Before you start

Registration with FCT-IRS and a taxpayer identification number
A determination of whether you are Nigerian tax-resident
Employment records or business accounts
Evidence of rent paid, for the rent relief

Step-by-step

1
Determine residence under the 2025 Act
183 days or more in Nigeria in any 12-month period makes you resident — and so, independently, can maintaining a permanent home here or having significant economic or family ties. Residents are taxed on worldwide income; non-residents only on Nigerian-source income.
OnlineWho: You
2
Register with FCT-IRS
The Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service administers personal income tax for FCT residents. It is neither a state service nor FIRS. Register in your first month.
OnlineWho: YouFirst month
3
Check your payslip against the 2026 bands
From 1 January 2026: 0% on the first NGN 800,000, then 15%, 18%, 21%, 23% and 25% above NGN 50 million, applied progressively. Employees on the national minimum wage are outside PAYE. Payroll systems were rewritten for this and first-year errors are common.
Via employerWho: You
4
Claim the rent relief with documentation
20% of annual rent paid on residential accommodation, capped at NGN 500,000. Abuja rent is paid a year or two at a time in a single transfer, so the tenancy agreement and the receipt are the entire evidence base. Get a receipt at the moment of payment.
OnlineWho: You
5
File an annual return even on PAYE
The Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 requires individuals to file annually with the revenue service of their residence. PAYE deduction does not remove your own filing obligation, and the resulting tax clearance certificate is asked for constantly.
OnlineWho: YouAnnually
6
Keep the tax clearance certificate current
It is requested by landlords, schools, licensing bodies and for permit renewals. A gap in filing becomes a blocked transaction months later, usually at the worst moment.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

FCT-IRS registration and taxpayer identification
Annual payslips and the employer's PAYE records
Tenancy agreement and rent receipts, for the rent relief
Records of foreign income if you are resident
Pension, NHF and health insurance deduction evidence

Things most newcomers don’t know

The Federal Capital Territory has its own revenue service and it is neither FIRS nor a state authority.

Nigeria's personal income tax is sub-national and follows residence, but Abuja is not in a state. The FCT Internal Revenue Service fills that gap. People arriving from Lagos keep filing with LIRS out of habit; people reasoning from first principles conclude that a federal capital must file federally and go to FIRS, which handles companies and VAT. Both discover the mistake when a tax clearance certificate is needed for a permit renewal or a school place.

Source: FCT Internal Revenue Service

The Consolidated Relief Allowance no longer exists, and every pre-2026 calculator is wrong.

For years Nigerian personal tax started with the CRA — a fixed amount plus 20% of gross income — before applying rates from 7% to 24%. The Nigeria Tax Act 2025 replaced that structure entirely from 1 January 2026 with a zero band on the first NGN 800,000, six bands to a 25% top rate, and a targeted rent relief. Any payroll template, spreadsheet or article built on CRA now produces the wrong number, and plenty are still in circulation.

Source: Nigeria Tax Act 2025

Rent relief rewards keeping a receipt for a payment you make once a year.

The Act allows 20% of annual residential rent as a relief, capped at NGN 500,000, for both PAYE employees and self-employed people. Abuja rent is transferred in one or two large annual payments, so there is no monthly trail to reconstruct from — the tenancy agreement and the dated receipt are the whole evidence base. Ask for the receipt at the moment of transfer; asking a landlord for one nine months later rarely goes well.

Source: Nigeria Tax Act 2025

Diplomatic and international-organisation staff are on a different tax footing, and Abuja has a lot of them.

Accredited diplomatic staff and employees of international organisations with headquarters agreements are frequently exempt from Nigerian personal income tax on their official emoluments under those agreements and the Vienna Convention. Locally engaged staff at the same institutions generally are not. The distinction is precise, it is not a matter of who you work for but of your accreditation status, and it is worth establishing in writing at the start rather than assuming either way.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Filing with FIRS or with a state revenue service instead of FCT-IRS.
Using a pre-2026 calculator built on the Consolidated Relief Allowance.
Paying a year's rent with no receipt and losing the rent relief.
Assuming fewer than 183 days means non-resident under the widened test.
Assuming an exemption from personal income tax without checking your accreditation status.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.