What counts as a small company in Nigeria?

Two different thresholds are in force. For company income tax, "small" means turnover at or below ₦50,000,000 and fixed assets at or below ₦250,000,000. For VAT, the small-business cap is ₦100,000,000. A company between the two can be VAT-exempt yet still pay full company income tax.

What happens when my turnover crosses ₦50 million?

Passing the ₦50,000,000 turnover cap (or the fixed-asset cap) moves you out of small-company status for income tax, so profit that was taxed at 0% becomes taxable at 30%, and the development levy begins to apply.

When must a business register for VAT in Nigeria?

VAT registration and charging begins once turnover passes the small-business cap of ₦100,000,000. Below it a business is treated as small and does not charge 7.5% VAT.

BusinessUpdated 15 January 2026

Small-company threshold monitor

See how close your turnover is to each of the thresholds, when you are on course to cross them, and exactly what crossing costs.

Tax year

Your company's figures 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.

Your trading so far

Turnover so far this year

Months it covers

Fixed assets

Sector

Your expected profit

Crossing the turnover cap taxes your whole profit, so we need a profit figure to tell you what it costs.

Estimate it from

Expected profit margin

Your assessable profit as a percentage of turnover.

Enter your turnover so far and the months it covers. We will project your full year, show how much room you have left against each threshold, and tell you what crossing the line actually costs.

Why the ₦50,000,000 line is a cliff, not a slope

Income tax bands taper: earn one naira more and you pay tax on that one naira. The small-company threshold does not work that way. At ₦50,000,000 of turnover you pay no companies income tax. At ₦50,000,001 you pay 30% of your entire profit, plus a 4% development levy on your assessable profit — and nothing about the first ₦50,000,000 is protected. A company that bills one more invoice in December can end the year with less money than if it had not. This tool exists to put a naira figure on that, because the decision it informs — take the work or don't — is one you can only make in advance.

Common questions

What counts as a small company in Nigeria?: Two different thresholds are in force. For company income tax, "small" means turnover at or below ₦50,000,000 and fixed assets at or below ₦250,000,000. For VAT, the small-business cap is ₦100,000,000. A company between the two can be VAT-exempt yet still pay full company income tax.
What happens when my turnover crosses ₦50 million?: Passing the ₦50,000,000 turnover cap (or the fixed-asset cap) moves you out of small-company status for income tax, so profit that was taxed at 0% becomes taxable at 30%, and the development levy begins to apply.
When must a business register for VAT in Nigeria?: VAT registration and charging begins once turnover passes the small-business cap of ₦100,000,000. Below it a business is treated as small and does not charge 7.5% VAT.