What goes on a Nigerian withholding tax return
The details a Nigerian withholding tax return must show for each payee, the NRS template and evidence of remittance, and a routine for building it monthly.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Nigeria
Launching soon. Some of the screens this article describes for Nigerian and Kenyan businesses are not reachable in Achekam yet. They are coming soon.
Deducting withholding tax is half the job. The other half is telling the NRS who you deducted it from, and that is where a busy month turns into an evening of hunting for supplier addresses and registration numbers that nobody wrote down when the supplier was set up.
The return is not complicated, but it is detailed. Every payee gets its own line, every line needs the same set of particulars, and the return has to go in with proof that the money was paid. This guide sets out what each line must show, the template the NRS provides, and a monthly routine that keeps the schedule from becoming a scramble.
The return and its evidence of remittance
The NRS says a person who deducts tax at source must file a return with evidence of remittance. The return is not a summary total: it lists each payee separately, so that each payee's deductions can be tied to that payee's own tax position.
The money and the return run on the same clock. The NRS says tax deducted that is payable to it must be remitted not later than the 21st day of the month following the month of payment. Under section 107(1) of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, failing to remit by the 21st day of the following month makes the deductor liable for the amount, an administrative penalty of 10% per annum of it, and interest at the Central Bank of Nigeria's monetary policy rate. Section 28 of the same Act says monthly deduction returns are rendered as specified in the regulation issued for that purpose. The penalties are covered in withholding tax remittance penalties.
Each payee line
For each payee, the NRS says the return must show:
| Field | Where to get it |
|---|---|
| Name and address | The supplier's registered details, not the trading name on a delivery note |
| Tax ID | From the supplier, checked against the Tax ID portal |
| NIN or RC number | The individual's NIN, or the company's CAC registration number |
| Nature of transaction | Rent, professional fees, construction, and so on |
| Gross amount | The amount before deduction |
| Tax deducted | The amount withheld |
| Calendar month | The month the payment relates to |
The fields that cause trouble are the identifiers. A supplier set up in a hurry often has a name and a bank account and nothing else. Ask for the Tax ID and the NIN or RC number at onboarding, before the first payment, because chasing them at month-end delays the return for every other payee too.
The nature of the transaction matters because the rate depends on it. A single supplier can appear on two lines in one month if you paid it for two different kinds of work.
The calendar month needs the same care. It is the month the payment relates to, so a payment made late for an earlier month's invoice should be reported against the month the NRS asks for, not simply dropped into the current schedule. When in doubt, note the invoice date and the payment date side by side in your working file.
The NRS template
The NRS provides templates for withholding tax returns, as it does for withholding VAT and withheld stamp duty returns, each completed and uploaded on Rev360 to report and remit the amounts deducted. Its Tax Returns Forms page has the official Excel templates for each of these returns. Download the current version each time rather than reusing an old copy, since templates change.
Supplier details in Achekam, and the VAT-number limit
The schedule is easiest to build when supplier records are clean. Achekam keeps one supplier list for the business, with duplicate checks by name or VAT number, and quotations, orders and bills all pick their supplier from it. One record per supplier means one line of particulars to keep current, and no second record with a slightly different name splitting the payments.
There is a limit to plan around. Achekam's supplier VAT number field accepts only the South African format, so Nigerian VAT numbers are refused there. Until that changes, keep each supplier's Tax ID and NIN or RC number in the working schedule you use to build the return, and update it whenever a supplier's details change.
Filing it yourself and recording the payment
Achekam does not file Nigerian tax returns. A person with the business's NRS filing permission completes the template, files it on Rev360 and uploads the receipt to Achekam, and a different person verifies it before the return counts as filed.
The remittance is recorded the same way. Achekam records a Nigerian tax payment with the authority's own reference and receipt, an RRR or DIN, and never generates a payment reference itself. A second person confirms it. The reference format is not validated, so copy it carefully from the receipt. Recording tax payments with an RRR goes through that step.
A monthly schedule routine
- In the first week, export every supplier payment for the previous month.
- Mark the payments that carried a deduction and the nature of each.
- Fill in name, address, Tax ID and NIN or RC number from your schedule of supplier details.
- Total the tax deducted and agree it to the withholding tax payable account.
- Remit, keep the payment evidence, and complete the NRS template.
- File on Rev360 by the 21st, upload the receipt, and have a colleague verify it.
- Note any supplier whose particulars were missing and fix the record before the next payment.
Build the schedule from the payments, not from memory, and keep the identifiers with the supplier from day one. The return then becomes a matter of copying known details rather than searching for them.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
