Registering for and paying the NITA training levy

How a Kenyan employer registers with NITA for the training levy, who counts as an employee, the accepted payment channels and the penalty for unpaid levy.

By Achekam · 11 October 2026 · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Kenya

Of all the deductions and contributions on a Kenyan payroll, the training levy is among the smallest and the easiest to overlook. It is not collected by KRA with PAYE, and registering for NSSF or SHIF does not register you with the National Industrial Training Authority. It is a separate obligation, with its own form, its own payment channels and its own penalty.

This article covers registering with NITA, who counts for the levy, how to pay and keep proof, what happens when the levy goes unpaid, and how the NITA schedule fits into payroll.

Every employer must register

NITA says all employers operating in Kenya must register as training levy payers, and that levy compliance is a legal requirement. The Industrial Training (Training Levy) Order, in its consolidated version on Kenya Law, requires a person who becomes an employer to apply to the Director of Industrial Training for registration within thirty days of becoming an employer.

There is no size test in NITA's statement: a business with one employee is an employer. The Order does give some small new employers a temporary exemption from registering, which is explained, with the duties when a business stops employing, in when the NITA levy starts and stops.

Form 1 and the documents to send

NITA says registration needs a completed Form 1, with copies of the business's registration certificate and its KRA PIN. The application goes to the nearest NITA office, or by NITA's official e-mail or by post.

Before you send it:

1. Complete Form 1 in full, using the business's registered name exactly as it appears on the certificate.
2. Attach a copy of the certificate of incorporation or business name registration.
3. Attach a copy of the KRA PIN certificate.
4. Keep a copy of everything sent, with the date and the channel used.

When NITA registers the business, it issues a registration number. Record it somewhere the whole finance team can find it: you will quote it on every M-Pesa payment. Put a copy of NITA's confirmation in the same place as the business's KRA PIN certificate and NSSF registration, so that anyone preparing a tender or answering an inspector can produce all three without a search.

Who counts as an employee for the levy

The Training Levy Order defines "employee" for the levy to include apprentices, indentured learners, other trainees, and temporary, seasonal and casual workers.

That definition is wider than many employers' permanent payroll. A farm with a small permanent team and dozens of seasonal pickers at harvest, or a hotel that brings in casual staff for conferences, has to count all of them. If casual staff are paid in cash outside the payroll, they still count for the levy, and the business has no record that shows it. Bringing them onto the payroll solves both problems.

Payment channels and keeping the official receipt

NITA says the levy can be paid by deposit to its KCB Industrial Area account, by banker's cheque, or by M-Pesa paybill 522331, using the NITA registration number as the account number. NITA accepts no cash payments.

After paying, NITA says employers should complete Form 2, attach evidence of the payment and keep the official receipt. The official receipt is the proof that matters if NITA's records ever disagree with yours, and it is also the first thing you will need if you later claim training costs back, as described in getting training costs back from NITA.

This article does not state the amount of the levy or how often it is paid. At the time of writing, NITA's page and the Order on Kenya Law describe them differently, so confirm both with NITA before you set up the payment.

Unpaid levy and the penalty

The Training Levy Order makes unpaid levy, plus the five percent penalty under section 5B(3), recoverable summarily by the Director as a civil debt due to the Industrial Training Levy Fund.

In other words, the Order treats the arrears and the penalty together as a debt the Director can pursue directly. An employer that forgot to register, or registered and then stopped paying, faces the arrears and the penalty together. Registering late and paying from the start of the obligation is far better than waiting to be found.

The NITA schedule in Achekam

Achekam runs Kenyan payroll with PAYE, the Affordable Housing Levy, SHIF, NSSF Tier I and II and the NITA levy, and prepares the P10, SHIF, NSSF and NITA schedules from approved pay runs. Each contribution posts to its own liability account, so the NITA amount owed sits in the books until it is paid.

Achekam does not file with or pay NITA. A person records the filing on the authority's portal with the reference it gave, and a second person confirms each payment. The schedule itself is finalised by someone other than the person who prepared it. In practice:

For how the levy fits with the other employer costs on top of salary, see what an employee costs on top of salary.

NITA's levy inspectorate page explains registering as a training levy payer, paying the levy and the training reimbursements available to levy-compliant employers. Check it for the current amount and payment rules before your first payment.

General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.