Nearly 15,000 HR, payroll and finance professionals registered for a nationwide engagement session on the implementation of Nigeria’s Tax Reform Acts, with officials outlining measures designed to protect low-income workers and simplify compliance.
A recent virtual briefing, held in collaboration with the Joint Revenue Board (JRB), focused on how the new laws affect Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) calculations, filing obligations and the taxation of remote work, partnerships and personal income.
Details of the briefing were contained in a press release by Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.
According to Oyedele, the reforms introduce automatic exemptions for workers earning the national minimum wage or less.
With allowable deductions and rent relief applied, employees earning up to N100,000 a month could see their tax liability fall to zero, he added.
Clarifying questions around fiscal federalism, he stressed that Personal Income Tax remains payable to State Internal Revenue Services, not a national revenue authority.
Revenue agencies will coordinate through the JRB to deliver what was described as a harmonised taxpayer experience.
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The session also addressed partnership income, confirming that individual partners are taxed in their respective states of residence, and outlined changes aimed at boosting Nigeria’s competitiveness for global talent.
Under the new regime, foreign employers are no longer deemed taxable in Nigeria solely because staff work remotely from within the country.
Payroll managers were urged to operationalise the revised PAYE computation to ensure workers benefit from the reforms.
The process begins with gross income, adds any benefits-in-kind, applies statutory reliefs such as pension and health contributions, and includes rent relief of 20 per cent of actual rent paid, capped at N500,000.
Oyedele further clarified that the first N800,000 of chargeable income is taxed at zero, with progressive rates applied thereafter.
Although the top marginal rate is 25 per cent, he stated that the effective rate is greatly lower once deductions are factored in.
Oyedele also reiterated key compliance deadlines: employers must file annual returns by 31 January; individual self-assessment returns covering all income sources are due by 31 March; and beneficiaries of specified tax incentives must now submit a dedicated incentives return.