Kenya · SHIF
SHIF explained
SHIF is the Social Health Insurance Fund, the contribution that replaced NHIF as Kenya’s statutory health cover. It is deducted from an employee’s gross pay by the employer and remitted to the Social Health Authority, and it appears on the payslip alongside PAYE, NSSF and the housing levy.
What SHIF is
SHIF is the Social Health Insurance Fund — Kenya’s statutory health contribution, collected by Social Health Authority (SHA). Like PAYE, it is deducted by the employer and remitted on the employee’s behalf: the employee sees a line on the payslip, and the obligation to get it right sits with the employer.
The rate, from source
Kenya SHIF — current rate
2.75% of gross pay, minimum KES 300/month, no upper cap
Collected by Social Health Authority (SHA). Paid by employee.
Source · in force from 2024-10-01What changed from NHIF
SHIF replaced NHIF. The change that matters on a payslip is the basis.
- NHIF was banded. A fixed shilling amount per salary band, so everyone inside a band paid the same figure and the deduction stepped at band boundaries.
- SHIF is proportional. It is charged against pay, so it moves continuously with the salary rather than jumping at a threshold.
That is why a straight comparison of “what I used to pay” against “what I pay now” behaves differently at different salary levels — the two are not the same shape.
Where it sits on the payslip
SHIF is one of 5 statutory items a Kenyan payslip carries, alongside PAYE, NSSF and the housing levy. Each goes to a different body, and each has its own rules about whether it comes off before tax is computed. The Kenya payroll page lists all of them with their current rates and sources.
When it is remitted
PAYE, NSSF, SHIF and the housing levy are remitted by the 9th of the month following payroll, through KRA’s iTax P10 return.
In practice SHIF rides the same monthly cycle as the rest of the stack, which is the point of a compliance calendar — see payroll deadlines in Kenya.
Seeing it on a real salary
The Kenya salary calculator shows SHIF as its own line against a gross salary, next to PAYE, NSSF and the housing levy, with the take-home pay that comes out the other end.
Rates on this page are rendered from our statutory dataset and were last reviewed against source on 2026-07-14. Statutory rates change with every finance act — check any figure against the relevant authority before you rely on it.
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Questions
SHIF explained: common questions
What is SHIF?
SHIF is the Social Health Insurance Fund, Kenya’s statutory health contribution. It is deducted from an employee’s pay by the employer and remitted to Social Health Authority (SHA). It replaced NHIF as the health deduction that appears on a Kenyan payslip.
Is SHIF the same as NHIF?
No. SHIF replaced NHIF. The important difference on a payslip is the basis: NHIF was a banded contribution — a fixed shilling amount per salary band — whereas SHIF is charged as a proportion of pay, so it moves with the salary rather than stepping at band boundaries.
Does SHIF have an upper cap?
The rate and any floor or cap are published in our statutory dataset and shown on this page from source: 2.75% of gross pay, minimum KES 300/month, no upper cap. Confirm against Social Health Authority (SHA) before relying on it for a specific payroll.
Does SHIF reduce the pay PAYE is charged on?
Whether a statutory deduction is allowable before tax is set by law and differs by item — it is not a matter of preference. The Kenya salary calculator applies the current treatment for each deduction, so the interaction between SHIF and PAYE is handled rather than assumed.
Stop tracking rates by hand
PayrollMaster maintains every rate on this page and applies the current version on every payroll run — then files the return. Start free and run one real month against your own numbers.