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The short answer
Under Nigeria's Withholding Tax Regulations 2024, the client that deducts the tax must give you a receipt (still called a credit note) showing your name, address, TIN, the gross amount, the tax deducted and the month. Ask for it in your contract and on every invoice, and chase it once the client has remitted the tax, which PwC's summary of the rules says is due by the 21st of the following month.
If you live in Ghana and invoice a Nigerian company, there is a good chance the amount that lands in your account is smaller than the invoice. The gap is usually withholding tax (WHT): the client keeps part of your fee and pays it to the Nigerian tax authority on your behalf. The document that proves this happened is the WHT receipt, which most people in Nigeria still call a WHT credit note. This article explains what it is, what it must contain, how to get one and what it does and does not do for someone taxed in Ghana. It is information, not tax advice.
What the credit note is and who issues it
Nigeria's Deduction of Tax at Source (Withholding) Regulations 2024 took effect on 1 July 2024. Under them, the customer that deducts the tax is the one that issues the receipt for the tax deducted, not the tax authority, according to PwC Nigeria's summary of the regulations. Before the 2024 rules, suppliers often waited for a credit note generated by the Federal Inland Revenue Service. The Federal Inland Revenue Service has since been replaced by the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), so you may see either name on older paperwork.
Two other points in the 2024 rules matter to you. First, a supplier can claim credit for tax deducted even if the customer failed to remit it. Second, a customer that issues a receipt without remitting the tax is itself liable for the tax, plus interest and penalties (both points as summarised by PwC and Mondaq). The receipt is therefore your evidence, and the risk of non-payment sits with the client once it has deducted.
How much is deducted from a freelancer outside Nigeria
The rate depends on whether you are resident in Nigeria for tax and on what you are being paid for. For the services most freelancers sell, the 2024 regulations set these rates, as reported by Mondaq in July 2024:
| Payment type | Recipient resident in Nigeria | Recipient not resident |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, consultancy, technical or management fees | 5% | 10% |
| Commission | 5% | 10% |
| Any of the above where the recipient has no TIN | Twice the normal rate | Twice the normal rate |
Both PwC and Mondaq describe the 10% deducted from a non-resident as a final tax, unless the recipient has a taxable presence in Nigeria. Whether the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 has changed these rates is not something we could confirm from a primary source this month, so ask the client which rate it is applying and on what basis. On the no-TIN rule, PwC's summary links the doubled rate to trading income and notes that it affects non-residents in practice; if a client deducts 20%, ask it to show the rule it is relying on.
Worked example
Example only. You invoice a Lagos agency ₦1,500,000 for a design project and are not resident in Nigeria. At 10%, the client deducts ₦150,000 and pays you ₦1,350,000. Your receipt should show the gross fee of ₦1,500,000, tax deducted of ₦150,000 and the month of payment. If the client has no TIN for you and applies twice the rate, the deduction would be ₦300,000 and you would receive ₦1,200,000, which is why it is worth giving your details up front.
What the receipt must show
Mondaq's overview lists the details the deductor's receipt must carry. Check each one before you file it away:
- Your name and address, as they appear on your invoice
- Your taxpayer identification number (TIN), if you have one
- The nature of the transaction, for example consultancy fee
- The gross amount of the payment
- The amount of tax deducted
- The month in which the deduction was made
PwC also recommends that the receipt carries a payment reference number for the remittance. A receipt with a remittance reference is much easier to rely on if anyone later asks whether the tax was paid.
Steps to get your credit note
- Write it into the contract: a clause saying the client will deduct only the tax required by law and will give you the WHT receipt within a set period after remitting it.
- Show the gross fee and expected WHT on your invoice, so the net figure you receive is not a surprise.
- Send your full legal name, address and TIN (if you have one) before the first payment.
- After payment, ask for the receipt with the remittance reference. PwC's summary gives the remittance deadline as the 21st of the month after deduction for federal tax, so a request in the following month is reasonable.
- Keep the receipt with the invoice, the contract and your bank credit in one folder per client.
If you need a Nigerian TIN, see our guide on whether you need a Nigerian TIN while living in Ghana. For how invoices to Nigerian clients are taxed from the start, see Nigerian WHT on a Ghana freelancer's invoice.
What the credit note does for you in Ghana
Because the tax deducted from a non-resident is described as final, the credit note is usually not something you use to reclaim money in Nigeria. Its value is as evidence. Nigeria and Ghana do not have a double tax treaty in force: PwC's Nigeria page (reviewed May 2026) lists the ECOWAS treaties, Ghana's included, as ratified by Nigeria but not by the other countries. On the Ghana side, PwC's Ghana summary (reviewed March 2026) says a resident gets a credit for foreign income tax paid, limited to the part relating to the foreign income and to the average rate of Ghanaian tax for the year, and does not list Nigeria among Ghana's treaties in force. How the Ghana Revenue Authority applies that credit to Nigerian WHT on your fees is a question for the GRA or a Ghanaian tax adviser. Either way, the receipt is your evidence of what was deducted. For how Ghanaian tax works for the self-employed, see tax for self-employed freelancers in Ghana.
If the client will not issue it
Ask in writing, quoting the invoice and payment date. Point out, politely, that under the 2024 regulations the deductor issues the receipt and that a deductor which issues a receipt without remitting is liable for the tax. If the client says it is still waiting for a document from NRS, ask whether it has remitted and for the remittance reference. Persistent refusal is a sign to put the receipt obligation, with a deadline, into the next contract. Readers in Nigeria will find the resident-side process in our Nigeria guide to WHT credit notes.
Where Pryme fits
A Pryme Business Account includes invoicing, so you can show the gross fee and expected WHT on each invoice, and a Finance agent that can prepare reminders for missing receipts for you to approve. You can also generate verifiable statements through our partner VerifyDoc.ai (receipts and statements) to show what was received against each invoice.
Questions people ask
Is WHT deducted from my Nigerian invoice refundable if I live in Ghana?
For a non-resident, the 10% WHT on professional fees is described as a final tax under the 2024 regulations, so there is usually no Nigerian refund. Ghana gives residents a limited credit for foreign tax paid; ask the GRA how it applies to your case.
Who issues a WHT credit note in Nigeria now?
Under the WHT Regulations 2024, the client that deducted the tax issues the receipt. You do not need to wait for the tax authority to generate one.
What WHT rate should a Nigerian company deduct from a foreign freelancer?
As reported in July 2024, 10% for professional, consultancy, technical and management fees paid to non-residents, and twice the rate where there is no TIN. Confirm whether later law has changed it.
My client deducted WHT but never remitted it. What happens?
PwC's summary says you can still claim credit for the tax deducted, and the client that issued a receipt without remitting is liable with interest and penalties.
Sources
- PwC Nigeria: highlights of the Deduction of Tax at Source (Withholding) Regulations 2024 · accessed Oct 2026
- Mondaq: an overview of the Nigerian Withholding Tax Regulations of 2024 (Jul 2024) · accessed Oct 2026
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Nigeria, corporate withholding taxes (reviewed 29 May 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Ghana, individual foreign tax relief and tax treaties (reviewed 11 Mar 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.