Nigeria VAT on foreign digital services and imported services

Nigeria charges VAT at 7.5% on digital and other services supplied by foreign providers to Nigerian customers. Non-resident suppliers may register and collect; Nigerian businesses may need to self-account.

Alexia M.Comparisons and market guides editor

Published: 17 October 2026
Reading time: 1 min read

Nigerian companies pay for a lot of foreign software: design tools, CRMs, cloud hosting, ads. VAT on those services follows rules for non-resident suppliers and imported services.

How it works

Situation	Who accounts for VAT
Foreign supplier registered in Nigeria	Supplier charges 7.5% on the invoice
Foreign supplier not registered	Nigerian business may self-account
Supplier with a Nigerian entity	Local VAT rules apply

The 2026 reforms

The Nigeria Tax Act and related acts, signed in June 2025, took effect on 1 January 2026. They kept VAT at 7.5% and moved administration to the Nigeria Revenue Service. Details on input VAT recovery and digital services changed; ask your adviser how they apply.

Records

Keep each invoice.
Note whether VAT was charged.
Record self-accounted VAT in your returns where required.

Paying the supplier

Most foreign SaaS bills in dollars by card. Card limits on naira cards, and the rate at which they convert, have changed often. See Nigerian companies paying foreign SaaS and ads.

Paying into Nigeria: the local rail

What	Detail
Local rail	NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP)
Run by	Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System
Settlement	Seconds, 24/7
Published fee	The CBN caps the sender's charge at ₦10 up to ₦5,000, ₦26 up to ₦50,000 and ₦50 above that

Source: NIBSS: NIP. Checked when this guide was last updated; the scheme's own page has the current figures.

Where Rivet fits

Rivet serves registered companies in supported countries, including foreign companies owned by Nigerian founders where eligible, with cards that spend in USD and receipts on one ledger. Rivet does not advise Nigerian-registered companies to hold funds offshore. Rivet is not a bank; regulated partner institutions hold the funds. See Nigeria tax reform 2026 for small companies.

Questions people ask

What is the VAT rate in Nigeria?

7.5%.

Do foreign SaaS companies charge Nigerian VAT?

Some do, where registered as non-resident suppliers. Check your invoices.

What if the supplier does not charge VAT?

A Nigerian business may need to self-account for VAT on the imported service. Ask your tax adviser.

Who administers VAT?

The Nigeria Revenue Service, which replaced FIRS under the 2025 tax reform acts.

Sources

Written by

Alexia M.

Comparisons and market guides editor

Alexia compares the accounts, cards and payment tools companies weigh before they switch, and writes Rivet's market guides for founders in a specific country. Prices in Alexia's comparisons come from each provider's own pricing page on the date given in the article, rules come from the regulator or tax authority that sets them, and every source is listed at the end.