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The short answer
Spending 183 days or more in Nigeria in any 12-month period, counting temporary absences, makes you tax resident under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025. But days are only one test: a permanent home available for your use, your habitual abode, domicile or substantial economic or family ties can each make you resident too. Once resident, Nigeria can tax your worldwide income, and a treaty tie-breaker may then decide which country wins.
The tests under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025
PwC's summary of the residence rules, reviewed in May 2026, says an individual is resident in Nigeria if any one of these applies:
- domiciled in Nigeria;
- has a permanent home available for domestic use in Nigeria;
- has a place of habitual abode in Nigeria;
- is in Nigeria for at least 183 days in any 12-month period, including temporary absences;
- has substantial economic ties or immediate family ties in Nigeria;
- is a Nigerian diplomat serving abroad.
You are non-resident only if none applies. A resident is taxed on income wherever it arises, whether or not it is brought into Nigeria.
Counting the 183 days
The wording matters. Mondaq's commentary by S.P.A. Ajibade & Co. describes the test as 183 or more days in a 12-month period, and PwC says "in any 12-month period". That is a rolling window, not a calendar year, so a long Christmas visit followed by a summer trip can add up across two calendar years. "Including temporary absences" means a short trip out of Nigeria in the middle of a stay does not necessarily break the count. The NGEX diaspora guide hosted by NiDCOM simplifies this to 183 days "during a tax year"; where that differs from the Act, the Act governs.
Worked example
Example only. Dayo lives in Toronto and works remotely. He spends 1 December to 15 March in Lagos (31 + 31 + 28 + 15 = 105 days in a non-leap year), returns to Canada, then spends 1 July to 31 August in Abuja (31 + 31 = 62 days). Within the 12 months from 1 December, that is 167 days, under 183. If he had stayed a further 16 days, say until 16 September, he would reach 183 and become resident on the day count alone.
Keep a log: entry and exit dates, the passport stamps or boarding passes, and where you stayed. If the count is close, a two-week weekend trip abroad inside one visit may still be treated as a temporary absence, so do not plan around it.
The tests that do not need 183 days
Diaspora visitors are more often caught by the other tests. A family house where a room is kept for you, furnished and available whenever you come, could be argued to be a "permanent home available for domestic use". Spouse and children living in Nigeria while you work abroad are an "immediate family tie". Commentators have pointed out that "substantial economic ties" is not defined in the Act, which leaves room for argument either way. Mondaq's commentary also notes that the list in the Act uses "and" between economic and family ties while commentary often reads it as "or".
Our related notes: long visits for freelancers and moving back mid-year.
If you become resident in both countries
Your other country will have its own tests and will usually still treat you as resident. Where there is a treaty, a tie-breaker decides. The UK–Nigeria agreement (Article 4(2)) looks first at where you have a permanent home available to you, then your centre of vital interests (where personal and economic relations are closer), then habitual abode, then nationality, and finally leaves it to the two tax authorities. The Canada–Nigeria agreement uses the same sequence. The US has no income tax treaty with Nigeria, so no tie-breaker applies. See the tie-breaker explained.
What to check before a long trip
- Count days in any 12-month window, not only the calendar year.
- Ask whether any Nigerian home is "available" to you while you are away.
- Note whether your spouse or children live in Nigeria.
- If you work during the visit, consider where the work is physically done.
- Keep evidence of your foreign home, job and tax filings.
What changes if you do become resident
Residence is not only a label. As a Nigerian resident you are taxed on worldwide income, so salary from a foreign employer, foreign rent and foreign investment income all come into the Nigerian computation for that year. PwC adds that employment income is treated as Nigerian where the employee is resident and the duties are performed wholly or partly in Nigeria, which matters if you keep working remotely during a long stay. Your other country will usually continue to tax you as well, so the treaty tie-breaker, or foreign tax credit rules where there is no treaty, decide where tax is finally paid.
That is why a visit that runs on, for a family illness or a project, deserves a fresh day count every few weeks. If you can see you will cross 183 days, take advice before you do, not after the year has closed.
Where Pryme fits
On a long visit a Pryme multicurrency account lets you spend in naira while your GBP, USD or EUR stays put until you choose to convert with Swap. Your statement also gives a dated record of where you spent money, which can support a travel log.
Questions people ask
How many days in Nigeria make you tax resident?
183 days or more in any 12-month period, including temporary absences, under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025. Other tests can make you resident sooner.
Is the 183 days per calendar year?
The Act's wording, as summarised by PwC and Mondaq, refers to any 12-month period, so visits in two calendar years can add up.
Can owning a house in Nigeria make me tax resident?
A permanent home available for your use in Nigeria is one of the tests. A house let to tenants is not available to you; a room kept ready for you may be.
What happens if I am resident in Nigeria and the UK?
The UK–Nigeria treaty tie-breaker looks at permanent home, then centre of vital interests, habitual abode and nationality.
Sources
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Nigeria, individual residence (reviewed 29 May 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Mondaq (S.P.A. Ajibade & Co.): Individual tax residency and implications under the tax reform Acts · accessed Oct 2026
- NGEX diaspora guide to Nigeria's 2026 tax reforms (hosted by NiDCOM) · accessed Oct 2026
- The Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (Nigeria) Order 1987, Schedule · accessed Oct 2026
- Canada–Nigeria tax agreement (treaty text) · accessed Oct 2026
- IRS: United States income tax treaties A to Z · 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.