Two authorities, two dates, one deduction. That is the state of the withholding tax remittance deadline once you deduct from a payment to an individual.
The federal deadline
Tax deducted, collected or withheld must reach the NRS by the 21st day of the following month. This date sits in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 itself. It is the date the law's own penalty is measured against.
The different date a state authority asks for
Lagos State's own guidance quotes the 30th day of the following month instead. This comes from the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, LIRS. It covers WHT deducted from payments to individuals or unincorporated entities.
Rent, commission, professional fees, contracts and directors' fees paid to a person fall under this state-level date, rather than a company. Other state tax authorities have been reported using the same later date.
Why the two dates conflict
This is not a small rounding difference. The Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 ties its own late-remittance penalty to the 21st day of the following month. LIRS, meanwhile, publishes its own deadline over a week later.
Remit between the two dates, and you may meet the state's own deadline. You would still miss the date the federal penalty uses.
The safer date to work to
A written law that ties a penalty to one date beats separate guidance that offers a later one. Plan around the written law.
10% a year of the amount not remitted, plus interest is the cost of missing the 21st day of the following month. Treat that as your real deadline, even where a state authority's own materials suggest more time.
What this means in practice
Take WHT deducted from an individual, for rent or a professional fee, for example. The safest plan is remitting by the 21st. Do not wait for the later state-quoted date.
For a payment to a company, the 21st day of the following month applies without the same state-level wrinkle. The LIRS date is specifically about payments to individuals and unincorporated entities.
Keep a simple log of what was deducted, from whom, and when it was remitted. A log like this settles any question about which deadline you actually met, months after the payment itself.
Common mistakes
- Working to a state authority's later date as if it were the legal deadline. The penalty in federal law is tied to the earlier one.
- Not asking your own state. If you remit to a state other than Lagos, ask its revenue service in writing which date it enforces, and keep the reply.
- Treating company and individual payments the same way. The state-level date is specifically about payments to individuals and unincorporated entities.
For what happens if a deduction is not remitted at all, read the penalty for not remitting withholding tax. For the rates behind these deductions, see WHT rates on contracts, services and goods, and browse the NRS and Rev360 hub for more.