SHIF/SHA Contributions in Kenya: Rates, Registration and Paying via M-Pesa

SHIF (the Social Health Insurance Fund) charges every salaried Kenyan 2.75% of gross monthly pay, with a minimum of KES 300 and no upper limit, as of October 2026. Non-salaried members pay the same 2.75% rate on their household income after a means test, also floored at KES 300 a month. You register with the Social Health Authority (SHA) by dialling *147# or visiting sha.go.ke, and you pay through M-Pesa Paybill 200222 using your National ID as the account number.

What is SHIF, and how is it different from SHA?

SHA (Social Health Authority) is the body Parliament created under the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023 to replace NHIF. SHA runs three separate funds, and people often use "SHA" and "SHIF" interchangeably when they really mean different things:

• Primary Healthcare Fund (PHF): free outpatient care at Level 2, 3 and some Level 4 facilities, as long as you're registered.
• Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF): kicks in when you're referred to bigger, Level 4–6 hospitals for inpatient care, surgery, maternity, dialysis, cancer treatment and similar services — and only if your contributions are up to date.
• Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund (ECCIF): covers emergency and serious chronic cases.

So "paying your SHIF" really means paying your SHA contribution, which funds all three. SHA's own explainer confirms SHIF is the fund you draw on once you're referred up from a local clinic to a hospital.

How much do you pay for SHIF in Kenya?

The rate is flat: 2.75% of gross monthly income, with a KES 300 minimum and no cap, confirmed on SHA's premium rates page (checked October 2026). If 2.75% of your pay works out below KES 300, you still pay KES 300.

The crossover is KES 10,909: below that, the KES 300 floor is actually a higher effective rate than 2.75%; above it, you pay straight 2.75% with no ceiling, unlike NSSF or the Affordable Housing Levy, which both cap out — work out your own NSSF cap with our NSSF calculator.

If you're employed, your employer deducts this automatically from your payslip. SHA's own FAQ confirms employers must deduct 2.75% and remit it — you never pay it yourself on top of the payslip deduction.

If you're self-employed or in the informal sector, SHA uses a means test on afyayangu.go.ke to work out your household income, then applies the same 2.75% rate, with the same KES 300 floor. Where both spouses earn an income, SHA combines the household's total earnings first, then applies 2.75% to the combined figure — SHA's contributions FAQ spells this out directly, so don't assume you each pay 2.75% separately if you're filing as one household.

One useful detail for payslip readers: SHIF is deducted from your gross pay before PAYE is calculated, not after. Under changes brought by the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024 and confirmed in KRA's PAYE guidance, SHIF (like NSSF) lowers your taxable income first, which is part of why your actual take-home pay is higher than a naive "gross minus every deduction" sum suggests. Run your own numbers through our Kenya PAYE calculator to see SHIF, NSSF, the Housing Levy and PAYE applied in the right order — it's also a faster way to check this table against your exact payslip than doing the maths by hand. For the bands themselves, see our PAYE tax bands guide.

Employing someone at home? Our house help salary calculator works out their SHIF, NSSF and housing levy for you.

How do you register for SHA?

Registration is mandatory for every Kenyan resident over 18, and free. SHA's own registration FAQ lays out three ways in:

1. USSD (no smartphone needed): Dial *147#, accept the terms, enter your national ID number and first name, confirm your details, set a PIN and wait for the confirmation SMS. Keep the PIN safe — you'll need it again on afyayangu.go.ke.
2. Online: Go to sha.go.ke and click "Register," then finish the process by logging into afyayangu.go.ke with your ID and PIN, confirming the OTP sent to your phone and email, and opening "My Profile" to add dependants and complete your means test if you're non-salaried.
3. In person: Visit any SHA office, a Huduma Centre or an authorised SHA agent with your National ID. They'll capture your biometrics and dependants for you — useful if you don't have a phone, data or a cybercafé nearby.

Foreigners and refugees register the same way using an Alien ID number and work permit, or a refugee ID, selecting the "foreign" tab on afyayangu.go.ke. Children are added as dependants using their birth certificate; you cannot opt out once registered, since registration is a legal requirement under the Act.

What to have ready: your National ID (or Alien ID/refugee ID for non-citizens), a phone number you control, and an email address if you're completing the online portion on afyayangu.go.ke.

How do you pay SHIF contributions via M-Pesa?

For individuals and non-salaried members, SHA's own contributions FAQ gives four ways to pay:

1. USSD: Dial *147#, enter your ID, select "Make Payment" and follow the prompts.
2. Paybill: Lipa na M-Pesa, Business Number 200222, Account Number = your National ID number.
3. STK push via the portal: Log in at afyayangu.go.ke and choose the M-Pesa payment option — it sends an M-Pesa PIN prompt straight to your phone.
4. Bank: Pay through one of SHA's appointed banks (Equity, KCB, Co-op, Absa, Sidian or DTB) using your National ID or SHA Client Registry (CR) number.

You'll get two confirmation messages — one from M-Pesa, one from SHA — so keep both as proof of payment. Paying via Paybill 200222 costs the standard M-Pesa paybill charge for your contribution amount — see our M-Pesa charges guide for the exact fee.

If you're an employer, the process is different: register on employers.sha.go.ke, upload your employees' contribution by-product file for the month, generate an E-Slip, then pay via Paybill 200222 using the E-Slip number (not an ID number) as the account reference, or through the same appointed banks. Our guide to filing KRA returns covers the similar iTax upload-and-pay pattern if you want the general idea before you touch the SHA employer portal for the first time.

Can't afford a lump sum? Non-salaried members who've completed means testing can use Lipa SHA Pole Pole: pay the first four months' premium upfront, then the rest in daily, weekly or monthly instalments over the following period, deducted automatically via M-Pesa Ratiba once you set it up. There's no interest or extra charge, and full cover starts as soon as you enrol. Set it up via *147# (select "Lipa Pole Pole") or *254# (Hustler Fund → Lipa Pole Pole → SHA Payment).

What happens if you pay SHIF late?

SHA charges a 2% monthly penalty on the unpaid amount, under Section 27(6) of the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023 — confirmed directly in SHA's own penalty FAQ. Contributions are due by the 9th of the following month under the Social Health Insurance Regulations, 2024. SHA's penalty module went live on 10 July 2025 and applies from that date onward, so penalties on older arrears before that date aren't automatically backdated.

Beyond the monthly 2% charge:

• Your Payment Reference Number (PRN) for the next month won't be generated until the outstanding penalty is cleared.
• You (or, for an employer, your flagged employees) are marked inactive and lose access to SHIF-funded hospital care until the balance is paid.
• Refusing to remit at all, as opposed to merely paying late, is a criminal offence under Section 48 of the Act, with penalties reported up to KES 2 million and/or three years in prison for the most serious cases — rare in practice, but the legal backstop behind the civil 2% charge.

SHA does run waiver and amnesty programmes for genuine hardship cases (non-salaried households, employer system errors), so if you've fallen behind, it's worth asking through the SHA contact centre (147 or the toll-free line 0800 720 601) before assuming the penalty is fixed.

What to watch out for

• Wrong account number. Paybill 200222 is correct for both individuals and employers, but the account number differs: your ID number for yourself, an E-Slip number for employer bulk payments. Sending a personal ID payment where an E-Slip was needed (or vice versa) means SHA can't match the money to the right member. If you've already sent money to the wrong number entirely, our guide on reversing a wrong M-Pesa payment walks through the recall process.
• Registering but skipping dependants. SHA explicitly flags this as common: people register themselves, forget to add a spouse or children under "My Profile" on afyayangu.go.ke, then find those dependants aren't covered when they actually need care.
• Assuming NHIF balances carried over automatically. If you'd prepaid NHIF premiums for months ahead, that balance only moves to SHA once you've registered and completed means testing — it isn't automatic.
• Confusing "registered" with "covered." You can register and use Primary Healthcare Fund services the same day, but SHIF-funded hospital referrals only work if your monthly contributions are actually up to date — not just that you signed up once.
• Assuming SHIF alone covers a big hospital bill. SHIF pays hospitals against its own tariff list, not a fixed cash limit, so a serious admission can still leave a gap. Most Kenyans who can afford it buy private cover alongside SHA — see our comparison of medical insurance premiums in Kenya for what that actually costs. For the exact daily rates, surgery limits and ICU caps that create that gap, see our breakdown of what SHA actually covers versus private insurance.

Frequently asked questions

Is SHIF the same as NHIF?

No. NHIF was abolished and replaced by the Social Health Authority (SHA) under the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023. SHIF is one of three funds SHA now runs — the one that pays for referrals to bigger hospitals — alongside the Primary Healthcare Fund and the Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund.

Do I pay SHIF if I'm unemployed or a student?

If you have no income, you still need to register with SHA, but the means test should place you close to or at the KES 300 monthly minimum. Households that genuinely can't afford even that are meant to be identified as indigents for government-sponsored cover, through the means testing process on afyayangu.go.ke. If you're a first-year student who's just applied for a HELB loan, register for SHA at the same time — campus clinics will ask for it before they'll see you.

Is there an upper limit on SHIF contributions?

No. Unlike NSSF, which caps contributions once you pass a set earnings threshold, SHIF has no ceiling — a higher earner on KES 500,000 a month pays KES 13,750, straight 2.75%, with nothing capping it.

Can I pay SHIF annually instead of monthly?

Non-salaried members are assessed and billed on an annual household figure through means testing, but SHA's Lipa Pole Pole instalment option effectively lets you spread that annual amount into smaller monthly, weekly or even daily payments via M-Pesa Ratiba rather than paying it all at once.

What if my employer isn't remitting my SHIF deductions?

Check your payslip against your SHA statement of account, available after logging into afyayangu.go.ke. If deductions are being taken but not reaching SHA, that's an employer compliance issue — SHA's system flags non-compliant employers and marks their staff inactive, so it's worth raising it directly with HR and, if unresolved, with the SHA contact centre on 0800 720 601.

How do I check if my SHIF payments are up to date?

Log in to afyayangu.go.ke and generate a statement of account, which shows your contribution history and any outstanding penalties. You can also dial *147# and check your status through the menu.