Quick answer: pick the make, model and year of the car you want from Japan. The tool looks up the car’s Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP) in KRA’s July 2025 list of 5,277 cars, applies KRA’s depreciation for its age, and works out import duty, excise duty, VAT, the Import Declaration Fee and the Railway Development Levy, exactly as KRA’s own worksheet does. Add your freight, clearing and registration quotes to get a full landed cost in shillings.
What Will This Car Cost Landed?
July 2025 List
Add your own quotes for the car, shipping and clearing (optional)
Pick a make, model and year. The assessment appears here.
Source: KRA CRSP list, July 2025 (in force from 1 July 2025), kra.go.ke. Rates: import duty 35% (EAC Common External Tariff), excise 20%, 25% or 35% by engine (Excise Duty Act), VAT 16%, IDF 2.5%, RDL 2% (Tax Laws (Amendment) Act 2024), following KRA’s own TEMPLATE 2025 sheet. Indicative only; the KRA assessment at entry is final.
How KRA Works Out the Tax on an Imported Car
KRA does not tax the price you paid the dealer in Japan. It starts from the CRSP, the price KRA says the same car sells for new in Kenya, including all taxes. The current list was published in July 2025 and is still the newest one on kra.go.ke. KRA then strips the taxes back out of that retail price to reach a customs value, and charges every tax on that customs value.
The steps, taken from the TEMPLATE 2025 sheet inside KRA’s CRSP workbook, are:
- Customs value = CRSP ÷ 1.25 × (1 − depreciation) ÷ 1.35 ÷ (1 + excise rate) ÷ 1.16.
- Import duty = 35% of the customs value (the EAC Common External Tariff band for cars).
- Excise duty = 20%, 25% or 35% of customs value plus import duty, depending on the engine.
- VAT = 16% of customs value plus import duty plus excise duty.
- IDF = 2.5% of the customs value, and RDL = 2% of the customs value.
Fully electric cars follow KRA’s separate electric-vehicle block: 25% import duty and 10% excise duty.
Excise Bands and Depreciation
| Engine | Excise rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,500cc (petrol, hybrid or diesel) | 20% |
| Petrol 1,501cc to 3,000cc; diesel 1,501cc to 2,500cc | 25% |
| Petrol above 3,000cc; diesel above 2,500cc | 35% |
| Fully electric | 10% |
KRA’s depreciation for direct imports is 0% for a car up to one year old, then 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 55%, 60% and 65% for each extra year up to eight years. KRA’s sheet counts age as the current year minus the year of manufacture, so a 2021 car is treated as five years old in 2026 and gets 50%.
The 8-Year Rule
The Kenya Bureau of Standards will not let in a used car more than eight years from its year of first registration (KS 1515:2000). In 2026 that means a car first registered in 2019 or later. If you pick an older year, the tool stamps the assessment “Rejected at Port”, because the car will be turned away at Mombasa no matter what the tax is.
What the Tool Does Not Include
Freight from Japan, clearing agent fees, port charges and NTSA registration are not taxes, and there is no single official rate card for most of them. Rather than guess, the tool lets you type in the quotes you have received. Mombasa port storage, for example, is free for five days after discharge for a car cleared in Kenya, then charged daily under the Kenya Ports Authority tariff that took effect on 15 September 2025. If you need quotes, use the form below.
Treat every result as a guide. The official figure is the one KRA assesses when your clearing agent lodges the entry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my duty different from what the seller in Japan told me?
Sellers often quote duty on the price you paid. KRA uses the CRSP for the exact model and grade, so the same car can attract very different duty depending on which grade appears on its export certificate.
My model is not in the list. What happens?
KRA values cars missing from the list against the closest comparable model. Pick the nearest grade with the same engine size and fuel, and expect KRA’s figure to differ.
Is the RDL still charged?
Yes. The Railway Development Levy is 2% of the customs value, set by the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act 2024, and KRA’s 2025 template includes it.
After the car lands, see the car loan and logbook loan calculator, the car insurance premium estimator, NTSA inspection fees and how to transfer ownership on NTSA. Importing goods rather than a car? Use the import duty calculator for goods from China.
