Nigerian Withholding Tax (WHT) Calculator (2026)
Pick a transaction type, and this shows the rate to withhold — including a disclosed flag on the few rates that are genuinely disputed rather than settled.
Nigerian Withholding Tax Calculator
Withholding Tax (WHT) in Nigeria isn’t a separate tax — it’s an advance collection mechanism. Whoever pays you deducts a percentage up front and remits it to the tax authority on your behalf; when your actual income tax is assessed, that amount is credited against what you owe (or refunded, if you overpaid). Rates vary by transaction type, and — unusually for this build series — a few of them are the subject of genuine, unresolved legal disagreement, which this calculator discloses rather than picks a side on.
Where These Rates Actually Come From
Nigeria’s WHT rates aren’t in the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 itself — they come from the older Companies Income Tax Act, Personal Income Tax Act, and Capital Gains Tax Act, as consolidated and in some cases adjusted by the Deduction of Tax at Source (Withholding) Regulations 2024, a subsidiary instrument issued by the Minister of Finance. That matters because a subsidiary regulation’s power to actually change a rate set by the main legislation is legally narrower than its power to just restate or administer it — which is exactly the fight playing out over director’s fees below.
The Director’s Fees Dispute
The 2024 Regulations set WHT on director’s fees at 15% for residents and 20% for non-residents, explicitly reasoning that this better reflects a director’s actual marginal income tax rate than a flat figure would. But Personal Income Tax Act Section 72(2) sets director’s fees at a flat 10%, with no distinction between resident and non-resident directors — and legal commentary on the Regulations argues the Minister’s rule-making power doesn’t extend to overriding a rate the principal Act already fixed, concluding the correct rate “remains 10% … until same is amended.”
In practice, this means the rate actually applied to a specific director’s fee may depend on which figure the paying company’s advisers use, and which figure a tax authority chooses to assess against — not just on a single clean legal answer. This calculator shows both results side by side rather than guessing which one you’ll actually encounter.
The No-TIN Penalty
For supply of goods/services and similar non-passive-income transactions, the 2024 Regulations double the applicable WHT rate if the recipient doesn’t have a valid Tax Identification Number — a real, practical incentive to get your TIN sorted before you get paid. This doesn’t apply to dividends, interest, rent, or royalties, which run on their own long-standing statutory rates regardless of TIN status.
When You Don’t Have to Withhold At All
A small company (or unincorporated equivalent) doesn’t have to withhold tax on a payment to a supplier at all if the supplier has a valid TIN and the total value of transactions with that supplier in the calendar month is ₦2,000,000 or less. Individuals (natural persons) are excluded from the withholding obligation entirely, with no conditions attached. Separately — and unresolved as of this writing — the Regulations define “small company” using the older ₦25,000,000 turnover threshold, while the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 has since raised the general small-company threshold to ₦50,000,000 for other purposes; no source confirms whether that higher figure has flowed through to the WHT exemption specifically.
Rate Table Reference
| Category | Resident | Non-resident |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends / Interest / Rent | 10% | 10% |
| Royalties (corporate recipient) | 10% | 10% |
| Royalties (individual recipient) | 5% | 5% |
| Professional / consultancy / technical / management fees* | 5% | 10% |
| Commission | 5% | 10%* |
| Supply of goods/materials (reseller) | 2% | 2% |
| Construction (roads/bridges/buildings/power plants) | 2% | 5% |
| Construction (other) | 5% | 10% |
| Entertainment / sport (non-resident only) | — | 15% |
| Winnings (lottery/gaming/reality shows) | 5% | 15% |
| Director’s fees* | 10% or 15% (disputed) | 10% or 20% (disputed) |
*Professional/consultancy fee residents and the non-resident commission rate carry a lower confidence flag — see the calculator’s own note for each, and the full sourcing in this build’s research documentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the withholding tax rate on professional and consultancy fees in Nigeria?
5% for a resident recipient, 10% for a non-resident — though some legal analysis argues these were actually retained unchanged from CITA/PITA rather than reduced. Disclosed as a genuine dispute, not settled.
What withholding tax rate applies to director’s fees in Nigeria?
Disputed — 15%/20% (resident/non-resident) per the 2024 Regulations, or a flat 10% per PITA Section 72(2), with legal commentary arguing the statutory 10% is still the legally correct figure.
Does withholding tax double if the recipient has no Tax Identification Number?
Yes, for supply/service/non-passive-income categories — not for dividends, interest, rent, or royalties.
Is there a minimum transaction value below which withholding tax doesn’t apply?
Yes — ₦2,000,000 or less per supplier per month, provided the supplier has a valid TIN. Individuals are excluded from the withholding obligation entirely.
This calculator models the 10 most common WHT categories and discloses genuine rate disputes rather than picking a side. It does not model double-taxation-treaty reduced rates, petroleum-sector-specific WHT, or the capital-gains-specific compensation-for-loss-of-office carve-out. Confirm the exact rate for your situation with the Nigeria Revenue Service or a qualified tax professional.
