Individuals Must File Tax Returns by March 31; Employers by January 31 – Oyedele

 

Taiwo Oyedele, 

Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has urged Nigerians to comply with tax laws by filing their annual returns within the stipulated deadlines. He stressed that tax compliance is mandatory for both employers and individual taxpayers.

Speaking during a webinar organised in partnership with the Joint Revenue Board and attended by HR managers, payroll officers, chief financial officers and tax managers, Oyedele highlighted the low level of compliance across the country.

He explained that employers are required to file annual returns for their employees by January 31, while individual taxpayers must submit their self-assessment returns by March 31.

“In terms of filing returns, you need to file annual returns as employers for your employees. Many of you must have done that already. If you haven’t, you have just a couple of days left to file those returns, including projections of how much you will pay your staff,” Oyedele said.

He noted that compliance levels remain alarmingly low, with many states recording less than five percent of individuals filing returns. “This is one area where we have been non-compliant in Nigeria. In many states, more than 90 percent—even the most sophisticated states—cannot boast of five percent filing returns,” he added.

Oyedele clarified that employees cannot assume their tax obligations are complete simply because deductions are made from their salaries. “Many people assume that if they are an employee and the employer has deducted pay, they don’t have to do anything. That is wrong. Both under the old and new tax laws, you must still file your returns,” he explained.

He assured taxpayers that efforts are ongoing to simplify the filing process nationwide, with tax authorities and state internal revenue services working to make compliance easier. “All of us must file our returns, including those earning low income. You must file returns by 31st March of the year in respect of the previous fiscal year,” Oyedele concluded.