Salary & Tax

How to Calculate Your Net Salary in Kenya (2026): PAYE, SHIF, NSSF & Housing Levy

From gross to take-home in 2026: the exact PAYE bands, the 2.75% SHIF rate, NSSF up to KES 6,480 and the 1.5% Housing Levy, worked through on a real KES 100,000 salary.

June 20, 2026 3 min read PesaCalc Editorial 516 words

Your offer letter says one number; your bank account shows another. The gap is the stack of statutory deductions every Kenyan employee pays, and in 2026 there are four of them. Here is exactly how gross becomes net, with every rate and a full worked example so you can check your own payslip to the shilling.

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The four deductions in 2026: NSSF (6%, capped at KES 6,480), SHIF (2.75% of gross), the Housing Levy (1.5% of gross), and PAYE on what remains, after a personal relief of KES 2,400 a month.

The order of deductions matters

The big change from earlier years: NSSF, SHIF and the Housing Levy are now deducted before PAYE is calculated, lowering your taxable pay. They are no longer claimed back as a 15% relief. So the sequence is:

Step	Deduction	2026 rate
1	NSSF	6% of pensionable pay, max KES 6,480
2	SHIF	2.75% of gross (min KES 300)
3	Housing Levy	1.5% of gross
4	PAYE	Banded rates on the remainder, less KES 2,400 relief

The 2026 PAYE bands

Monthly taxable pay	Rate
First KES 24,000	10%
KES 24,001 – 32,333	25%
KES 32,334 – 500,000	30%
KES 500,001 – 800,000	32.5%
Above KES 800,000	35%

Worked example: a KES 100,000 gross salary

Let us take it step by step:

Item	Amount (KES)
Gross pay	100,000
NSSF (6%)	− 6,000
SHIF (2.75%)	− 2,750
Housing Levy (1.5%)	− 1,500
Taxable pay	89,750
PAYE (after KES 2,400 relief)	− 19,308
Net take-home	≈ 70,442

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On a KES 100,000 gross salary, take-home in 2026 is about KES 70,400. Change the gross and see every line recompute instantly in the Net Salary Calculator.

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Pensionable pay caps NSSF. NSSF is 6% of pensionable earnings up to an upper limit of KES 108,000, so the most an employee contributes is KES 6,480 a month. Above that salary, your NSSF stops rising even as your pay does.

What to do with the take-home number

Once you know your real net pay, build everything else on it, not on gross. Split it with the Smart Budget Planner (the 50/30/20 rule works well), and size any loan repayment against it so you never over-commit.

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Deduct NSSF, SHIF and the Housing Levy first, they lower your taxable pay.

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Apply the banded PAYE rates, then subtract the KES 2,400 personal relief.

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Budget and borrow against net pay, never against gross.

Frequently asked questions

QIs SHIF really 2.75% of gross pay?

Yes. The Social Health Insurance Fund replaced NHIF and is charged at 2.75% of gross monthly pay, with a minimum contribution of KES 300. Unlike the old NHIF bands, it scales with your full salary.

QHow much is NSSF in 2026?

Employees contribute 6% of pensionable pay up to an upper earnings limit of KES 108,000, capping the monthly deduction at KES 6,480. Your employer matches it. Lower earners pay 6% of their actual pay.

QWhy is my take-home lower than a colleague on the same gross?

Differences usually come from pension or SACCO deductions, loan repayments, or benefits like a company car that are taxed. The statutory deductions are the same; check your payslip line by line against the Net Salary Calculator.

Calculating net salary in Kenya is just four steps in the right order: NSSF, SHIF and Housing Levy come off first, then PAYE on the remainder less your relief. Memorise the bands or skip the arithmetic entirely, the Net Salary Calculator does it in a second and shows every line, so you can confirm your employer has it right.

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