Personal Income Taxes (PIT)
Claiming Tax Deductions in Nigeria? Here Are the Documents You Should Keep
When filing your taxes, the deductions you qualify for can affect how much of your income is subject to tax. However, claiming a deduction also means being able to provide the right information and supporting documents when required.
Under Nigeria’s Tax Act 2025, which took effect on 1 January 2026, individuals can claim certain eligible deductions when calculating their chargeable income. Section 32 also allows the relevant tax authority to request documentary evidence and refuse a claim, in whole or in part, if the evidence is missing or inadequate.
Knowing which deductions apply to you and keeping the right records throughout the year can make tax filing easier and help you support your claims.
Which tax deductions should you keep records for?
The Nigeria Tax Act 2025 provides for several eligible deductions for individuals. The documents you need will depend on the deduction you intend to claim.
Pension contributions: Keep your pension contribution statements and records showing the amounts deducted and remitted to your approved Pension Fund Administrator. These records can help you confirm that the contributions reflected in your tax calculations match the amounts paid.
National Housing Fund (NHF) and National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) contributions: If you make eligible contributions under these schemes, retain payslips, contribution statements or other records that show the amounts contributed and remitted. The 2026 Personal Income Tax Guidelines specify that the deductible amount is limited to the actual eligible contribution.
Life insurance premiums and deferred annuities: Qualifying premiums paid for life insurance on your own life or your spouse’s life, as well as eligible deferred annuity payments, may be deductible within the limits set by the Act. Keep your policy documents, premium receipts and statements from your insurer showing the amount paid and the period covered.
Interest on a qualifying home loan: Interest on a loan for developing an owner-occupied residential house may qualify for deduction. Keep your loan agreement, repayment statements and documents that separate the interest paid from the principal repaid. The principal portion of the loan does not qualify under this deduction.
Rent relief: Individuals may claim rent relief equal to 20% of annual rent paid, capped at ₦500,000, subject to the applicable requirements. Keep your rent receipts, tenancy agreement and payment records. The 2026 guidelines also require relevant details such as the tenant’s name, the rent paid, the period covered, the property address and the prescribed landlord information.
These deductions have specific conditions. Paying an expense does not automatically make it deductible, so check that your circumstances and documents meet the relevant requirements before including it in your claim.
Why your employer’s tax deduction card matters
If you work for an employer and pay tax through Pay As You Earn (PAYE), your tax deduction card is an important record to retain.
The card provides a record of your employment income and tax deductions. Under the 2026 Personal Income Tax Guidelines, the relevant records include cumulative gross emoluments, eligible deductions and reliefs, taxable emoluments, the corresponding tax, and tax deducted or repaid.
Review your card against your payslips and other available records. Check that your income figures are accurate, that the PAYE deducted is properly reflected, and that eligible contributions and reliefs have been captured where applicable. If something appears incorrect or a deduction is missing, raise it with your employer or the relevant tax authority and keep any supporting correspondence.
Your tax deduction card is particularly useful when preparing your annual tax return or checking whether the tax deducted during the year aligns with your records. Employees should request and retain their card rather than assume that their employer’s payroll records will always be readily available when needed.
What happens if you cannot provide the documents?
Section 31 of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 requires deductions under the relevant part of the Act to be claimed in writing using the form prescribed by the relevant tax authority. Section 32 allows the authority to request supporting documents and refuse a deduction, or part of it, where the evidence is absent or inadequate.
That is why record keeping should happen throughout the year. Searching through old emails, requesting missing statements or trying to reconstruct payments at filing time can be difficult, particularly when you have multiple income sources or several deductions to account for.
Create a simple system for saving receipts, payment confirmations, insurance statements, pension records, tenancy documents and tax deduction cards. Label them by type and tax year, and keep digital copies somewhere secure and accessible. Where a document does not clearly explain a payment, retain the related statement or correspondence that helps establish what the payment was for.
Make your tax records easier to manage with LessaTax
For freelancers, remote workers and other professionals managing their own finances, keeping income records is only one part of staying prepared for tax. The evidence behind eligible deductions and reliefs also needs attention.
LessaTax helps you organise your financial records so you can keep track of your income, work-related expenses and supporting information in one place. Maintaining these records as you earn and spend can make it easier to find the documents you need when reviewing your tax position or preparing to file.
You do not want to wait until tax season to discover that a receipt is missing or a payment is difficult to verify. Start building better record-keeping habits now, so your documents are ready when you need them.