The Kenya Finance Bill 2026 is proposing some of the most sweeping changes to crypto regulation the country has seen. Two things stand out from the rest. A flat 10% excise duty on every fee a crypto exchange charges its users. And a total dismantling of trading anonymity.
The bill, published on May 5th, 2026, as Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 113, proposes these changes under both the Excise Duty Act (Cap. 472) and the Tax Procedures Act (Cap. 469B). It still needs to pass through the National Assembly before it becomes law. Public submissions close May 25th, 2026 at 5 p.m., through [email protected].
The 10% Excise Duty on Crypto Fees
Paragraph 9 of the First Schedule to Cap. 472, inserted by this bill, reads directly:
“Excise duty on fees charged on virtual assets transactions by virtual asset providers shall be ten percent of the excisable value.”
That ten percent hits every transaction type. Buying. Selling. Moving assets between wallets. Anywhere an exchange charges a fee, the government now wants a cut of it.
WashiraX on X flagged this, saying the Finance Bill 2026 makes crypto trading in Kenya more expensive across the board.
“Buying crypto becomes more expensive. Selling becomes more expensive. Moving assets becomes more expensive.”
The concern behind that observation is real. Kenyan exchanges would carry costs that offshore or decentralized platforms do not. A trader who wants to avoid that added expense has options, and those options are not taxed the same way.
KRA Gets Full Sight of Every User
This is where the bill goes further than most regional coverage has noted. Section 38 inserts two entirely new provisions into the Tax Procedures Act, numbered 6C and 6D.
Section 6C makes it a legal obligation for every virtual asset service provider operating in Kenya to file annual information returns with the KRA Commissioner. The return must cover every user the platform maintains a relationship with, if that user qualifies as a “reportable person” under the law.
The text of the bill is direct on what triggers the reporting requirement. A VASP must file if it “provides a service that effectuates exchange transactions or making available a trading platform on behalf of a customer, and includes acting as a counterparty, or as an intermediary, to the exchange transactions.”
That covers the full range of what most exchanges do. There is no carve-out for small platforms or low-volume users in the current draft.
Penalties for non-compliance are not light. A false statement in an information return draws a fine of Ksh 100,000 per false statement, or up to three years in prison, or both. Omitting required information costs Ksh 100,000 per omission. Failing to file at all, including a nil return, draws a penalty of one million shillings per failure.
WashiraX, writing on X, put the core of it plainly:
“Kenyan crypto exchanges must identify their users, file annual reports to KRA, and share users’ transaction history with KRA. Crypto anonymity is ending in Kenya.”
Kenya Can Now Pull Data From Offshore Exchanges Too
Section 6D is what separates this bill from a standard domestic tax measure. It gives Kenya the authority to enter formal agreements with other countries specifically for the automatic exchange of virtual asset transaction data.
The scope written into the bill is broad. Those agreements would cover information returns filed under Section 6C, due diligence records kept by VASPs, the identities of reportable users, and nil return filings. It also covers something less obvious: arrangements by VASPs “the main purpose or one of the main purposes of which can reasonably be considered to be to avoid obligations imposed under this Act.”
In plain terms, if a Kenyan trader moves to a foreign exchange to avoid KRA reporting, Kenya can sign a bilateral deal with that country’s government and get the data anyway. WashiraX described this outcome on X:
“Kenya shall also enter agreements with foreign countries to compel offshore crypto exchanges to share data of Kenyan traders with KRA.”
The bill defines the terms “virtual asset” and “virtual asset service provider” by direct reference to the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025, in both Cap. 472 and Cap. 469B.
What This Means Before May 25th
The bill is not law yet. But the direction is clear. Kenya is building a system where every exchange touching a Kenyan user must know who that user is, report them annually, and face seven-figure penalties if it doesn’t.
The Cabinet Secretary retains authority under Section 6D to make regulations for implementation, which means the finer details of how cross-border data sharing actually works in practice will likely come later.
Public feedback on these proposals goes to [email protected] before May 25th, 2026 at 5 p.m.
