Per Diem Rates Kenya Public Service Guide

Kenyan public-service per diem, officially called daily subsistence allowance or DSA, is set out in SRC’s circular of 7 August 2023 for the public officers it covers. Local rates are standardised across Kenya under Table 1, so an employer should match the officer’s grade to that schedule rather than use older city and county-headquarters cluster tables. Payment entitlement and tax treatment are separate: KRA’s published guidance excludes the first KSh 2,000 per employee per day from tax for qualifying official duty away from the usual workplace.

Which SRC Schedule Should You Use?

Start with the officer’s category, the travel dates and whether the assignment is local or foreign. Do not choose a rate simply because a search result labels its table “latest”.

Use this decision path:

• Local travel covered by the August 2023 circular: use Table 1 of that circular. SRC expressly states that local DSA rates are standardised across the country.
• Foreign travel covered by the circular: use its foreign DSA schedule, not the local table or a donor’s allowance schedule.
• A historical claim: establish the schedule applicable to the travel period before calculating the amount. Keep the historical circular with the settlement record.
• An unclear officer category or grade mapping: obtain clarification through the institution’s remuneration-and-benefits process rather than selecting the nearest-looking rate.

The exact cash amount cannot be selected responsibly without the officer’s applicable grade and schedule. The supplied evidence establishes which schedule to use but does not reproduce its rate rows, so this guide does not substitute an unverified rate table for the official document.

Why Older Cluster Tables Cause Errors

The earlier SRC framework used destination clusters, which explains the city, county-headquarters and other-town tables still circulating online. Under SRC’s February 2022 update, Nakuru changed from county headquarters to cities for local DSA purposes.

The important subsequent change is the circular dated 7 August 2023: it says local rates are standardised nationwide and payable using Table 1. For covered travel, do not combine that table with destination uplifts taken from the older framework.

This establishes a clear operational distinction without assuming that every provision of every earlier circular was cancelled. Where an institution has a conflicting instruction, ask for the written authority supporting it.

Establish the Payment Before Calculating Tax

SRC describes DSA as facilitating official assignments away from an officer’s duty station, within or outside Kenya. A travel allowance should therefore be linked to an identifiable assignment, not treated as an automatic supplement to monthly salary.

Before approving payment, record:

• The officer’s name, grade or salary scale, and normal duty station.
• The purpose and destination of the assignment.
• Approved departure and return dates and times.
• The circular used, its date, the applicable rate row and the grade mapping.
• Any accommodation, meals or transport arranged and paid for separately.
• The approved advance, final settlement and any recovery.

These are recommended employer controls, not a claim that each field is a prescribed statutory form. Keeping the evidence in the same employee-management record makes it easier to reconcile travel approval with the eventual payment.

Accommodation, Meals and Local Transport

Do not assume that the label “per diem” settles which expenses are included. Check the applicable circular and institutional travel policy before approving separate hotel, meal, incidental or local-transport claims alongside DSA.

Where accommodation or meals are supplied, record what the employer paid directly and obtain a documented settlement decision. The research does not establish a universal reduction percentage, so applying an invented percentage would be no safer than paying everything without checking.

Likewise, an ordinary journey between home and the normal workplace does not fit SRC’s stated purpose of an official assignment away from the duty station. Document the actual assignment rather than relying on the payment description alone.

Foreign-Travel DSA: Use the Foreign Schedule

The August 2023 circular contains both local and foreign DSA schedules. For an overseas assignment, identify the relevant foreign entry and officer grade before authorising an advance.

Record the mission dates, destination, schedule currency, applicable rate and any separately funded accommodation or meals. If settlement involves a currency conversion, retain the exchange-rate source and conversion date used under the institution’s approved policy.

The supplied facts do not establish a universal exchange-rate date for every institution. Do not present the booking date, departure date or settlement date as an SRC-wide rule without supporting authority.

Where a donor funds the mission, keep its funding conditions distinct from the public employer’s payment authority. A donor or UN rate should not be silently substituted for the applicable SRC schedule.

How PAYE Applies to Per Diem

KRA lists subsistence and travelling payments among cash emoluments. Its published guidance treats the first KSh 2,000 per employee per day as a reimbursement that is not taxable when the employee is outside their usual workplace on official duty.

Payroll Treatment Example

Take an approved daily cash allowance for a documented assignment away from the employee’s usual workplace. Where the allowance exceeds KSh 2,000, identify the first KSh 2,000 as the exempt reimbursement element under KRA’s guidance, then route the remaining taxable amount through payroll.

For a longer assignment, reconcile the qualifying days to the travel evidence before applying that daily treatment. Do not exempt the entire advance merely because it was posted to a travel-expense account.

Keep the reimbursement element and taxable allowance distinguishable in your payroll process. Use the Kenya PAYE calculator to assess the payroll effect after identifying the taxable amount, not to decide whether the trip qualifies.

Employers must remit PAYE and submit the PAYE return through iTax on or before the 9th day of the following month, according to KRA. Include taxable travel allowances in the payroll reconciliation supporting that return.

Public-Service Rules Versus Private-Employer Policy

SRC’s constitutional role is to set and review State officers’ remuneration and benefits and advise national and county governments on those of other public officers. That remit explains why public-service schedules do not automatically prescribe a mandatory per diem amount for private employers.

A private Kenyan employer should document its own eligibility rules, allowance basis, treatment of employer-paid expenses and settlement process. If it adopts SRC rates as a benchmark, identify the schedule and version explicitly. The employer’s chosen payment amount still needs a separate KRA tax assessment.

Handling Clarifications and Policy Changes

The SRC Remuneration and Benefits of State and Other Public Officers Regulations, 2026 were published and commenced on 19 June 2026. An institution seeking clarification or a new benefit should consult those regulations for the request, review, advice and implementation process.

Prepare the existing circular, affected officer categories, proposed treatment and the precise point requiring clarification. Keep the request, resulting advice and implementation decision together so payroll does not act on an unresolved proposal.

For each payment, the final approval should answer separate questions: which schedule authorises it, how the amount was calculated, what supporting evidence exists, and what portion enters taxable payroll.

Sources

Salaries and Remuneration Commission, Circular on Priority Allowances for Other Public Officers - Official-duty purpose, nationwide local DSA standardisation, Table 1 and foreign DSA schedules.

Salaries and Remuneration Commission, Nakuru DSA Classification Circular, hosted by KIPPRA - February 2022 change from county-headquarters to city classification.

Kenya Revenue Authority, Taxation of Cash Allowances - Cash-allowance treatment and the qualifying KSh 2,000 daily reimbursement exclusion.

Kenya Revenue Authority, Pay As You Earn - PAYE deduction, return and remittance obligations and deadline.

Kenya Law, Constitution of Kenya - SRC’s remit for State and other public officers’ remuneration and benefits.

Kenya Law, SRC Remuneration and Benefits Regulations, 2026 - Commencement and the institutional request, review, advice and implementation framework.