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The short answer
For US-based actors, writers, editors and composers working with Nigerian producers, the contract should fix the fee, currency, payment schedule and rights before work starts. Nigerian withholding tax depends on the role: PwC's table shows 15% for non-resident entertainers, 10% on professional fees and 5% on royalties for non-resident individuals. A US tax resident reports the whole fee and can generally credit Nigerian tax that was owed.
Different roles, different rules
Nollywood productions draw on diaspora talent in many ways: actors flown in for a role, editors and colourists working remotely from Atlanta, screenwriters selling a script, composers scoring from a home studio. The money question looks the same in each case, but the contract terms and the tax treatment differ. Start by being clear which you are.
| Role | Where the work happens | Nigerian WHT, non-resident individual (PwC, May 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Actor or presenter | Usually on set in Nigeria | Entertainers and sportspersons: 15% |
| Editor, colourist, VFX, sound | Often remote from the US | Professional or technical fees: 10% |
| Screenwriter selling or licensing a script | Remote | Royalties: 5% if paid as a licence; 10% if paid as a writing fee |
| Composer licensing a score | Remote | Royalties: 5%, or fees if commissioned as a service |
Where the work is done matters for Nigerian tax too. The NiDCOM-hosted NGEX diaspora guide (January 2026) says income for services physically rendered outside Nigeria is not taxable in Nigeria for a non-resident. Days on set in Lagos are services rendered in Nigeria, so a role filmed there is within Nigeria's reach; a remote edit is a different case. Producers may still deduct withholding tax on remote work, so agree the treatment in the contract.
Contract terms that matter in film
- Fee and currency: a dollar fee, a naira fee, or a dollar fee paid in naira at a stated reference rate on the payment date.
- Schedule: a signing payment, payment on start of principal photography or delivery of the first cut, and a final payment on delivery, not on release.
- Credits: how your name appears, and in which materials.
- Rights: for scripts and music, whether you assign copyright or grant a licence, for which territories, platforms and period.
- Back-end: any share of streaming or distribution income, how it is calculated and reported, and how often.
- Travel for on-set roles: flights, hotel, ground transport, per diem and security, stated as the producer's cost.
- Tax: whether the fee is gross or net of Nigerian withholding tax, with the receipt sent within a set time.
Payment routes
Many Nigerian producers fund productions in naira and will prefer to pay that way. A dollar fee means they must buy dollars, which can delay payment. Options that tend to work:
- Naira paid into an account in your name in Nigeria, converted when you choose.
- Dollars wired from a producer's domiciliary account or a foreign co-producer, with transfer charges agreed in the contract.
- Part naira, part dollars: local costs such as per diems in naira, the main fee in dollars.
Insist on each payment before the next stage of work, especially for remote post-production, where the producer holds the files once delivered. Watermarked previews are a common protection.
Before you sign: a short checklist
- The production company's full registered name and the person authorised to sign for it.
- A start date, an end date and the number of shoot or working days included in the fee.
- An overtime or extra-day rate for anything beyond that.
- Who owns footage, scripts, stems and project files, and when ownership passes.
- The payment schedule tied to stages you can verify, such as call sheets or delivery notes.
- A cancellation clause stating what is owed if the production is postponed or stopped.
Productions do get delayed for funding or permits. A clause that pays a postponement fee, or releases you to take other work, matters more than most first-time Nollywood collaborators expect.
US tax on film income
For a US tax resident, the full gross fee goes on Schedule C, converted at the rate on the day received, and self-employment tax applies at 15.3% per the IRS. Royalty or licence income from a script or score goes on Schedule C if you are in business as a writer or artist, per the IRS Schedule E instructions. Nigerian withholding tax that you actually owed may be claimed as a foreign tax credit, usually on Form 1116; with no US-Nigeria treaty, there is no reduced rate to claim instead.
Worked example (illustrative)
Tunde, an actor based in Atlanta, is offered ₦9,000,000 for a 12-day shoot in Lagos, with flights and hotel paid. The producer deducts 15%, ₦1,350,000, and pays ₦7,650,000 in two parts. At an example rate of ₦1,500 per dollar, he reports $6,000 of gross income and keeps the receipts showing $900 of Nigerian tax. The travel the producer paid directly is a production cost; if the producer reimburses him instead, he keeps receipts to match. Amounts and rates are examples only.
Where Pryme fits
A Pryme account opened from the US can receive naira from producers and hold it alongside dollars, so you can convert with Swap when the rate suits you, rate and fee shown first. A verifiable receipt from VerifyDoc.ai gives both sides a record of each instalment. Our contract points for Nigerian clients help with the paperwork.
Questions people ask
How do Nollywood producers pay actors abroad?
Usually in naira to a Nigerian account, or in dollars from a domiciliary account or a foreign co-producer. Agree currency, schedule and transfer charges in the contract.
What Nigerian tax applies to foreign actors?
PwC's table shows 15% withholding tax for non-resident entertainers and sportspersons.
Is a remote film edit for a Nigerian producer taxable in Nigeria?
The NGEX guide says services physically rendered outside Nigeria are not taxable in Nigeria for non-residents, though producers may still deduct withholding tax. Agree the treatment in writing.
Do I pay US tax on Nollywood fees?
Yes, as a US tax resident. Report the gross fee on Schedule C and claim any owed Nigerian tax as a foreign tax credit.
Sources
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Nigeria, withholding taxes (reviewed 29 May 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- NGEX Diaspora Guide to Nigeria's 2026 tax reforms (hosted by NiDCOM, Jan 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- IRS: Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes) (reviewed 27 Jun 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- IRS: 2025 Instructions for Schedule E (reviewed 30 Apr 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- IRS: Foreign tax credit, how to figure the credit (reviewed 9 Jul 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.