A missed tax deadline in Nigeria is not a vague risk. The penalty is a fixed figure, set out in law, and it starts the day after the deadline passes.
The penalty that starts the day after the deadline
Miss 31 March each year and the first month's penalty is ₦100,000. This applies to a return that is late, missing entirely, or knowingly filed with incomplete or inaccurate figures.
The rule has applied since 1 Jan 2026. State tax authorities such as those of Lagos and Anambra state the same figure on their own sites, since the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 covers both federal and state administration.
How it grows the longer a return stays unfiled
After the first month, the penalty adds ₦50,000 for every further month the return remains unfiled. A return left for several months does not attract a single flat fee; it keeps accumulating.
This is one of the clearer reasons to file even a late return promptly, rather than leaving it because the moment for filing on time has already passed. The penalty is smaller the sooner you act.
The separate penalty if tax itself is unpaid
Filing late is one problem. Owing tax that has not been paid is a different one, with its own penalty: 10% of the unpaid amount, added on top of the tax itself.
Interest also runs on unpaid tax. From 1 October 2026, the national rate is the CBN Monetary Policy Rate plus 1 percentage point, charged daily until the tax is paid. Whether your state authority applies that same rate has not been confirmed, so check with it. A return can be filed on time and the tax still be unpaid, so these two penalties do not always travel together.
Why owing nothing is not a defence
A common assumption is that a small or zero tax bill makes lateness harmless. It does not. The penalty in this post is for the return, not for the tax. Every taxable person must file a return each year, even if no tax is due, and the late-filing penalty applies to that duty regardless of the amount, if any, actually owed.
Filing on time costs nothing extra. Filing late costs a fixed, growing amount, whatever the underlying tax position turns out to be.
Fixing a missed return before it escalates
If a deadline has already passed, file as soon as possible rather than waiting for a more convenient moment. Every additional month adds ₦50,000 to what a late return already costs.
Keep whatever confirmation you get once you do file, alongside your other records; see personal income tax records to keep for what else is worth holding on to. For the deadline itself and what a return needs, see filing your individual annual tax return, and browse the rest of the series in the PAYE and state tax hub.