What a missed deadline actually costs
The Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025 puts numbers on a late return and on tax paid late. Here they are, plainly.
A return filed late
₦100,000 for the first month it is late, then ₦50,000 for every further month it stays outstanding (s.101).
An incomplete return counts as a late one. A nil return still counts — if nothing happened that month, the return still has to go in saying so.
The clock starts the day after the deadline, and the Act counts by month of default: one day late is already month one.
Tax paid late
10% is added to the tax itself, plus interest from the due date until it clears, at the Central Bank policy rate plus a spread (s.65).
That is separate from the charge for filing late. A return that is both late and unpaid attracts both.
Money you deducted from someone else
Staff tax and withholding tax are not your money — you held them for someone else. Not passing them on by the deadline carries 10% a year plus interest (s.107).
This is the one that follows the people running the business personally, so it is the first thing to clear if cash is tight.
Not registered, or no books
Not registering: ₦50,000 for the first month, ₦25,000 for each month after (s.100).
Not producing books when asked: ₦50,000 for a company, ₦10,000 for anyone else (s.102).
What BizBrada does about it
Every return in the app shows the section it is filed under and, if the date has passed, how much has accrued so far.
Deadlines are on your calendar before they arrive — 14, 7, 3 and 1 days out — so the figure above stays hypothetical.