You are hereRemote work from home. 6 steps. Finding work: we do not know how long. A withdrawal reaches your bank within four business days.
- 1See where you standYou are hereStart this route
- 2Set up to be paidYou can start this now
- 3Win the workYou can start this now
- 4Get paidCannot start yet: opens when you win your first contract
- 5Your first payment and first ninety daysCannot start yet: opens when your first client pays
- 6Keep it lawfulCannot start yet: opens when you are paid from abroad
I am stuck
I am stuck
The desk explains what a step means and where the official answer lives.
From home
Earn from home: remote work for a foreign employer
For skilled people in Nigeria working for an employer or a client abroad. Six steps, from where you stand to your first payment and your yearly return.
Open, checked 7 October 2026. No window: you can start any day.
Free. About two minutes.
The steps
6 steps. Open any step to see what it needs.
- 1Start here
See where you stand
What remote work is, what it is not, and the three ways to be paid for it.
See what this step needs
Remote work here means working from Nigeria for an employer or a client abroad, and being paid from abroad. It is not a visa, and nobody can sell you a remote job: never pay anyone to be hired.
Three ways to be paid: a platform such as Upwork, where clients hire and pay you through the platform; a contractor agreement through a company such as Deel, which the hirer pays; or a direct contract with the employer or client.
Deel says it hires "independent contractors in Nigeria within minutes", and warns hirers of "fines and penalties if you don't correctly classify a contractor". Where Nigeria's Labour Act draws the line between a contractor and an employee: we do not know this yet. Read on deel.com, 7 October 2026.
Source: Deel, hire independent contractors in Nigeria, read 7 October 2026.
Free.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Remote work means working from home in Nigeria for someone abroad. You can find it on a platform, through a company like Deel, or by a direct contract. Never pay to be hired.
Where the official answer lives: Each company's own help pages answer on its terms: Upwork Help for Upwork, Deel's contractor pages for Deel.
- 2You can start this now
Set up to be paid
Get your Tax ID, know how money you earn from abroad is taxed, and choose the account it lands in.
See what this step needs
Your Tax ID. Every taxable person must register with the relevant tax authority and get a Tax ID, and banks must ask for it. Get or retrieve yours on the Tax ID Portal with your NIN; the portal states no fee. Read on taxid.nrs.gov.ng and in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, 7 October 2026.
Tax on what you earn from abroad. From 1 January 2026, a resident of Nigeria is taxed on income "wherever they arise, and whether or not" it is brought into Nigeria, and employment income is from Nigeria where the employee lives here. You are resident in a year if you are domiciled in Nigeria, have a permanent home or a habitual abode here, have substantial economic and immediate family ties here, or spend at least 183 days here in 12 months. Read in the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, 7 October 2026.
The rates, after reliefs: the first ₦800,000 at 0%; the next ₦2,200,000 at 15%; the next ₦9,000,000 at 18%; the next ₦13,000,000 at 21%; the next ₦25,000,000 at 23%; above ₦50,000,000 at 25%. Reliefs include 20% of the rent you pay a year, up to a limit. Read 7 October 2026.
The account it lands in. Upwork says: "Direct to Local Bank allows you to easily move your earnings from Upwork directly to your bank account, in your local currency.", and lists Nigeria (NGN). So your naira account at a Nigerian bank receives it (Step 4). Read on support.upwork.com, 7 October 2026.
A domiciliary account is a separate choice. What it allows you is set by five CBN circulars: Operations of Domiciliary Accounts (30 November 2020); Clarification on Operations of Ordinary Domiciliary Accounts (24 February 2020); Revised Cash-Related Policies (2 December 2025); its FAQs (5 December 2025); and Measures to Further Deepen Diaspora Remittances and Compliance (24 March 2026). We do not know this yet. Here is the official page, checked 7 October 2026.
Source: Nigeria Revenue Service and Joint Revenue Board, Tax ID Portal, read 26 October 2026.
Get your Tax ID on the Tax ID Portal
The Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025
Free to do yourself: the Tax ID on the portal. Your bank opens its own domiciliary account, on its own terms.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Get your Tax ID free online with your NIN. Money you earn from abroad is taxed in Nigeria if you live here. Upwork pays your naira bank account; a dollar account is a separate choice.
Where the official answer lives: The Tax ID Portal for your Tax ID; your State's Internal Revenue Service on your tax; your bank on its domiciliary account.
- 3You can start this now
Win the work
Find an employer or a client that hires from abroad, and apply to its own advert or job post yourself.
Rekoja checks, signposts, prepares and practises with you, and introduces you to no one. Nobody may charge you for work.
- 1Build your profile
Say what you do, show work you have done, and use your name exactly as it is on your bank account.
See what this needs
Upwork pays out only to an account in your verified name, "including any middle names, family names, or special characters". Read on support.upwork.com, 7 October 2026.
Free.
- 2Search where the work is posted
Search the platform yourself, or the employer's own careers page.
See what this needs
An advert that exists only in a WhatsApp forward or an agent's message is not the employer's.
Free.
- 3Apply yourself
You send your own proposal or application.
See what this needs
On Upwork you see the fee before you send a proposal, and it is locked once sent. You pay no one for work, a contract or an introduction. Read on support.upwork.com, 7 October 2026.
Free.
- 4Practise the interview
Practise saying your answers out loud.
See what this needs
This predicts nothing; it helps you speak calmly.
Free: practise with someone you trust.
- 5Is this a real offer?
When an offer comes, check the employer or client before you start or pay anything.
See what this needs
Nobody may charge you to be hired.
Free, always.
- 6Read the contract
Know who you contract with, what you are paid, when, and how the money reaches you.
See what this needs
Through Deel, the hirer pays Deel's fee. Whether you count as a contractor or an employee under Nigeria's Labour Act: we do not know this yet. Read on deel.com, 7 October 2026.
Free.
- 7Send your first invoice
Bill the work the way your contract says, through the platform where there is one.
See what this needs
Deel's price to the hirer includes "Automated invoicing". Keep a copy of every invoice: your yearly return asks for a statement of accounts where your income comes from a trade, business, profession or vocation. Read 7 October 2026.
Free.
See what this step needs
Upwork's Freelancer Service Fee is 0% to 15% per contract, shown when a client sends you an offer or you submit a proposal, and locked once sent. Living in Nigeria, you also pay 7.5% VAT on that fee, on the Freelancer Plus plan and on Connects. Read on support.upwork.com, 7 October 2026.
Deel's price, US$49 per contractor a month (about ₦65,300), is the hirer's; Deel's pages state no fee to the contractor. Read on deel.com, 7 October 2026. At ₦1,333 to the US dollar, 20 October 2026.
Nobody may charge you for work, and Rekoja never sells it.
Source: Upwork Help, the Freelancer Service Fee, read 21 October 2026.
Read Upwork's Freelancer Service Fee
Upwork's VAT for freelancers in Nigeria
Free. Rekoja never sells work, and nobody may charge you for it.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Make a profile in your bank name, find work yourself, apply yourself, and check every offer before you start. Upwork takes 0 to 15% of each contract, plus 7.5% VAT on that.
Where the official answer lives: Upwork Help answers on fees and contracts; the hirer answers on a Deel contract.
- 1
- 4
Get paid
Set up the way your money comes home: Upwork straight to your Nigerian bank in naira, or through Payoneer.
See what this step needs
Upwork to your bank, in naira. Direct to Local Bank pays a Nigerian bank in NGN: US$0.99 a withdrawal (about ₦1,320), plus any incoming fee your bank charges, up to US$3,000 a withdrawal (about ₦3,999,000). It arrives within four business days, and a new method becomes active in three days. Your verified name must match your bank account's exactly. Read on support.upwork.com, 7 October 2026. At ₦1,333 to the US dollar, 20 October 2026.
Upwork to Payoneer. Usually within 24 hours. Upwork charges a small per-transfer fee; its help page states no amount. Read on support.upwork.com, 7 October 2026. Payoneer's public page: 1.2% to 4% to withdraw to a bank account, by country and currency, with a minimum of up to US$20 (about ₦26,700) in some countries, and US$29.95 a year (about ₦39,900) if your account receives less than US$6,000 in 12 months. Its fee to a Nigerian bank in naira: we do not know this yet. Read on payoneer.com, 7 October 2026.
Rekoja never touches your earnings.
Source: Upwork Help, Direct to Local Bank fees, limits and timing, read 21 October 2026.
Your clock: the day your bank account is active for withdrawals, three days after you add it, worked out from the day you add your bank account, which you enter in your plan. Enter it in your plan
Upwork's Direct to Local Bank fees, limits and timing
Free. Rekoja never touches your earnings.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Add your Nigerian bank account on Upwork in exactly your bank name. Each withdrawal costs US$0.99 and arrives within four business days.
Where the official answer lives: Upwork Help answers on withdrawals; Payoneer's pricing page on its fees; your bank on its incoming fee.
- 5
Your first payment and first ninety days
Receive your first payment through the platform's own route, and keep a record of it.
See what this step needs
Your first payment reaches your bank within four business days on Direct to Local Bank, or usually within 24 hours on Payoneer. Read on support.upwork.com, 7 October 2026.
Keep a record of every payment and its fees: tax is due on income from abroad whether or not you bring it into Nigeria, and your yearly return needs it. Read in the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, 7 October 2026.
What Nigeria's data protection law asks of you when you work on a foreign client's data: we do not know this yet. Here is the NDPC's directive, checked 7 October 2026.
Never borrow against your next payment.
Source: Upwork Help, Direct to Local Bank fees, limits and timing, read 7 October 2026.
Your clock: a count of your first ninety days of paid work, worked out from the day your first payment arrives, which you enter in your plan: your first ninety days on Step 5 count from it. Enter it in your plan
Upwork's withdrawal times and fees
The NDPC's directive (GAID 2025)
Free. Rekoja never touches your earnings.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Your first money comes through the platform to your bank. Write down every payment and its fees for your tax return.
Where the official answer lives: Upwork Help on a payment that has not arrived; your bank on its incoming fee.
- 6
Keep it lawful
File your return by 31 March every year, even in a year you owe nothing.
See what this step needs
Every taxable person files a return of income, whether or not they owe tax. Section 13(1): a return "shall be filed, in the prescribed form, with the relevant tax authority in each year of assessment and without notice or demand", by every taxable person "whether or not liable to pay tax". It holds a self-assessment form, your income from every source for the year before and, for income from a trade, business, profession or vocation, a statement of accounts you attest. Read in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, 19 October 2026.
When. File by 31 March each year, for the year before: "not later than 31 March of the relevant year of assessment in respect of the preceding basis period". Read in the Joint Revenue Board's Personal Income Tax Guidelines, 2026 Edition (dated 24 February 2026), paragraph 11.1, 19 October 2026.
Where. File once a year with the Internal Revenue Service of the State where you live. In the FCT, that is the FCT Internal Revenue Service. A foreign job done in Nigeria is taxed where you live. The Joint Revenue Board lists the services of all 36 States and the FCT, most with a website and an email. Read on jrb.gov.ng, 19 October 2026.
In Lagos, LIRS, on e-Tax: sign up as a new user with your BVN and date of birth, then file Tax Form A. LIRS answers on 0700 2255 5477, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, and at info@lirs.net. Read on lirs.gov.ng, 19 October 2026.
In Enugu, the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service, on irs.en.gov.ng: individuals sign in with an email; sign-up takes a Tax ID or NIN. The ESBN (Enugu State Social Benefit Number) is for corporate accounts. It answers on 08075625555 and at esirs@enugustate.gov.ng, and at the Revenue Centre, State Secretariat Complex, Okpara Avenue, Enugu. Read on irs.en.gov.ng, 19 October 2026.
In Rivers, the Rivers State Internal Revenue Service, on its RivTAMIS portal: register, self-assess, pay. It answers on 08165019109 and at info@riversbirs.gov.ng. Read on riversbirs.gov.ng, 19 October 2026.
In Kano, the Kano State Internal Revenue Service, on its e-Tax portal: from the Register menu choose Individual, fill and submit the form, then file and pay there; your Kano Tax ID (KNTIN) comes from verify.kirs.gov.ng. It answers on 0700 315 5555 and at info@kirs.gov.ng or tax@kirs.gov.ng, and at its office on Bank Road, Kano. Its office hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. Read on www.kirs.gov.ng, 19 October 2026.
If you do not file, the penalty is ₦100,000, then ₦50,000 for each month after; if you do not register, ₦50,000, then ₦25,000 for each month after. Read in the Joint Revenue Board's Personal Income Tax Guidelines, 2026 Edition, paragraph 26, 19 October 2026.
Source: Joint Revenue Board, Personal Income Tax Guidelines 2026 and the guidelines (PDF), read 21 October 2026.
Your clock: the day to file your yearly return, 31 March each year, worked out from the Joint Revenue Board's Personal Income Tax Guidelines, 2026 Edition, paragraph 11.1: file by 31 March for the year before.
Find your State's Internal Revenue Service
Enugu State IRS, Individual Filing
The Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025
Free to do yourself. Rekoja does not file returns.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Every year by 31 March, tell your own State's tax office what you earned the year before, even if you owe no tax. The Joint Revenue Board lists every State's office.
Where the official answer lives: Find the Internal Revenue Service of the State where you live on the Joint Revenue Board's list, and ask it: it answers on your return. For example, in Lagos LIRS, 0700 2255 5477 or info@lirs.net; in Enugu, 08075625555 or esirs@enugustate.gov.ng; in Rivers, 08165019109 or info@riversbirs.gov.ng; in Kano, 0700 315 5555 or info@kirs.gov.ng. Read 19 October 2026.
See everything about this route
Cost. Nothing to the Tax ID Portal (it states no fee). On Upwork, 0 to 15% of each contract plus 7.5% VAT on that fee, and US$0.99 a withdrawal to your bank (about ₦1,320). Read 7 October 2026.
Who pays. Your employer or client pays you. On Deel, the hirer pays Deel's fee, US$49 per contractor a month. Read on deel.com, 7 October 2026.
Tax. A resident of Nigeria is taxed on income from abroad whether or not it is brought in, and files a return every year. Read in the Nigeria Tax Act and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, 7 October 2026.
Family. Not applicable: you stay at home.
The official page for this route. Checked 7 October 2026. Naira at the official rate of 20 October 2026.
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Free. About two minutes.