The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) is among the organizations that have announced tax reliefs to their contributors.
Tax authorities recently issued a statement imploring NHIF subscribers to utilize the tax relief options available to them and apply for reimbursement.
According to the Statement, the Finance Act 2021 which took effect on the 1st of January 2023 has amended Section 31 of the Income Tax Act that has allowed contributions to HIF to be eligible for insurance relief.
According to the Income Tax Act sections 30 and 31, allows personal relief at a rate determined by the third schedule. This personal relief is accessible by various contributors including those who pay insurance coverage through organizations such as the NHIF.
Personal and insurance reliefs are part of the tax reliefs offered that the Kenyan government had offered and are granted on a monthly basis.
The tax incentives help to reduce the amount of tax that one has to pay and support the financing of important national projects like education and health policies and life insurance for Kenyan residents.
According to section 31 of the Income Tax Act requires that compensations for the insurance relief be remitted in cash to the policyholder.
The compensation acts as a credit against tax liability and every Kenyan is entitled to a personal relief of Kes. 16,896 per year (Kes. 1,408) effective as of January 1, 2018.
Besides the personal relief, every Kenyan is entitled to insurance relief of 15% of the amount of premiums paid for themselves, their spouse or their child subject to a maximum of Kes. 60,000 per year.
The education policy must have a maturity period of at least 10 years. The government revealed via a statement the benefits of taking advantage of the tax reliefs available to Kenyans.
To apply for the NHIF relief, tax payers filing their income Tax Resident (ITR) Returns for 2022 are advised to follow guidelines provided by tax authorities. This should enable an individual to receive the reimbursement that they are entitled to.