Nigeria Tax Residence: the rule, how days are counted, examples

Summary

You are a tax resident of Nigeria when you stay in the country for 183 days or more in a 12-month period, and the count includes your annual leave and temporary absences. So 182 days is the most you can have and stay under the test. You are also resident, with any number of days, when you are domiciled in Nigeria, have a permanent home or habitual home there, or have strong economic and family ties there. Residents are taxed on income from the whole world. The rule is in section 202 of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, in force since 1 January 2026.

Limit: 182 days. At 183 days you are resident
Period: A 12-month period, not the calendar year
What is counted: Days in Nigeria, plus annual leave and temporary absences
Law: Nigeria Tax Act 2025, section 202, definition of resident individual
In force since: 1 January 2026
Run by: Nigeria Revenue Service and the state tax authorities

Who it applies to

Foreign employees who work in Nigeria on rotation, for example in oil and gas, and fly out for leave.
Nigerians who live abroad and still keep a home, a business or close family in Nigeria.
Consultants and contractors who make many visits to Lagos or Abuja in a year.
People who moved to Nigeria during a year and want to know from when they count as resident.
Employers who need to know if a visiting employee has become taxable in Nigeria.

The rule

The Nigeria Tax Act 2025 replaced the older tax laws, including the Personal Income Tax Act, and came into effect on 1 January 2026. Section 202 defines a resident individual as an individual who, in any year of assessment, meets one of six conditions. The year of assessment is the government tax year, 1 January to 31 December.

The six conditions are: the person is domiciled in Nigeria; has a permanent place available for domestic use in Nigeria; has a place of habitual abode in Nigeria, which means a place where the person usually lives; has substantial economic and immediate family ties in Nigeria; sojourns in Nigeria for a period or periods that add up to not less than 183 days in a 12-month period, inclusive of annual leave or temporary period of absence; or serves as a diplomat or diplomatic agent of Nigeria in another country. Sojourn means to stay.

The same section defines a non-resident individual as a person who fails all six: not domiciled, no permanent place, no habitual abode, no substantial ties, a stay of less than 183 days, and not a Nigerian diplomat. So the day count alone does not make you non-resident. You must also be free of the other five conditions.

Section 12 gives the result. The income, gains or profits of a resident individual are treated as arising in Nigeria and are taxable in Nigeria wherever they arise, and whether or not they are brought into Nigeria. Section 196 of the Act repealed the Personal Income Tax Act, so the definition in section 202 is now the one that decides residence for individuals.

Why it exists

Nigeria wants people who really live and work in the country to pay tax on all their income, also when their job has long leave periods outside Nigeria. Counting leave and temporary absence stops a rotation worker from staying under 183 days through time off abroad. The home and ties tests bring in people whose life is centred in Nigeria although they travel a great deal.

Counting the days

You count the days of your stay in Nigeria inside a 12-month period, and you include annual leave and temporary absences that belong to that stay.

List your entry and exit dates for the 12-month period.
Count every day you were in Nigeria.
Add the days of your annual leave, also when you spent the leave outside Nigeria.
Add the days of temporary absences, such as a short work trip abroad from your Nigerian base.
Compare the total with 183. At 183 days or more, the day test is met.
Check the other tests: domicile, a permanent place, a habitual home, and substantial economic and family ties. One is enough.

Countr and this rule. Countr lists the Nigeria Tax Residence rule, but it does not count it yet. The reason is that the law counts annual leave and temporary absences as part of your stay. Countr counts the days on which you were really in a country. For a person based in Nigeria who takes leave abroad, such a count would come out too low and could show a safe number when the law already treats the person as resident. The rule will be counted when the app can add these absences. The app also cannot see a home, a habitual home or strong work and family ties in Nigeria, and each of those makes you resident with any number of days.

Track your days with Countr.

Countr finds your past trips in your photos and keeps counting from there.

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Examples

A rotation worker with leave abroad

Stefan works on a 12-month contract based in Port Harcourt from 1 March 2026. In the 12 months he is physically in Nigeria for 150 days. He spends 30 days of annual leave at home in Germany and 10 days on a short work trip to Ghana. The law counts 150 plus 30 plus 10, which is 190 days. This is more than 182, so he is a resident individual.

Short visits and no ties

Priya is a consultant based in Dubai. She visits Lagos eight times in 12 months, for 100 days in total. She stays in hotels, has no home, no family and no business of her own in Nigeria, and her leave is taken from her job in Dubai. Her count is 100 days and none of the other tests is met, so she is a non-resident individual.

A home in Lagos and 20 days

Chidi lives and works in London. He keeps a furnished flat in Lagos that is always ready for his use, and he is in Nigeria for 20 days in 2026. The day test is far from met. But a permanent place available for his domestic use in Nigeria is one of the six conditions, so the law treats him as a resident individual for 2026. The tax treaty between Nigeria and the United Kingdom can then decide his residence for the treaty.

Exceptions

Domicile in Nigeria makes you resident with any number of days.
A permanent place available for your domestic use in Nigeria, or a place of habitual abode there, makes you resident with any number of days.
Substantial economic and immediate family ties in Nigeria make you resident with any number of days. The Act does not give numbers for this test.
A diplomat or diplomatic agent of Nigeria serving in another country is resident in Nigeria.
Under section 13, the employment income of a non-resident employee is not taxed in Nigeria when the employer is a start-up or works in technology-driven services or creative arts, and the income is taxable in the employee's country of tax residence.
A tax treaty can decide your residence for the treaty when Nigeria and another country both treat you as resident.

Common misconceptions

“My leave days outside Nigeria do not count.”: They count. The law says the 183 days are inclusive of annual leave or temporary period of absence.
“Under 183 days, I am a non-resident.”: Only if the other five conditions also fail. A home in Nigeria, a habitual home, domicile, or strong economic and family ties make you resident with fewer days.
“The 183 days are counted from January to December.”: The law says in a 12-month period. A stay from September to April can reach 183 days although it is split between two calendar years.
“Nigeria only taxes money that I bring into the country.”: Not for residents. Section 12 says a resident's income is taxable wherever it arises, and whether or not it is brought into or received in Nigeria.

Questions and answers

What changed for tax residence in Nigeria in 2026?

The Nigeria Tax Act 2025 came into effect on 1 January 2026. It repealed the Personal Income Tax Act. Section 202 now puts six conditions in one definition of resident individual: domicile, a permanent place for domestic use, a place of habitual abode, substantial economic and immediate family ties, the 183-day stay, and service as a Nigerian diplomat abroad.

Is it 182 or 183 days in Nigeria?

The test is met at 183 days. The law says not less than 183 days, so 182 days is the highest count that stays under it.

Do short work trips abroad break my stay in Nigeria?

No. A temporary period of absence is included in the count. A short trip from your Nigerian base is added as if you had stayed.

I am Nigerian and live abroad. Am I taxed in Nigeria on my foreign salary?

It depends on whether you are a resident individual. If you keep a home available in Nigeria, or have substantial economic and immediate family ties there, the law can treat you as resident, and residents are taxed on income from everywhere. The tax authority looks at the whole situation, and a tax treaty can change the result.

Who collects income tax from individuals in Nigeria?

The Act speaks of the relevant tax authority. The Nigeria Revenue Service is the federal authority, and the states have their own internal revenue services that deal with individuals.

Does the day I arrive in Nigeria count?

The Act counts the period or periods of your stay and gives no special rule for part days. Count the arrival day and the departure day to be safe.

Sources

News about this rule

Nigeria's new tax law: six ways to be a tax resident

See all trackers

This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.