LIRS Tax Returns: Lagosians Confuse Payment with Filing
The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) has warned that March 31 remains the final statutory deadline for filing annual income tax returns. Despite the looming cut-off, a significant portion of the city’s workforce remains oblivious to the requirement. The agency clarified that filing “Form A” is a legal obligation for every taxable resident, including those already taxed via the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) system. Many employees mistakenly believe that because their companies deduct tax at source, their individual duty to the state is complete. This misunderstanding could prove costly as the calendar turns to April.
Failure to file returns attracts an immediate administrative penalty of ₦100,000 for the first month of default. Subsequent months of non-compliance incur an additional ₦50,000 fine. The LIRS insists that declaring income honestly is a civic duty, regardless of whether a balance is owed. The agency’s electronic portal is now the primary gateway for these submissions. However, the transition to a digital-first tax regime has exposed a widening gap in public awareness and technical literacy.
A street survey conducted across the metropolis reveals a fundamental confusion between the act of paying tax and the act of filing a return. Many traders and informal sector workers equate daily market levies and transport tickets with formal income tax. To these citizens, the concept of a “return” is entirely foreign. Even salaried professionals expressed shock at the requirement to declare income separately from their monthly payslips. The state’s communication strategy appears to have missed the mark with the very people it seeks to regulate.
Economic hardship has soured the public’s appetite for tax compliance. Respondents frequently pointed to the rising cost of living as a barrier to engagement with the revenue service. “Where is the money?” one resident asked, echoing a sentiment that tax obligations are an undue burden during a recession. There is also a pervasive scepticism regarding the fairness of the system. Without visible accountability for how tax naira are spent, many Lagosians see the March 31 deadline as a threat rather than a service.
The digital divide poses a practical challenge for the LIRS’s enforcement ambitions. While the eTax portal is designed for ease of use, many low-income earners lack the smartphones or internet access required to navigate it. The process involves resetting passwords via one-time passwords (OTPs) and verifying gross income with employers before submission. For a population that often operates outside formal corporate structures, these steps are significant hurdles. The agency has yet to provide a robust manual alternative for the digitally excluded.
As the midnight deadline approaches, the LIRS continues to urge taxpayers to confirm their gross income with their HR departments to avoid errors. The “Returns” option on the dashboard must be completed to satisfy the law. The coming days will test the state’s willingness to enforce its stiff penalties on a confused and struggling public. For now, the gap between the taxman’s expectations and the resident’s reality remains dangerously wide. Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre is facing a quiet crisis of compliance.