Direct assessment
Direct assessment is how self-employed people in Nigeria pay Personal Income Tax: they calculate and file their own returns with their State Internal Revenue Service, rather than having an employer deduct tax at source through PAYE.
Who files this way
Freelancers, consultants, sole proprietors and anyone earning income that is not salaried employment. If you have both a salary and freelance income, PAYE covers the salary and direct assessment covers the rest.
The deadline
Annual returns are due by 31 March of the following year, filed on Form A with your state authority.
What you need
- A summary of total income for the year
- Your allowable business expenses and reliefs
- Evidence of any advance tax or WHT already paid
- Your TIN
The practical advice
Set aside 20-25% of each invoice as it is paid. Direct assessment means nobody is deducting tax for you, so the full year's bill arrives at once. The freelancer tax guide walks through the whole process.
More Nigerian tax terms
- Company Income Tax (CIT)
- Consolidated Relief Allowance (CRA)
- Development Levy
- FIRS (Federal Inland Revenue Service)
- Input VAT
- Minimum wage tax exemption
- Output VAT
- PAYE (Pay-As-You-Earn)
- Personal Income Tax (PIT)
- Rent relief
- Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC)
- Tax Identification Number (TIN)
- Value Added Tax (VAT)
- Withholding Tax (WHT)
Tax that works itself out
Claryeo turns your invoices and expenses into export-ready PIT, CIT and VAT summaries.
Join the waitlist