Kenyan creators on YouTube required to submit KRA PINs by October 1 - details

Kenyan content creators on American online video-sharing platform YouTube have received notifications requiring them to provide their Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Personal Identification Numbers (PINs).

Notifications shared by Kenyan creators on Friday August 28, notifies them to provide their KRA pins to AdSense for YouTube by October 1, 2026, as Google prepares to withhold Kenyan tax from YouTube earnings.

According to one notification sent to civic educator Willie Oeba, Google will withhold 5 per cent Kenya tax on finalised YouTube earnings each month, alongside any applicable US taxes.

The withholding will first apply to September 2026 earnings paid out in October 2026, according to Google's notice to creators.

"Under the Kenya Income Tax Act, Google is required to withhold taxes on YouTube earnings paid to AdSense for YouTube accounts based in Kenya. Each month, Google will withhold a 5% Kenya tax on finalized YouTube earnings along with any applicable U.S. taxes. This withholding will first apply to September 2026 earnings paid out in October 2026," the notification reads.

Google's Kenya tax information page confirms that the requirement applies to AdSense for YouTube accounts based in Kenya.

Creators who fail to provide a verified Kenyan PIN by the October 1 deadline may have their payments held.

Their earnings will continue to accrue, but payments will not be released until the PIN is provided and verified.

Creators are required to submit their 11-character Kenyan PIN through the Kenya tax information section of their AdSense for YouTube account.

Google says the PIN must be entered in capital letters and without hyphens. For individuals, the PIN begins with “A”, while entity PINs begin with “P”.

The technology conglomerate says submitted tax details can take three to five working days to be reviewed and approved.

The requirement is separate from the address-verification PIN that YouTube already uses for some creators.

YouTube's payment guidance says creators may be required to verify their identity and address before receiving payments, while tax information is separately required for creators earning through the YouTube Partner Programme.

The new requirement also means Google will provide information to the Kenya Revenue Authority.

Google says it is required to report to KRA each month the gross payments subject to Kenyan withholding tax, the total amount withheld, the creator's PIN and address.

The requirement follows Kenya's existing framework for withholding tax on income from digital content monetisation.

KRA lists digital content monetisation among payments subject to withholding tax and currently gives a rate of 5 per cent for residents and 20 per cent for non-residents.

The Income Tax Act also provides for withholding tax on payments relating to digital content monetisation.

KRA explains that withholding tax is deducted at source by the person making the payment, with the tax remitted to the authority on behalf of the recipient.

The system is intended, among other purposes, to ensure tax is collected during the year and improve visibility of taxpayers and compliance.

The 5 per cent deduction is not the first tax rule affecting digital creators

KRA introduced the 5 per cent withholding tax rate for resident digital content monetisation payments from July 1, 2023, with a 20 per cent rate applying to non-residents.

The authority's implementation documentation identifies digital content monetisation as one of the withholding-tax transactions introduced into its system under the Finance Act 2023.

The new process will also operate alongside any applicable US tax withholding. Google says all monetising YouTube creators are required to provide US tax information, with US withholding potentially applying to earnings generated from US viewers depending on the creator's circumstances and applicable tax rules.