What must legally be on a Nigerian payslip (2026 employer guide)

A payslip is more than a courtesy — it is the employee's proof of what they earned and what was deducted, and the employer's evidence of lawful payroll. This guide sets out what a compliant Nigerian payslip should contain in 2026, the legal backdrop, and how long you must keep the records.

What a compliant payslip shows

Sources: Labour Act (Cap L1 LFN 2004); National Pension Commission (PenCom); Nigeria Revenue Service.

1. The legal backdrop

Nigeria's Labour Act does not prescribe a single fixed payslip template, but it does two things that make the payslip essential:

• It requires employers to keep records of wages paid and deductions made.
• It restricts deductions from an employee's wages to those that are lawful and authorised — statutory deductions (like PAYE and pension), deductions required by a court, or ones the employee has agreed to in writing.

A clear payslip is how you evidence both: it shows the wage paid and proves every deduction was one you were entitled to make. Tax law reinforces this — PAYE must be deducted and remitted, and the payslip is the employee's record of the tax withheld on their behalf.

2. Earnings — show the full breakdown

Don't collapse pay into a single "salary" figure. A compliant payslip breaks gross pay into its components:

• Basic salary
• Housing and transport allowances
• Any other allowances (meal, utility, responsibility)
• Overtime, bonus, or commission for the period
• Gross pay — the total before deductions

The breakdown matters because several statutory calculations depend on it — pension is computed on Basic + Housing + Transport, for example — and because employees are entitled to understand how their pay is built.

3. Statutory deductions — itemise each one

Every statutory deduction must appear as its own line, not buried in a lump sum:

• PAYE — the income tax withheld, computed under the current tax regime (NTA 2025 from 1 January 2026) and remitted to the employee's State Internal Revenue Service.
• Pension — the employee's contribution (minimum 8% of Basic + Housing + Transport under the Pension Reform Act 2014).
• NHF — the National Housing Fund contribution (2.5% of basic), which is voluntary for private-sector employees from 2026 under NTA 2025, so it appears only where the employee has opted in.

Where you deduct anything else — a salary-advance recovery, a cooperative contribution — show it as a separate, clearly labelled line.

4. Net pay and payment details

The payslip must end with the net pay — gross minus all deductions — which is the amount actually transferred to the employee. State the payment method and date so the record is complete.

5. A sample Nigerian payslip layout

Figures are illustrative. Actual PAYE depends on the employee's annual position under NTA 2025 (first ₦800,000 tax-free; rent relief where declared).

6. Record-keeping — how long to keep payroll records

Keep payroll records — payslips, the payroll register, and remittance evidence for PAYE, pension, NHF, and NSITF — for at least six years. The Nigeria Revenue Service and State Internal Revenue Services can review historical PAYE, and PenCom can review pension remittances, so retained records are your defence in any audit.

7. What happens if you don't issue payslips

Beyond the compliance risk, failing to give clear payslips erodes trust and invites disputes — an employee who can't see how their pay was calculated is far more likely to query it or escalate. On the regulatory side, poor payroll records undermine your ability to prove correct PAYE and pension deductions if the tax authority or PenCom asks. Issuing a proper payslip for every run is the low-cost way to stay clean on both fronts.

AnooreHR generates a compliant, itemised payslip for every employee on every run — gross broken down by component, PAYE computed under the correct tax regime, pension and NHF split out, and net pay clearly stated — and keeps the records for you. Employees can view and download their own payslips from a self-service portal. Book a demo or sign up free to generate a real payslip on your own salary structure.

Frequently asked questions

Related: How to compute PAYE in Nigeria · Nigerian pension contribution guide · See pricing