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Tax Assistant: Compute, File and Keep Nigerian Businesses Compliant (2026 Rules)

Work a real client's tax year under the 2026 laws: PAYE, VAT, withholding tax, company tax and the development levy, self-employed returns and every filing deadline, with the working shown.

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About this course

A hands-on course that follows Chidinma, a new tax assistant at a Lagos accounting firm, through one client's full tax year under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025. You will learn who collects what since the 2026 reset (the Nigeria Revenue Service, the State IRS and local government), verify Tax IDs and onboard a client with records that survive an audit, compute PAYE on the new reliefs and 0% to 25% bands and run a monthly payroll schedule, prepare VAT returns now that input VAT on services and fixed assets is recoverable, deduct and remit withholding tax to the right body and issue credit notes, take a company from accounting profit to taxable profit and put the 4% development levy on the right line, prepare a self-employed return with WHT credits, file on Rev360 and state portals, and keep a client calendar that avoids penalties. The last lessons cover tax clearance, handling a tax office letter, ethics under pressure, and getting paid work. Every number is worked in naira, step by step. Lessons include narrated animated explainers, diagrams and credited photos; videos play only when you tap them. This course teaches how to compute and file, not personal tax advice: anything unusual goes to a chartered tax practitioner. Free, like every Skillnaija course.

It is Chidinma Okafor's first Monday at Adebayo & Partners, a small accounting firm in Lagos. Before she has found the kettle, Mrs Funke Bello of Bright Foods Ltd walks in holding a printed tax guide dated 2024. "My cousin says my staff still get the consolidated relief, and VAT on our new oven is lost money," she says. "Is that right?" Chidinma opens her mouth, then closes it. Mr Femi Adebayo, the firm's principal, smiles and hands the booklet back to Mrs Bello. "Madam, that guide is for a law that no longer exists. Chidinma, sit with me. Today you learn the map before you touch a single figure." He taps a card pinned above his desk: "Every figure needs a document. Every deadline needs a date. Every client needs the truth."

Who this course is for

For bookkeepers, accounting students and graduates, small-business owners who are tired of paying a consultant for every filing, and anyone who wants a freelance service with recurring monthly clients. Nigeria's tax laws were rewritten from 1 January 2026, so even experienced practitioners take this course to update themselves on the new bands, the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Rev360 portal. No accounting degree is required; comfort with a spreadsheet is enough.

What you'll learn

By the end you will be able to

Pay, demand and the market in Nigeria

Every registered business in Nigeria now has monthly VAT and PAYE obligations and an annual return, and the 2026 laws made compliance both simpler and more enforced — banks, government contracts and even some marketplaces now ask for tax clearance. Freelance tax assistants in 2026 charge SMEs ₦15,000 to ₦50,000 a month for payroll, VAT and filings, and ₦50,000 to ₦200,000 for annual returns and tax clearance certificates; ten retained clients is a full income. Employed tax and payroll assistants at accounting firms and SMEs earn ₦120,000 to ₦300,000 a month in 2026, more with ICAN or CITN progress.

Tools and what it costs to start

A laptop with Google Sheets or Excel, a Rev360 login, and the free templates provided in the lessons. No paid software is required; the course deliberately teaches the computations by hand before any tool, so you can check what payroll software produces.

Course syllabus — 12 lessons

  1. Nigeria's tax system in 2026, and what a tax assistant does18 min
  2. Tax IDs, client onboarding and records17 min
  3. PAYE I: reliefs and the 2026 bands17 min
  4. PAYE II: running a monthly payroll and filing18 min
  5. VAT: charging, claiming and remitting17 min
  6. Withholding tax: deducting, remitting and credit notes16 min
  7. Companies income tax I: from accounting profit to tax17 min
  8. Companies income tax II: the development levy, filing and paying17 min
  9. Personal income tax for the self-employed17 min
  10. Filing on Rev360 and state portals16 min
  11. Deadlines, penalties, tax clearance and queries17 min
  12. Getting the work and growing as a tax professional16 min

Your project

Tax compliance pack for a sample SME (2026 rules)

One shared Google Sheet or Doc link containing: (1) the records checklist; (2) the PAYE computation per staff member with the monthly remittance total; (3) the month's VAT computation; (4) the WHT register; (5) the CIT and development levy computation with assessable and taxable profit shown separately; (6) Ngozi's PIT computation with WHT credits; and (7) the 12-month filing calendar and the client letter.

You build a complete compliance pack for a sample SME under the 2026 rules: payroll with PAYE per employee, the month's VAT computation, withholding tax on the SME's payments, and a filing calendar. It is graded on arithmetic, on applying the right bands and reliefs, and on whether a business owner could act on it.

Certificates on Skillnaija are earned, not issued for attendance: you submit this project, it is graded against a rubric, and passing issues a certificate anyone can verify. See the full project brief, rubric and free workbook →

Frequently asked questions

Is Tax Assistant: Compute, File and Keep Nigerian Businesses Compliant (2026 Rules) free?

Yes. Tax Assistant: Compute, File and Keep Nigerian Businesses Compliant (2026 Rules) is completely free on Skillnaija. You need a free account to open the lessons, and there is no charge for the course, the project, or the certificate.

How long does Tax Assistant: Compute, File and Keep Nigerian Businesses Compliant (2026 Rules) take to complete?

6 weeks · ~4 hrs/week. There are 12 lessons, about 3 hours of material in total. You learn at your own pace and your progress is saved.

Do I need any experience to start Tax Assistant: Compute, File and Keep Nigerian Businesses Compliant (2026 Rules)?

Beginner-friendly; basic spreadsheet skills help. You can start from scratch — no prior experience is assumed.

What will I learn in Tax Assistant: Compute, File and Keep Nigerian Businesses Compliant (2026 Rules)?

You will build practical skills in Nigeria's 2026 tax system: NRS, State IRS and local government, Tax ID verification and client onboarding, Audit-ready records and bookkeeping basics, PAYE under the 2026 reliefs and bands, Monthly payroll schedules and Form H1, VAT returns, including the new input VAT recovery, Withholding tax deduction, remittance and credit notes, CIT: from accounting profit to taxable profit, The 4% development levy on assessable profit, Self-employed PIT with WHT credits (Form A), Filing on Rev360 and state portals, Deadlines, penalties, tax clearance and queries, Tax ethics and getting tax-assistant work. Every lesson is written for a Nigerian context, with examples drawn from how the work is actually done and paid for here.

Do I get a certificate for Tax Assistant: Compute, File and Keep Nigerian Businesses Compliant (2026 Rules)?

Yes, but it has to be earned. You complete the course project — Tax compliance pack for a sample SME (2026 rules) and submit it for grading. Passing the project issues a verifiable certificate; finishing the lessons alone does not.

What changed in Nigerian tax in 2026?

The Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 took effect on 1 January 2026: the Federal Inland Revenue Service became the Nigeria Revenue Service, personal income tax moved to new 0% to 25% bands with a ₦800,000 tax-free threshold, small companies under the turnover threshold pay 0% companies income tax, several levies were merged into a development levy, and filing moved to the Rev360 portal. The course is built on these rules, not the old ones.

Can I do this work without being a chartered accountant?

Yes for bookkeeping, payroll, VAT and routine filings, which is most of what SMEs need. Representing a client in a dispute or signing audited accounts requires professional membership; the course explains where the line is.

How do I find tax-assistant clients?

The last lesson covers it: start with the businesses you already know, offer a first month's compliance review, and partner with bookkeepers and business-registration agents who meet new companies every day.

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