TAXPAYERS · INFORMAL SECTOR
Traders, artisans and the informal sector
Most economic activity in the State happens in markets, workshops, motor parks and roadside premises. The presumptive tax arrangement exists so that these taxpayers can comply simply — one flat annual charge, paid in instalments if it helps, with no accounts to file.
Why presumptive tax exists
The Personal Income Tax Act contemplates, in section 6(6), that where the income of a taxpayer cannot readily be ascertained, tax may be assessed on a presumptive basis. That provision is what allows the Service to charge a trader in Kwari Market or a mechanic in Sabon Gari a flat annual amount instead of requiring audited accounts that neither party could sensibly produce.
The flat charge is ₦12,000 a year, against revenue head 11010003, and it may be paid in monthly or quarterly instalments through any accredited channel. It discharges personal income tax for the year. What it does not cover is business premises registration, which is separate, or any sector licence the activity requires.
The arrangement is deliberately generous, because the objective in this sector is not maximum yield from each taxpayer but bringing people into the register at all. A trader who is registered, holds a TIN and pays ₦12,000 a year has a tax record, can obtain a tax clearance certificate, can bid for a small government supply contract and can borrow against a documented trading history. A trader who is invisible has none of those things.
Who this covers
Market traders
Stall and lock-up shop traders in Kwari, Sabon Gari, Dawanau, Yankura, Rimi and the LGA markets.
Artisans and craftsmen
Mechanics, welders, tailors, carpenters, vulcanisers, electricians, barbers and hairdressers operating from a fixed point.
Transport operators
Tricycle and motorcycle operators, taxi drivers and small commercial operators working for their own account.
Food vendors
Small food sellers, tea sellers and roadside caterers below the consumption tax threshold.
Petty traders
Provision store keepers, phone accessory sellers, recharge card dealers and similar small retailers.
Small farmers selling commercially
Farmers and livestock traders selling into markets rather than subsisting.
What the informal sector pays
| Charge | Amount | Frequency | Revenue head | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presumptive personal income tax | ₦12,000 | Annual | 11010003 | Payable in monthly or quarterly instalments |
| Development levy | ₦500 | Annual | 12060001 | Every taxable adult |
| Business premises registration (rural) | ₦2,000 first, ₦1,000 renewal | Annual | 12060003 / 12060004 | Where the trader has a fixed stall or shop |
| Market stall rent | ₦18,000 | Annual | 12050006 | Open stall; lock-up shops ₦60,000 |
| Tricycle licence and roadworthiness | ₦13,000 | Annual | 12070007 / 12070014 | For Keke operators, plus ₦3,000 hackney permit |
| Motorcycle licence and roadworthiness | ₦9,000 | Annual | 12070006 / 12070013 | Plus ₦3,000 hackney permit for commercial use |
How to come into the register
Get a TIN
Free. Bring your NIN slip to any area revenue office and it is issued while you wait, or do it on a phone in about fifteen minutes.
Register the stall or workshop
The area revenue officer records the location, the trade and the market or ward. This is what stops you being enumerated twice.
Choose how to pay
The full ₦12,000 in one payment, ₦3,000 quarterly or ₦1,000 monthly. Instalments are set up once and paid by USSD or POS at the market.
Pay through a proper channel
Bank, POS, USSD or the market agency POS. Never in cash to an individual, and never without a receipt bearing a receipt number.
Keep your receipts
Your electronic receipts are your evidence and are what a tax clearance certificate is built from at the end of the year.
Nobody may collect cash in a market
No revenue officer, market association official, task force member or "consultant" may collect State revenue in cash. Every payment goes through a bank, a POS terminal, a USSD string or the market agency POS, and produces an electronic receipt with a receipt number.
If someone demands money in a market without producing a payment reference and issuing an electronic receipt, they are not collecting State revenue. Report it on the whistleblower line with the market, the date and the name if you have it.
A market association may collect its own dues for its own purposes, but that is not State revenue and must not be presented as such.
Register at the market office
Enumeration teams visit each market on a published schedule, and every area revenue office registers walk-ins.