Satellite Partners

09/10/2025

Every leaf whispers the story of nature’s miracles.

02/01/2023

Looking forward to fruitful partnerships with more of our diaspora clients. Email us at [email protected]

02/01/2023

Looking forward to serving you.

02/01/2023

Wishing y'all a Prosperous 2023. Looking to having much fruitful partnerships throughout the year.

22/02/2022

Legal Regimes on Charitable Organizations in Kenya
To accrue any tax benefits, charitable entities must be duly registered under the relevant law. In Kenya, charities and NPOs are registered under various laws depending on the nature and the type of entity/charitable vehicle. The popular models include charitable trusts, public benefit organizations (NGOs) and companies limited by guarantees as highlighted below

Charitable Trusts – these are registered under the Trustees (Perpetual Succession) Act, Cap 164 and the Trustees (Perpetual Succession) Amendment Act, 2021. Section 3B of the Amendment Act provides that entities which have been constituted for charitable purposes may apply to the Principal Registrar of Documents for a certificate of incorporation of the trust.
Public Benefit Organizations (PBO)- despite the enactment of the Public Benefits Organizations Act (PBO Act),2013, registration of PBOs is still primarily done under the Non-Governmental Organizations Co-Ordination Act (Act Number 19 of 1990) (repealed). Once registered, an NGO becomes a body corporate with perpetual succession.
Companies Limited by Guarantee- under the Companies Act (No. 17 of 2015), one can register a company with its liability limited to the amount the members guarantee or undertake to contribute towards meeting the obligations of the company in the event of its winding up or liquidation.
As a branch office of a foreign not-for-profit organization registrable under Part ###VI of the Kenyan Companies Act, 2015.
Taxation of Charities and NPOs

Application for Personal Identification Number
All charitable organizations are required to apply for a Personal Identification Number (PIN) for purposes of filing applicable tax returns and remit taxes to the Commissioner as appropriate.

It is important to note that a charitable organization is not expected to file nil income tax returns but rather, it is expected to submit income tax returns that reflect the revenue (donations) and expenses for the year.

Income Tax
Donations received by charitable organizations do not to qualify as income chargeable to tax in Kenya. However, where a charitable organization engages in an income generating activity, such incomes are subject to tax unless the organization has applied for income tax exemption and has been granted an exemption certificate.

Paragraph 10 of the First Schedule to the Income Tax Act (ITA), exempts from tax the income of an ‘institution, body of persons, or irrevocable trust, of a public character established solely for the purposes of the relief of the poverty or distress of the public, or for the advancement of religion or education.’

A charitable organization is required to apply for the exemption from income tax through the itax platform and this is only possible if the organization has a valid Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC). The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) requires supporting information such as:

A resolution of the applicant resolving to apply for an income tax exemption;
Certified copies of Returns of income and audited accounts for the three years preceding the application;
Copies of the bank statements for the three years preceding the application;
Certified copy of Constitution, Article of Association or Trust Deed;
A letter from the County Government stating the activities carried out by the organization;
Certified Copy of Registration Certificate;
Certified Copy of PIN Certificate;
Evidence of the projects carried out for the last 3 years or for whatever period of operation;
Testimonials from the beneficiaries of the applicant’s charitable projects; and
Any other useful information in support of the application
KRA reviews the information provided, conducts client interviews and carries out field visits in order to determine whether the organization meets the criteria set out in Paragraph 10 - First Schedule to the Income Tax Act (ITA). Further, KRA seeks to satisfy itself that the organization seeking exemption from tax, must be established or have its regional headquarters in Kenya and that its income is expended in Kenya for the benefit of the residents of Kenya.

If the commissioner is satisfied that the application for exemption from income tax is properly supported, he will grant the exemption for a period of five (5) years and this is renewable upon application.

A person or corporate making a donation to a charity is also allowed to deduct such donations made to entities granted income tax exemption when computing the gains or profits chargeable to tax in a year so long as the donations meet the provisions of Income Tax (Charitable Donations) Regulations, 2007.

Tax on Employees
The employees of a charitable organization are not exempt from paying tax on their salaries and any other taxable employment benefits.

Section 37(1) of the ITA provides that an employer paying emoluments to an employee shall deduct therefrom, and account for tax thereon. The charitable organization is required to compute PAYE at the graduated rates and deduct it prior to paying its employees.

The charitable organization will be required to submit a monthly PAYE return and remit the PAYE withheld to the KRA by the 9th day of the following month. The late payment of PAYE attracts a one-off penalty of 5% of the tax due and accrues interest at the rate of 1% per month outstanding. The penalty for late submission of the PAYE return is the higher of 25% of the tax due or KES 10,000.

Statutory Deductions
i) National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF)

The charitable organization is required to deduct contributions to the national insurance scheme and remit the employee’s contribution by the 9th day of the subsequent month.

The contributions are based on a graduated scale and are in the range of a KES 150 for as the minimum and a maximum of KES 1,700.

The penalty for late payment of NHIF is 2 times the monthly contributions.

ii) National Social Security Fund (NSSF)

The charitable organization is required to deduct the employee contributions to NSSF which is a national social security scheme that is contributory for both the employer and the employee. Therefore, the charitable organization is required to match up employee’s contribution to NSSF.

The due date for remitting NSSF contributions is the 9th day of the subsequent month. The contributions are categorized as Tier I and Tier II contributions with the maximum contribution being KES 1,080 per month.

Late payments of NSSF attracts a penalty at the rate of 5% of the total contributions for each month or part of the month that is remitted late.

Withholding Tax
The charitable organization is required to deduct withholding tax (WHT) when making certain payments to resident and non-resident persons as per the provisions of Section 35(3)(f) and Section 35(1)(a) of the ITA respectively.

The charitable organization would be required to remit WHT to KRA by the 20th day of the subsequent month. The late payment of WHT attracts a one-off penalty of 5% of the tax due and interest at the rate of 1% per month outstanding.

21/02/2022

We are a Consultancy Firm that offers the following Professional services.
1. Formation of Private/Public Companies
2. NCA Registration.
3. Tax compliance certificate Application and Renewal
4. Enterprise, Partnerships and Business name Registration
5. Business linking and filing of company Returns
6. Application of CR12
7. AGPO certificate Application and Renewal
8. Company and Business profile generation.
9. Changes of Company name, Directors and particulars.
10. Registration of NGOs, Groups, Societies/churches, Trust
Deeds & Foundations
11.Converting of Business name to a limited company
12. Cessation of companies from operations.
13. Conducting land searches, sub-divisions, Transfers and other land related matters across the country.

Feel free to contact us on 0722692735 or email us at [email protected]

09/09/2016

Nice read..

One of the best things I love about my work is people. I meet a lot of interesting people – in person and over the internet – and after hundreds of conversations, I have come to realize the single

10/08/2016

Nice piece here..

Entrepreneurship is all the rage nowadays. I meet many employed executives, some who are very highly placed in C-Suite positions and they begin to tell me, excitedly, how they plan to start a business, jump out of corporate slavery and shake up a certain industry that they have their eyes on. I have become more and more cautious on the advice I give to such friends or acquaintances because after being an entrepreneur for close to 9 years full time after a brief employment stint, I've observed some mistakes and hard lessons that former corporate employees and particularly C-Suite executives make when they jump ship and begin to row their canoes. Here are the top 10:

1. Expensive lifestyle

They maintain an expensive mortgage, going out to expensive restaurants, maintain the same expensive school for their kids that the corporate employer paid for ,big cars that are fuel guzzlers , club memberships.....until they begin to wipe out their account balances and savings and that is when reality hits home and they begin to reconsider some of the choices they make with their new circumstances.

2. Expensive office kick-off

They get an expensive office in an expensive address, with hardwood furniture and with the underlying belief that this will impress clients.They top it off by hiring expensive employees because they came from an office which drummed in the mantra "always hire the best talent, even if it means paying a premium". With time they realise a loyal hard worker with unimpressive qualifications and experience could be the best asset an entrepreneur has when starting out.

3. Wrong Investments

They invest in a business , a tool , a software or a type of infrastructure that they don't know how to use . Some do this with their generous payout from their retirement and instantly go into a cash crunch. They go into a business they don't understand. After all , after managing billions of shillings in a corporate organisation and a team of 100, what can be so hard about running a cake business, wedding planning, construction or growing tomatoes? Well, it turns out everything can get quite complicated . Each business has its rules, gatekeepers and cycles and figuring it all out can take a lifetime.

4. Wrong expectations

They expect that their big company friends and colleagues whom they bid goodbye as they pursued their dream will give them business easily. Only to realise that their friends will have to justify to their CEO why they gave business to a "no-recognizable-name"company rather than a well-established brand. Sometimes they find the tendering hoops and due diligence processes that they set up before they left automatically disqualifies them from supplying their former employer despite an impeccable track record.

5. Unrealistic expectations

They expect business to take off quickly since they are used to things moving at lightning speed in their former employer's empire. They soon realise that the army of analysts , researchers,HR team,Accountants and worker bees that their former employer attached to them, were the reason why they could do in 1 day what they now take 2 weeks to pull off. They also realise that their former employer's name is the reason why people never let the phone ring twice, but now, they don't even call back after sending the message that says "I'm in a meeting, I'll call back"

6. Misplaced Confidence

They take for granted that a lot of their previous results had a lot to do with the brand they worked for and that they have to rebuild their personal credibility from scratch.

7.Idealistic approach

They create idealistic products based on their experience and proceed to do an expensive idealistic launch with confetti, pyrotechnics and fireworks in an upmarket hotel. They go back to the office and wait for phone calls and after a few days realise that they have to knock doors and possibly even beg for deals.

8. Undervalueing clients

Having come from companies with established brands where clients flocked to them, some carry this mentality to their hustles and end up taking customers for granted instead of killing themselves to deliver superior value to their clients. Clients do not care about who you worked with before, all they want is value for what they pay otherwise they vote with their feet (and refuse to sign your cheques)

9.Expect compliance from clients and suppliers

They expect people to pay or supply on time, and get really baffled when it doesn't happen. They also expect people to adhere to their strict contracts but only realise later that it happened in their blue chip company because they had attack dogs for lawyers on the company's payroll and cannot afford those lawyers now. It's only until they begin to default on their own bills,that they realise it's a vicious cycle they have gotten into and they are now a vital part of the default chain. At this point the harsh judgement they previously had towards those that looked seemingly disorganised entrepreneur friends, mellows.

10. Impatience

The reality of running a business will hit hard and what I've seen is that they end up giving up too early, possibly just before their business idea takes off. Granted, there are bills to pay and families to take care off, but seasoned entrepreneurs also go through the same challenges but find creative ways of surviving, overcoming the challenges and eventually thriving. Hanging in there a bit longer might make the difference between success and going back to your former boss. Knowing when to quit is a topic for another blog post.

I have to admit that its not always doom and gloom and people's experiences will vary. I've watched a few people get lucky and their businesses take off quickly. However, these tend to be outliers.

Entrepreneurship has a way of humbling people.
So what can you do to increase chances of success? Conserve cash religiously, take advantage of your networks, build a good product and brand, go into a business you understand and have expertise in and don't despise small moneys or beginnings.

Finally, be patient and surround yourself with veteran entrepreneurs and proven advisors who will keep encouraging you and helping you see that your problems are nothing compared to the nightmares they endured earlier. It helps.

Courtesy of
www.wyldeinternational.com

Through a series of interviews and questionnaires, WYLDE is able to check the wellbeing of an organization from a big picture as well as a detailed perspective.

01/03/2016

31/12/2014

Wishing you a Prosperous 2015. Looking forward to more business partnerships in the coming year. God Bless.