The Complete Nigeria Tax Calendar 2026: Every Deadline You Need to Know

Nigeria's tax deadlines are spread across the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025, with different dates for VAT, Withholding Tax, PAYE, Personal Income Tax, and Companies Income Tax. Some go to the Nigeria Revenue Service and others to your state tax authority. This calendar brings every verified deadline into one place so you know exactly what applies to you and when it is due.

Quick Summary: Every Deadline at a Glance

• VAT returns — 21st of the month following the transaction
• Withholding Tax for companies — 21st of the month following deduction, remitted to the NRS
• Withholding Tax for individuals and unincorporated entities — 30th of the month following deduction, remitted to your State Internal Revenue Service
• PAYE remittance — 10th of the month following the deduction
• Fossil Fuel Surcharge — 21st of the month following the transaction
• Personal Income Tax self-assessment — March 31 annually. Income earned in 2026 is due March 31, 2027
• Annual PAYE return for employers — January 31 annually, covering the previous year's deductions
• Companies Income Tax annual return — six months after the end of your company's financial year, typically June 30
• Capital Gains Tax — June 30 or December 31, depending on when the disposal happened

Each one is explained in full detail below, including where to file and what happens if you miss it.

Understanding the Nigeria Tax Act 2025: What Changed — for the full picture of every major change introduced by the new law

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If you have ever missed a tax deadline in Nigeria, there is a good chance it was not because you were careless but because nobody put every deadline in one place for you to see clearly.

The Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 introduced a more structured filing system but the deadlines are spread across different sections of both laws, different tax types, and different authorities. Some returns go to the Nigeria Revenue Service. Some go to your State Internal Revenue Service. Some repeat every month throughout the year. Others only come around once.

Whether you are running a business, earning a salary, or freelancing on the side, keeping track of all of this without a single reference point is genuinely difficult. That is exactly why this article exists.

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The Monthly Deadlines

These repeat every single month for as long as you are operating and missing even one of them starts the penalty clock immediately.

VAT Returns — Due the 21st

VAT returns are due on the 21st of the month following the transaction. If your business made sales in March then your VAT return and payment for those sales are due by April 21st. This applies to every VAT-registered business as long as the business is not exempt under the small business threshold.

You file your VAT return on the NRS Self-Service Portal at nrs.gov.ng. Lagos-based businesses can also use the LIRS eTax Platform for state-level submissions where applicable.

How to Read Your Bank Statement for Tax Purposes — for understanding how VAT charges appear on your records and what is actually legitimate

Withholding Tax — Two Different Deadlines Depending on Who You Are

Withholding Tax has two separate deadlines and confusing them is one of the most common compliance errors Nigerian businesses make.

If you are a company deducting WHT from a payment to a vendor or contractor, you remit it to the Nigeria Revenue Service by the 21st of the following month.

If you are an individual or an unincorporated business deducting WHT, your remittance goes to your State Internal Revenue Service instead and the deadline is the 30th of the following month.

Getting this wrong does not just mean a late filing penalty. If you fail to deduct WHT at all when you were required to, the penalty is 40% of the amount you should have deducted. That is one of the steepest penalties in the entire NTA 2025 compliance framework.

Freelancers in Nigeria: Are You Overpaying Tax? — for how WHT deducted by clients works as a tax credit when you file your annual return

PAYE Remittance — Due the 10th

PAYE deductions taken from employee salaries must be remitted by the 10th of the month following the deduction. If a business deducted PAYE from staff salaries in May then that remittance is due by June 10th, ahead of the VAT and WHT deadlines that fall later in the same month.

Employers file PAYE remittances through the relevant State Internal Revenue Service portal. For Lagos employers that is the LIRS eTax Platform. For Abuja employers it is the FCT-IRS portal.

Fossil Fuel Surcharge — Due the 21st

The Fossil Fuel Surcharge applies to businesses dealing in chargeable fuel products and follows the same pattern as VAT. Returns and payments are due by the 21st of the month following the transaction. Clean energy products, household kerosene, cooking gas, and Compressed Natural Gas are exempt from this surcharge entirely.

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Keeping track of monthly VAT, WHT, and PAYE deadlines on top of running your business is exactly the kind of thing that leads to missed filings and avoidable penalties. Taxidy keeps you ahead of every deadline automatically so you are never caught off guard.

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The Annual Deadlines

These come around once a year but they carry serious weight because they often involve larger amounts and steeper consequences for getting them wrong.

Annual PAYE Return for Employers — January 31

If you are an employer, your annual PAYE return must be filed by January 31st every year. This return covers all salary deductions made across the previous year. So the return you file in January 2027 covers everything deducted from your employees throughout 2026.

This is completely separate from your monthly PAYE remittances. The monthly payments are the actual tax transfers. The January 31st return is the formal annual summary filed with your state tax authority.

Personal Income Tax Self-Assessment — March 31

If you are self-employed, a freelancer, or earn income outside of a salary, your Personal Income Tax self-assessment return is due by March 31st of the year following the income earned. Income earned across 2026 must be declared and any tax owed must be paid by March 31, 2027.

This return is filed with the State Internal Revenue Service in the state where your business is based or where you are resident. Lagos residents file with the LIRS. Abuja residents file with the FCT-IRS.

Freelancers in Nigeria: Are You Overpaying Tax? — for everything self-employed Nigerians need to know about calculating profit, claiming deductions, and filing the self-assessment return correctly

Companies Income Tax Annual Return — June 30 for Most Companies

If you run a registered company, your Companies Income Tax annual return is due six months after your company's financial year ends. For the majority of Nigerian companies on a standard January to December financial year, that places the CIT deadline at June 30th of the following year. CIT for the 2026 financial year is therefore due by June 30, 2027.

Companies with a different financial year end will have a different six-month deadline based on their own year end date. CIT returns are filed through the NRS Self-Service Portal at nrs.gov.ng and must be accompanied by audited financial statements.

Capital Gains Tax — June 30 or December 31

If you disposed of a chargeable asset and owe Capital Gains Tax, your return is due by either June 30th or December 31st depending on which half of the year the disposal took place in. A disposal between January and June means a June 30th deadline. A disposal between July and December means a December 31st deadline.

Understanding the Nigeria Tax Act 2025: What Changed — for how Capital Gains Tax rates changed for individuals and companies under the NTA 2025

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What Happens If You Miss a Deadline

The penalties attached to these deadlines are not minor inconveniences and they compound quickly.

• Late or inaccurate VAT returns — ₦100,000 administrative penalty for the first month of default, followed by ₦50,000 for every additional month the return stays outstanding
• Late payment of tax owed — 10% penalty on the outstanding amount plus interest at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria Monetary Policy Rate
• Failure to deduct WHT when required — 40% administrative penalty on the amount that should have been deducted, which is significantly higher than the standard late filing penalty
• Late WHT remittance — 10% of the amount not remitted plus CBN MPR interest
• Late PIT self-assessment filing — ₦50,000 for the first month of default then ₦25,000 for every subsequent month the return remains outstanding

One thing worth knowing is that the NRS does have a process for requesting penalty waivers in cases where there is a genuine reason for non-compliance but this is entirely at the discretion of the authority and is not guaranteed. Consistent late filing patterns significantly reduce the chance of any waiver being granted.

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An Important Note for 2026

Because 2026 is the first full year these new tax laws have been in effect, some state tax authorities granted taxpayers a short adjustment period. Lagos State extended its individual Personal Income Tax return deadline to April 21, 2026 and the FCT Internal Revenue Service granted a similar extension.

This was a one-time transition allowance specific to the first year of implementation and should not be assumed to repeat in future years. From 2027 onward the standard March 31st deadline should be expected to apply without any extension.

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Where to Actually File

Knowing the deadlines is only useful if you know where to go when the time comes.

• NRS Self-Service Portal at nrs.gov.ng — the primary federal platform for VAT returns, WHT remittances for companies, CIT annual returns, and CGT. All federal tax filings go here.
• LIRS eTax Platform at etax.lirs.gov.ng — for Lagos residents and Lagos-registered businesses. Used for PAYE remittances, individual PIT returns, and annual employer returns filed with the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service.
• FCT-IRS Portal at irs.fct.gov.ng — for Abuja residents and FCT-registered businesses. Covers the same state-level obligations as the LIRS platform but for the Federal Capital Territory.
• Other states — each state has its own Internal Revenue Service portal for PAYE and PIT filings. Check your state's IRS website directly for the correct platform.

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How to Apply This Calendar to Your Situation

Not every deadline on this list applies to every person. Go through the list and identify which ones are relevant to your specific situation.

A salaried employee with no income outside their job mainly needs to confirm that their employer is correctly remitting PAYE on their behalf each month and filing the annual PAYE return by January 31st.

A freelancer or self-employed individual needs to track the March 31st Personal Income Tax deadline closely since that responsibility falls entirely on them with no employer to handle it.

A VAT-registered business owner is managing VAT by the 21st every single month alongside WHT obligations and the annual CIT return.

An employer is responsible for both the monthly PAYE remittance by the 10th and the annual PAYE return by January 31st.

Set a reminder several days before each deadline that applies to you rather than on the day itself. Filing systems can experience delays and giving yourself a buffer protects you from a last-minute technical issue turning into a missed deadline and an avoidable penalty.

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Tax compliance in Nigeria involves multiple deadlines across different authorities. Taxidy tracks every obligation that applies to your situation, sends you reminders before each deadline, and helps you file accurately without the stress of figuring it all out yourself.

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Taxidy is built by Nigerians who understand exactly how confusing this system is.

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Sources: Nigeria Tax Act 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025; PwC Nigeria Withholding Tax Summary; Banwo and Ighodalo Nigeria Tax Regime Guide; Legit.ng Tax Filing Deadlines Report February 2026; Rubileads Nigeria Tax Deadlines April 2026; LIRS Annual Returns Statement January 2026. All deadlines verified against primary NTA 2025 and NTAA 2025 provisions.