ADVOKS GLOBAL · KENYA
Income Tax Act
31. Insurance relief
Edition: 2026-07-01 · In force
31. Insurance relief
(1)A resident individual who proves that in a year of income–(a)the individual has paid a premium for an insurance made by the individual on the individual’s life or the life of the individual’s spouse or child and that the insurance secures a capital sum whether or not in conjunction with another benefit, and that the insurance is made with an insurance company lawfully carrying on in Kenya the business of life insurance, and that sums payable under the insurance are payable in Kenya in the lawful currency of Kenya; or(b)the individual's employer has paid a premium for that insurance on the life, and for the benefit, of that individual which is charged with tax under this Act on that individual; or(c)the individual and the individual's employer, has paid a premium for the insurance referred to in paragraph (b),shall, for that year of income, be entitled to a personal relief in this Act referred to as the insurance relief:Provided that–(i)no insurance relief shall be granted in respect of that part of a premium for an insurance as secures a benefit which may, at the option of the assured, be withdrawn at any time prior to the determination of the insurance, and in that case the proportion of premiums otherwise eligible for relief, if any, shall be the amount that the Commissioner may determine to be just and reasonable;(ii)no relief shall be granted in respect of a premium for an insurance unless the person claiming the relief furnishes evidence as to the nature and conditions of the insurance and such other particulars as may be required by the Commissioner;(iii)an education policy with a maturity period of at least ten years shall qualify for relief; and(iv)the provisions of this section shall apply only to life or education policies whose term commences on or after 1st January, 2003;(v)a health policy whose term commences on or after 1st January, 2007 shall qualify for relief;(vi)where a policy is surrendered before its maturity, all the relief granted to the policyholder shall be recovered from the surrender value of the policy and remitted to the Commissioner by the insurer.(2)In this section "child", means any child of the resident individual and includes a step-child, an adopted child and an illegitimate child who was under the age of eighteen years on the date the premium was paid.