Kenyan content creators are set to have taxes deducted from their TikTok earnings after the platform began requiring them to submit personal and residency information to comply with local tax regulations.
Vantage Ke learned on Wednesday, September 16 that a notification sent through TikTok Announcements is directing creators to fill out a Kenyan tax form, with the platform stating that the details will be used to determine their tax obligations.
The form asks creators to indicate whether they are residents or non-residents of Kenya, a classification that determines whether their earnings are subject to a 5 per cent or 20 per cent withholding tax.
Creators are required to submit their names, email addresses, country of residence and residential status. Providing a residential address is optional.
The development follows Kenya’s introduction of withholding tax on income earned from digital content in July 2023 under the Finance Bill 2023. Kenyan residents are subject to a 5 per cent deduction, while non-residents face a 20 per cent rate.
The tax covers income generated through various forms of digital content monetisation, including advertising, sponsorships, affiliate commissions, subscriptions, merchandise licensing, memberships, photo and music licensing, as well as crowdfunding commissions.
For TikTok creators, the deductions mean earnings from eligible programmes could be paid into their accounts after the applicable tax has already been withheld, reducing their immediate payouts.
However, the amount deducted is treated as an advance tax payment and does not represent the creator’s final tax liability. Creators are still required to declare their total income when filing their annual tax returns.
Kenyan creators currently earn money on TikTok through features such as LIVE and video gifts, subscriptions and the Work With Artist programme. Several other monetisation tools remain unavailable in Kenya and across much of Africa.
These include the Creator Rewards Programme, TikTok Shop, Creator Marketplace and Pulse, all of which are among TikTok’s monetisation products but have not been rolled out to Kenyan creators.
Kenya further strengthened its digital tax collection framework in December 2024 when legislation placed responsibility on digital marketplace and platform operators to deduct taxes, regardless of whether they are based in Kenya or outside the country.
The latest development comes years after TikTok agreed to establish a continental operations and coordination office in Nairobi following an August 2023 virtual meeting between President William Ruto and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
The Nairobi office was expected to coordinate the platform’s African operations, with TikTok also committing to closer cooperation with Kenya on content moderation, local recruitment, creator monetisation and training programmes.
TikTok has yet to specify when the withholding tax will begin, the exact rate applicable to individual payouts, or the consequences for creators who fail to complete the tax form.
The platform has, however, advised creators to submit the requested information soon.
