Most cars on Kenyan roads are imported used, and the taxes on them often come to more than the car itself. This gives a working estimate.

Used car import duty calculator

An estimate of import duty, excise, VAT, IDF and the Railway Development Levy on a used car imported into Kenya.

How the taxes stack

  1. Customs value. KRA takes the car’s Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP) from its published list and depreciates it by age, or uses the invoice price if that is higher.
  2. Import duty at 25% of the customs value.
  3. Excise duty on the customs value plus import duty, at a rate that rises with engine size, and lower for hybrids and electric cars.
  4. VAT at 16% on all of the above.
  5. Import Declaration Fee at 3.5% and the Railway Development Levy at 2%, both on the customs value.

It is an estimate

KRA assesses the duty itself, and published calculators differ in the details. Ask your clearing agent for a quote before you pay for a car.

The rest of the process - age limits, inspection, shipping and registration - is in Importing a car to Kenya.