Kenya’s Digital Content Creators Association (DCCAK) has asked the National Treasury and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to suspend collection of a 5% withholding tax on digital content monetisation until the government engages creators and other industry stakeholders, according to reports.

The request comes as Google prepares to begin withholding the tax directly from YouTube earnings for Kenya-based creators. The company has asked AdSense for YouTube users to submit their KRA Personal Identification Numbers by 1 October 2026, with the deduction first applying to September earnings paid out in October.

Google has warned that accounts without a verified PIN will have their payments held, although earnings will continue to accumulate in the background.

What changes in Kenya

The 5% withholding is not a new tax. It comes from Kenya’s Finance Act 2023, which set a 5% withholding rate for resident individuals and entities earning from digital content, and 20% for non-residents without a permanent establishment in the country.

The change is in how the tax is collected. Instead of creators declaring and settling the tax themselves at year-end, the deduction will now happen automatically at the point of payment, similar to how Google already withholds US tax on earnings from American viewers.

DCCAK’s intervention does not suspend the tax or change the law, and unless Treasury or KRA responds, the withholding obligation remains in force from October. The association’s concern centres on whether the collection method reflects how creators actually earn income and pay expenses such as equipment, editing and production, since withholding is calculated on gross payouts rather than final tax liability.

That distinction matters because platform income often arrives in different layers: local earnings, foreign-source earnings and separate tax treatment depending on where viewers are based. Kenyan creators will also need to distinguish the new local deduction from any separate US withholding tax already applied to earnings from US-based viewers. That rate depends on the individual tax information submitted to Google and is governed by a different legal framework.

Kenya’s approach places it ahead of most African markets on this issue. Google does not withhold local tax from AdSense payments made to creators in Nigeria or South Africa; creators in both countries are expected to declare platform income and settle it directly with their national tax authorities.

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DCCAK’s request has shifted the discussion to how the tax should be collected, rather than whether creators should pay it. The October 1 deadline remains the immediate compliance date for creators regardless of the outcome.