What is the penalty for filing tax late in Nigeria?

Late filing attracts ₦100,000 for the first month and ₦50,000 for each additional month the return is outstanding. These are separate from interest on any tax paid late.

What interest applies to late tax payment?

Tax paid late carries a 10% penalty plus interest at the CBN Monetary Policy Rate together with a spread. The spread awaits official guidance, so the interest figure shown is a floor rather than a final amount.

How much does paying tax late really cost?

The cost combines a fixed late-payment penalty with interest that accrues for as long as the tax is unpaid, so it grows month by month. Estimating it from your own outstanding amount and the number of months late gives the clearest picture.

BothUpdated 15 January 2026

Penalty & interest estimator

What filing late or paying late is costing you, day by day.

Tax year

Your tax figures and dates never leave your device. This calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to us, logged, or stored — there is no server to send it to.

What you owe

Tax type

The penalty and interest rules are the same across these; the label keeps your working readable.

Amount due

The tax itself, before any penalty or interest.

The dates

Due date

When the return and the money were due.

Filing date

When you filed, or intend to file. This drives the late-filing penalty.

Payment date

When you paid, or intend to pay. This drives the interest and the late-payment penalty.

Enter the amount you owe on the left. The penalties, the interest and the day-by-day build-up appear here.

Penalties got much bigger in 2026

Under the 2025 rules a late return cost ₦25,000 for the first month and ₦5,000 for each month after. Under the 2026 rules it is ₦100,000 and ₦50,000. The same default costs materially more now. The late-payment penalty and the interest basis did not change. Switch the tax year above to price the same default under either regime.

Why the interest here is a floor

Interest runs at the CBN Monetary Policy Rate plus a spread. The MPR is 26.5% as at 2026-01-15 and moves at MPC meetings — confirm the current rate. The spread has not been set by the NRS, so we default it to zero. Every interest figure on this page is therefore the least it could be, not what you will be charged.

Common questions

What is the penalty for filing tax late in Nigeria?: Late filing attracts ₦100,000 for the first month and ₦50,000 for each additional month the return is outstanding. These are separate from interest on any tax paid late.
What interest applies to late tax payment?: Tax paid late carries a 10% penalty plus interest at the CBN Monetary Policy Rate together with a spread. The spread awaits official guidance, so the interest figure shown is a floor rather than a final amount.
How much does paying tax late really cost?: The cost combines a fixed late-payment penalty with interest that accrues for as long as the tax is unpaid, so it grows month by month. Estimating it from your own outstanding amount and the number of months late gives the clearest picture.