding that month);
(b) in which he was not the employer on the first day of that month, unless that contribution has not been paid before the day in that month when he becomes the employer, in which case he shall only become liable seven days after that day; or
(c) in respect of which the salary or other remuneration payable by him after all other statutory deductions have been made therefrom, are not sufficient to pay that contribution.
(3) An employer shall be entitled subject to and in accordance with any regulations:
(a) to deduct from the salary or other remuneration of any person employed by him, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other law, the amount of any standard contribution paid by him or to be paid by him within one month of such deduction, on behalf of that person;
(b) to obtain a card for any person employed by him where that person does not provide him with a card issued to that person, or where that person’s card has been lost or destroyed;
(c) to retain possession of the card issued to a person employed by him, except when that person requires the card for the purpose of obtaining any benefit or making a claim under this Act until that card is required for surrender upon the issue of a new card for the next financial year.
(4) No sum deducted from the salary or other remuneration of an employee by his employer in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall be recoverable from the employer by that person after a stamp to the value of that sum has been affixed to a card issued to that person and duly cancelled:
Provided that nothing in this subsection shall affect the responsibility of the employer for the safe custody of that employee’s card.
(5) If for any reason an employer is unable to ascertain whether any person employed by him is liable to pay the standard contribution for any month, he may apply to the Board for a decision, and, subject to the provisions of section 31, any decision given by the Board thereon shall be final and binding on that employer.
The original page continues with further worked examples from the KRA PAYE Guide. Nifty Payroll implements these rules automatically.