VAT invoice rules in Nigeria

In Nigeria an invoice must show your TIN, itemised lines, and VAT separately at the applicable rate — 7.5%, with 7.5% applying to most work. A tax invoice quoting your TIN and the VAT charged. VAT returns are filed monthly, by the 21st of the following month, whether or not you made any sales.

The Nigeria rule people miss

VAT is 7.5% and applies broadly, but a long list of basic items is exempt. Registration is required from the start of business rather than above a turnover threshold, though small companies below ₦25 million turnover are relieved from charging it.

When VAT registration becomes compulsory

Companies with turnover of ₦25 million or less in a calendar year are not required to charge VAT, but registration with the FIRS is still expected on commencement of business.

Assessed on a rolling twelve months in most systems, not your financial year — which is the detail that catches people out.

Which VAT rate applies to what

No reduced band. Exemptions cover basic food, medical and pharmaceutical products, books, educational materials and baby products.

Bands are defined by what you supply, not by who buys it.

How often you file in Nigeria

VAT returns are monthly, due by the 21st of the following month, and the return is required whether or not you made any taxable supplies in the period. Nil returns still have to be filed.

A worked VAT example

Invoice ₦4,100 with a 5% discount shown on the document:

• Net before discount: ₦4,100
• Discount at 5%: −₦205
• Taxable value: ₦3,895
• VAT at 7.5%: ₦292.13
• Total due: ₦4,187.13

The discounted value is what gets taxed — discounts, deposits and advance payments covers where that stops being obvious.

Correcting an invoice in Nigeria

Credit notes reference the original invoice and are reflected in the return for the month they are issued, not the month of the original supply. Keep the linkage explicit, because the FIRS reconciles against the original.

Invoicing outside Nigeria

Non-resident suppliers of digital services to Nigerian customers are required to register and charge VAT, and Nigerian customers are often obliged to withhold and remit where the supplier has not.

Charging tax to a client in another country covers the general shape.

Record keeping in Nigeria

Six years. What to hand your accountant at year end.

The universal fields — number, both parties, dates, lines, tax separately, total — apply on top of the local rules above. Rates change: checked to mid-2026, a starting point rather than tax advice; verify against the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

Set your country once in EstimateBill and the tax is labelled correctly on every invoice after that — GST and GSTIN in India, VAT in the UK, Sales Tax and EIN in the US, across 58 countries.