FIRS 2026 Tax Season: 5 Critical Financial Records That Could Save Your Business ₦Millions

Record 1: Sales & Revenue Documentation

Every single naira that comes into your business needs proof. We’re talking invoices, receipts, bank deposits, payment confirmations from Payoneer, Wise, PayPal—literally everything.

Why does this matter so much right now? Because the company income tax rate is now sitting between 10-30%, which means your accurate income documentation literally determines what your exact tax bill is going to be. And if you’re one of those people earning money from abroad through online platforms or as a remote worker, the new rules are demanding way more transparency. Those days of payments quietly coming through payment platforms without anyone knowing about them? Yeah, those are over.

The smartest move you can make is to start using accounting software that automatically tracks all your sales. Take digital copies of every payment receipt you get and organize them by month. That’s what the FIRS is expecting to see when they come knocking.

Record 2: Business Expenses & Deductions

This is honestly where you can reduce what you actually owe the government. Every legitimate business expense—your office rent, utilities, equipment, staff meals during business meetings, office supplies, professional services like accounting or legal help, advertising and marketing spend—all of it counts as long as you’ve got receipts to back it up.

But here’s something that just changed and most people don’t know about yet: you can now claim 20% of whatever you pay as rent as a deductible expense, but here’s the catch—it’s capped at ₦500,000 per year. That’s basically free money if you just document it properly. On top of that, if you’re exporting goods from Nigeria, any profits you make from those exports are completely exempt from income tax—as long as the money comes back into Nigeria through official legal channels. That’s huge if you’re in the export business.

What you need to do is photograph every receipt the moment you get it. Create folders or categories for different types of expenses—rent, utilities, supplies, marketing—and keep them organized. The FIRS requires you to hold onto these for at least six years, so make sure your storage system can handle that.

Record 3: Payroll & Employment Records

If you’ve got people working for you, listen up—this is non-negotiable stuff. The FIRS watches payroll like a hawk because it connects to multiple types of taxes. They’re checking employee names, their TINs, gross salaries paid, every deduction (whether it’s tax, pension contributions, or health insurance), net pay, and exactly when payments were made—all of this for every single pay period.

The real talk is that doing payroll manually or with spreadsheets is asking for trouble. Use professional payroll software or hire a payroll service. Yeah, there’s a cost, but it’s way cheaper than paying FIRS penalties for getting it wrong. And you’ve got to keep these records for a minimum of six years.

Record 4: Bank Statements & Reconciliation

Your bank statements are basically your audit trail. Every deposit that goes in should match up with your income records. Every withdrawal should line up with your expenses. When there are gaps or things don’t match, that’s when the FIRS gets interested and starts asking questions.

What most businesses don’t do but absolutely should is reconcile their bank accounts every single month. Don’t wait until tax season is breathing down your neck. Monthly reconciliation catches mistakes early, stops fraud before it happens, and gives you a real picture of whether your business is actually making money or bleeding cash. The best way to do this is using accounting software that automatically pulls in your transactions from your bank. It saves you hours and cuts down on errors. Keep your bank statements for at least six years—honestly, you should probably keep them forever since they don’t take up much space digitally.

Record 5: Fixed Assets & Depreciation Records

This is the one a lot of Nigerian business owners completely overlook, but it matters. If your business owns equipment, vehicles, computers, machinery, or if you’ve renovated or improved property, you need to document all of it. For each asset, you should know the purchase date, how much you paid for it, what the business purpose is, and how you’re depreciating it for tax purposes.

Why should you care? Because depreciation is basically a deductible expense that reduces your taxable income year after year. So if you bought equipment for ₦500,000, you get to deduct a portion of that cost every year over its useful life—that’s money that reduces what you owe FIRS. Plus, if you’re in the export or manufacturing business, your assets might qualify for special tax treatment under the new economic incentives.

What you need to do is create a simple fixed asset register—honestly, a spreadsheet works fine if you’re small, but if you’re bigger, use software. Just make sure you update it whenever you buy something new. Keep these records for the entire life of the asset, and even beyond that if you end up selling it later.