Exchequer revenue grew by 10.5 per cent to Sh2.568 trillion. MANUFACTURING, energy, financial and insurance, information and communication, and wholesale and retail trade remained the country’s leading drivers of government revenue in 2025-26, Kenya Revenue Authority now says.
These sectors, which account for 27.4 per cent of overall nominal GDP (raw economic metric not adjusted for inflation or deflation), recorded an aggregate revenue growth of eight per cent. This, as the five key sectors pushed revenue to Sh2.8 trillion, with KRA recording one of the strongest growth in collections in recent years.
Revenue collection for the financial year 2025-2026 registered a robust double-digit growth of 10.6 per cent, significantly outperforming the 6.8 per cent growth recorded in the previous financial year. KRA collected Sh2.844 trillion, representing an increase of Sh272.953 billion over the Sh2.572 trillion collected in 2024-2025.
“The strong performance underscores sustained growth in domestic revenue mobilisation despite a challenging operating environment,” Commissioner General Adan Mohamed said. Manufacturing remained the country's single largest contributor to tax collections after generating Sh462 billion, up from Sh423 billion a year earlier.
The sector recorded a 9.2 per cent growth and contributed 16.2 per cent of KRA's total collections. KRA attributed the strong performance to higher collections from Value Added Tax (VAT), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Excise Duty and Corporation Tax, which together accounted for nearly three-quarters of taxes paid by manufacturers.
The authority has also noted that imports of industrial and food manufacturing inputs accounted for 49 per cent of Kenya's total import value during the financial year, highlighting the sector's central role in economic activity. The energy sector followed closely, generating Sh445 billion, a 9.1 per cent increase from the previous year.
It contributed 15.6 per cent of total revenue, with KRA attributing the growth largely to improved collections from customs oil taxes.