Maria Regina Nakibuuka2026-07-292026-07-292026-06-08https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11951/2223PostgraduateThis research sought to establish the relationship between tax administration practices, and tax compliance in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within the Kampala Central Division of Uganda. The study was guided by three specific objectives: to establish the relationship between tax registration practices and tax compliance among SMEs in Kampala Central Division; to assess the relationship between record-keeping requirements and tax compliance among SMEs in Kampala Central Division; and to establish the relationship between tax assessment practices and tax compliance among SMEs in Kampala Central Division. A descriptive research design was used with quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Data was collected from 363 small enterprises, 335 medium enterprises in Kampala Central Division using a self-administered questionnaires and 9 key informant interviews were conducted using an interview guide. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 and tabulation was applied using frequencies and percentages in the Validation of the statistical findings. The findings revealed that tax administration practices specifically tax assessment practices, tax registration and record keeping requirements positively and significantly relate to timely filing and accurate reporting with correlation values ranging from 0.978 to 0.999. However, a weak relationship was observed between tax registration and full tax payment among small enterprises (p=0.008). Crucially, compliance costs were found to act as a significant moderating variable; while they were positively correlated with tax compliance in small enterprises (r=0.974 to 0.977), they were negatively related in medium enterprises (r=-0.867 to -0.832), Indicating that high administrative burdens significantly hinder compliance as firm size increases. The study concludes that while administrative practices are foundational, their effectiveness is heavily moderated by compliance costs. It is recommended that Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) provides targeted “onboarding kits” explaining formalization benefits to offset entry burdens and offers financial incentives or tax credits for early EFRIS adoption. Simultaneously, SME operators are encouraged to formalize early and adopt simplified record keeping systems to mitigate compliance costs and build business legitimacy.enThesis