How to invoice in Nigeria
Nigerian invoices hinge on the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), yours and increasingly your buyer's. With it, show your registered business name and address, a unique invoice number and date, a clear description of the goods or services, and VAT at 7.5% listed separately where you are VAT-registered. VAT-registered suppliers charge and remit VAT to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS, which took over from FIRS in 2026), and exports are zero-rated. Keep the buyer's TIN on file too, as it is required once you fall within the Merchant-Buyer Solution (FIRSMBS) e-invoicing rollout.
| Nigeria at a glance | Detail |
|---|---|
| Currency | NGN (₦) |
| Standard VAT | 7.5% |
| Tax ID | TIN |
| Paper size | A4 |
| Typical terms | Net 30 |
| E-invoicing | Phasing in |
Tax ID format: A numeric Taxpayer Identification Number issued on registration, typically shown as an 8-digit base plus a branch suffix for companies, e.g. 12345678-0001 (individuals hold a 10-digit TIN, e.g. 1012345678)..
What Nigerian invoices must include
- The word “Invoice” and a unique, sequential invoice number
- The issue date (and the supply date if it differs)
- Your business name, address and TIN
- The client's name and address (and their TIN for reverse-charge or intra-EU supplies)
- A clear description and quantity for each line
- The net amount per VAT rate, the rate(s) applied and the VAT amount
- The total payable, in NGN
- Payment terms, the due date and how to pay (bank name, IBAN/account)
- Supplier and buyer TIN
- Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and QR / cryptographic stamp once e-invoicing applies
VAT & reverse charge
For cross-border work, the right wording matters. Invoice Forever offers ready-made Nigerian VAT notes such as:
- VAT charged at 7.5% where applicable.
- Exports of goods and services are zero-rated for VAT.
- VAT on imported services is self-accounted by the Nigerian recipient under the reverse-charge mechanism.
E-invoicing in Nigeria
Nigeria's e-invoicing, launched by FIRS (now the Nigeria Revenue Service, NRS), runs on the Merchant-Buyer Solution (FIRSMBS/MBS), a continuous-transaction-control (pre-clearance) model: B2B and B2G invoices are validated and stamped with an Invoice Reference Number (IRN) plus a QR / cryptographic seal before they reach the buyer, while B2C sales are reported within 24 hours. A pilot ran July-December 2025 for large taxpayers with turnover of ₦5bn or more; the mandate then phases down by turnover, with medium-sized taxpayers (roughly ₦1bn-₦5bn) brought in from 1 July 2026 and small enterprises expected to follow from July 2027. Guidance describes the invoice as a standardised national structured-XML format rather than confirmed Peppol/UBL adoption.
Invoice Forever can export a structured EN 16931 / Peppol BIS (UBL) e-invoice alongside the PDF (beta) — the format most of these mandates are built on. You still send it via your own access point, and some countries require their own national format.
Verified 23 July 2026 against the source. E-invoicing rules are changing quickly, so always confirm the current position with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS, which replaced the Federal Inland Revenue Service / FIRS in 2026) before you rely on it. This page is general guidance, not tax advice.
Payment terms in Nigeria
Net 30 days is the common commercial norm, though many SMEs and one-off jobs are billed on delivery or against an upfront deposit. Bank transfer dominates, increasingly via instant NIP transfers; quote amounts in Naira (₦).
Questions about invoicing in Nigeria
The standard VAT rate is 7.5%. It has stayed at 7.5% for 2026 after proposals to raise it during the tax reforms were dropped, and it is administered by the Nigeria Revenue Service (which replaced FIRS in 2026).
Yes. VAT-registered suppliers must show their Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and you increasingly need the buyer's TIN as well, especially once the Merchant-Buyer Solution (FIRSMBS) e-invoicing rollout applies to you.
It is being phased in. Large taxpayers (turnover ≥₦5bn) were onboarded via the July-December 2025 pilot, and mandatory B2B e-invoicing plus 24-hour B2C reporting via the Merchant-Buyer Solution (FIRSMBS) extends to medium-sized taxpayers (roughly ₦1bn-₦5bn) from 1 July 2026, with small enterprises expected to follow from July 2027.
Make an invoice for Nigeria, free.
NGN and 7.5% VAT already set, on A4 paper. No signup, no watermark.
Make an invoice for Nigeria