According to the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) Cap P8 LFN 2011 (as amended), every employer shall file employer tax returns (Form H1) with the relevant tax authority by 31 January. The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) has issued a public notice directing employers to file their annual returns for the 2020 year of assessment (YOA). The tax returns relate to employees’ income and PAYE taxes from January 2019 to December 2019. As LIRS is now fully automated, no more submission of hard copy returns. Therefore, taxpayers will file their annual tax returns online via https://etax.lirs.net. New users will be required to register first on the portal.
The due date for filing the 2019 Form H1 tax returns is 31 January 2020. Upon conviction, corporate defaulters may be liable to a fine of NGN500,000 while individuals who fail to meet the deadline will a penalty of NGN50,000.
Each State IRS has its guidelines for filing the employer tax returns. The public notice, therefore, applies to tax residents in Lagos State only. A copy of the notice is available here.
