Financial Close Management
Lost WHT credits: how businesses lose money on Rev360, and how to stop it
A customer pays ₦1,900,000 on a ₦2,000,000 consultancy invoice. The receivables clerk chases the ₦100,000. The customer replies, "That's WHT." Nobody asks for the receipt, and at year-end the ₦100,000 is written off as a bad debt or left in receivables.
It was never a bad debt. It was tax paid on your behalf, and with the receipt it is a credit against your own income tax. Lose the receipt and you lose the credit. The fix is a monthly routine: spot WHT in the bank reconciliation, request every receipt, and check your list against the credits in Rev360.
The WHT rates that apply now
These rates come from the Deduction of Tax at Source (Withholding) Regulations 2024, effective 1 July 2024, as summarised by PwC Nigeria and PwC Tax Summaries (last reviewed 29 May 2026; checked November 2026).
| Transaction | Resident company | Non-resident company |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends, interest, rent | 10% | 10% |
| Consultancy, technical, management, professional fees | 5% | 10% |
| Supply of goods (not by the manufacturer) | 2% | N/A |
| Other services not listed | 2% | 5% |
A small company does not deduct WHT on a transaction below ₦2m if the supplier has a TIN. Where the supplier has no TIN, the rate doubles (BusinessDay, 11 July 2024). We found no new WHT regulations under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, but rules change. Confirm the rules that apply to you with your tax adviser.
Who issues the WHT receipt now
Under the 2024 Regulations, the payer (the customer who deducts the tax) issues the WHT receipt, not the tax authority. According to PwC's summary, you can claim the credit with that receipt even if the payer never remitted the tax, and a payer who issues a receipt without remitting is liable.
So the receipt is your evidence, and getting it from the customer is your job. When you deduct WHT from your own suppliers, it is due to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) by the 21st of the following month, or to a state internal revenue service by the 30th. Confirm the rules that apply to you with your tax adviser.
Rev360 and your migrated credits
The NRS launched Rev360 on 30 April 2026 to replace TaxPro Max. According to a Templars client alert (13 May 2026) and Nairametrics (30 April 2026), rollout is phased, existing balances including WHT credits migrate automatically, and taxpayers should review migrated credits after onboarding.
Unused WHT credits carry forward under the Nigeria Tax Act, except when a company ceases operations (Forvis Mazars, 2026). A credit carried forward only helps if it is on record. The question is simple: does Rev360's list of WHT credits agree with your own list of receipts? You can only answer it if you keep your own list.
How short payments hide WHT
Credits are lost between the bank statement, receivables and the tax file. Short payments get written off as bad debts, left to age in receivables, or never followed by a receipt request. Receipts sit in a sales person's inbox, or carry the wrong company name or TIN.
The first sign of WHT is almost always in the bank reconciliation: a receipt short of the invoice by a round percentage.
Example figures (VAT ignored to keep it simple):
| Invoice | Service | Invoiced | Received | Short | % | Likely reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INV-1041 | Consultancy | ₦2,000,000 | ₦1,900,000 | ₦100,000 | 5% | WHT on professional fees |
| INV-1043 | Office rent | ₦3,600,000 | ₦3,240,000 | ₦360,000 | 10% | WHT on rent |
| INV-1047 | Supply of goods | ₦850,000 | ₦833,000 | ₦17,000 | 2% | WHT on supplies |
| INV-1050 | Maintenance | ₦1,200,000 | ₦1,150,000 | ₦50,000 | 4.2% | Not a WHT rate: chase it |
The first three move to a WHT receivable account, with a receipt requested from each customer. The fourth is a genuine difference. Treating all four the same way is how money is lost. For the matching method, see how to do a bank reconciliation in Nigeria, step by step.
A monthly routine for WHT certificates
Keep a register with the customer and TIN, invoice, WHT amount and rate, date paid, date the receipt was requested and received, receipt number, and whether it agrees with Rev360. Then, straight after the bank reconciliation:
- List every customer receipt short by 2%, 5% or 10% of the invoice.
- Move the shortfall to the WHT receivable account.
- Request the receipt the same week.
- Follow up anything still missing after 30 days.
- Reconcile the register to the WHT receivable balance in the ledger.
- Before each filing, compare the register with the credits in Rev360.
Make it a named task on your month-end checklist (see closing your books faster at month-end). Your auditor will likely ask for the register; see what your auditor will ask for.
How Brillrec helps
Brillrec is the finance operations platform for Nigerian businesses, with three products: Reconciliation, Internal Control Automation and Financial Close Management. Filing stays in Rev360. Brillrec keeps the record you check it against.
- WHT tracker, on Essential and above. In Financial Close Management, short receipts are flagged as likely WHT at the rates your accountant confirms, which can include 2%. Certificates are requested from customers by secure link, and the Rev360 credits listing (Excel, CSV or PDF) is matched to your certificates, so you see which credits are missing on either side.
- Tax accounts, on Essential and above. VAT, PAYE, pension, NHF and WHT payable are agreed to the ledger, the return and the payment.
- Collections, on Professional and above. In Reconciliation, receipts into virtual accounts are matched to the payer and to what they owe. A payer short by exactly 5% or 10% gets a WHT suggestion.
- Supplier statements, on Essential and above. Matched by e-invoice IRN, invoice number, then amount and date, with differences named, including WHT and timing.
- Statutory dates, on every plan. Close templates include PAYE by the 10th and VAT and WHT by the 21st, with weekends and public holidays handled.
- Open items that don't get lost. Reconciling items open over 30 days are listed, with an explanation required as they age.
- Audit request list, on Essential and above, with evidence Brillrec already holds attached when the auditor asks.
Plans and limits are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Who issues WHT receipts in Nigeria now?
Under the 2024 Regulations, the payer who deducts the tax issues the receipt, according to PwC. Ask your customer for it.
Can I claim a WHT credit if my customer didn't remit the tax?
According to PwC's summary of the 2024 Regulations, yes, with the payer's receipt. Confirm the rules that apply to you with your tax adviser.
Were my TaxPro Max WHT credits moved to Rev360?
Existing balances, including WHT credits, migrate automatically, according to Templars and Nairametrics. Review them against your own records after onboarding.
Do WHT credits expire?
Under the Nigeria Tax Act, unused credits carry forward except when a company ceases operations, according to Forvis Mazars.
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