VAT: when you charge it, and what you send on
VAT is money you collect for the government on top of your price. It was never yours. Here's how to keep it straight.
What VAT actually is
When you sell most goods or services in Nigeria, you add 7.5% to your price. That extra bit is VAT. You collect it from your customer and pass it on.
The mistake that hurts people is spending it. The money sits in your account and feels like yours. It isn't. BizBrada shows what you've collected so far so it never surprises you at the end of the month.
What you can take off
You also pay VAT when you buy from other registered businesses. That's called input VAT, and you subtract it from what you collected.
- VAT you charged on sales, minus
- VAT you paid on business purchases, equals
- what you send on
This is why entering your purchases matters as much as your sales. Every purchase you skip is money you hand over that you didn't have to.
Sales that work differently
Some things carry no VAT — basic food, medicines, education, exports. In BizBrada you mark a record as exempt or zero-rated and it stays out of what you owe.
If you're not sure which a sale is, mark it vatable and ask us. Guessing low is the one that gets expensive later.
When it's due
VAT is monthly. You file for a month by the 21st of the following month.
BizBrada keeps a running position, so on the 1st you already know the figure. There's no scramble.