AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Register with the internal revenue service of the state your employees are taxed in (for Lagos, through the LIRS eTax portal at etax.lirs.net) before you run your first payroll, using your business's tax ID and CAC details, and collect each employee's tax ID. PAYE deducted must then be remitted on or before the 10th of the month after salaries are paid, and an annual return of all staff pay is due by 31 January.
Why registration comes before the first salary
Pay-As-You-Earn is the employer's job. Under the tax laws that took effect on 1 January 2026, the employer deducts income tax from each employee's pay and sends it to the tax authority, and the employer carries the liability if it gets this wrong. DLA Piper's August 2026 summary of the new regime lists the penalties: 40% of any amount the employer failed to deduct, 10% of any amount deducted but not remitted plus interest at the prevailing CBN rate, and ₦100,000 for the first month an annual return is late plus ₦50,000 for each further month. Those penalties start running from the first payroll, which is why registration should happen before payday, not after the first query from the tax office.
Personal income tax on employees is collected by the relevant state internal revenue service, not the federal authority, apart from specific groups such as members of the armed forces and police, according to PwC's Nigeria tax summary. A business with an office in Lagos and staff in Abuja may therefore deal with both LIRS and the FCT Internal Revenue Service. Which state is the right one for each employee depends on residence rules, so where staff live in a different state from your office, confirm with the state IRS before you start.
What to have ready
- Your business registration documents from CAC: certificate of incorporation or business name registration and your registered address.
- Your business's tax identification number (TIN). If you are not sure you have one, the Joint Tax Board TIN portal at tin.jtb.gov.ng can be used to check, as TechCabal's April 2026 guide describes.
- Details of a contact person with an email and phone number that will receive notices.
- An employee list with each person's full name, address, start date, gross pay and their own tax ID. New staff who have never been taxed may need to get one.
- Pay structure for each person: basic, allowances and benefits, since all of these are taxable under the new rules.
State IRSs set their own checklists, and they change. Read the current list on your state IRS's own site or office before you apply rather than relying on a generic one.
Steps: Lagos (LIRS eTax)
- Go to etax.lirs.net. TechCabal's walkthrough describes a login screen with options for Taxpayer, Corporate Admin and Consultant.
- If the business has no LIRS Payer ID, choose "Create New Payer ID" and register as a corporate taxpayer. LIRS Payer IDs carry a prefix: "N-" for individuals and "C-" for corporate taxpayers.
- Complete the profile: address, phone, email and business details. Check them; notices go to these contacts.
- Add your employees, or upload them in the format the portal accepts.
- Generate the monthly PAYE schedule, pay, and keep the receipt for each month.
- Each year, file the employer's annual return of emoluments (Form H1 in Lagos). Staff can see what you filed under "Employer Filed Returns" on their own dashboard.
Other states and the FCT
The FCT Internal Revenue Service and the other 35 state services each run their own registration, whether online, at an office or both. The steps are broadly the same: register the business as an employer, add staff, file a monthly schedule with each payment and an annual return. Ask specifically whether the state wants the schedule before or with payment, what payment channels it accepts and whether it issues a receipt for each month. If you employ in several states, keep a separate schedule for each.
The dates that follow
| Obligation | Deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Remit PAYE deducted | On or before the 10th of the month after salaries are paid | PwC tax summary, reviewed May 2026 |
| Employer annual return of all employees' pay | By 31 January for the previous year | PwC; DLA Piper |
| Employees' own annual return | Each employee files their own return as well | DLA Piper; TechCabal |
Deadlines are sometimes extended. LIRS moved the 2026 employer annual return deadline from 1 February to 7 February as a one-off, according to TechCabal, so check your state IRS's announcements each January. For the tax bands themselves, see Nigeria PAYE tax bands for 2026, and for the full payroll calendar, payroll filing deadlines.
Example: first month for a new employer
Example only. A Lagos company hires two staff and pays them on 28 March. It registers on LIRS eTax in mid-March, adds both employees, deducts PAYE from March pay, and remits by 10 April. In January the following year it files its annual return covering March to December. Pension remittance for the same payroll is due within seven working days of 28 March, much earlier than the PAYE date; see how to remit staff pension.
Where Pryme fits
Salaries and the PAYE payment can both go out from a Pryme Business Account. The Compliance agent keeps the 10th-of-the-month and 31 January dates in view and prepares the schedule; a person approves before anything is paid, and each step is recorded.
Questions people ask
How do I register my company for PAYE in Lagos?
Register on the LIRS eTax portal at etax.lirs.net as a corporate taxpayer, add your employees, then file and pay PAYE monthly.
When is PAYE due in Nigeria?
On or before the 10th day of the month after the month in which salaries were paid, according to PwC's 2026 Nigeria tax summary.
Do employers file annual returns for staff?
Yes. The employer files a return of all employees' pay for the previous year by 31 January. Employees also file their own.
Which state do I pay PAYE to if my staff live in Ogun but work in Lagos?
It depends on residence rules for each employee. Confirm with both state IRSs before you register.
Sources
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Nigeria, individual tax administration (reviewed 29 May 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- DLA Piper Africa: FAQs on payroll taxes and employer liability (28 Aug 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- TechCabal: How to file tax on the LIRS eTax portal (2 Apr 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.