Public holidays and tax deadlines in Nigeria and Kenya
Which Nigerian and Kenyan public holidays Achekam's business calendar knows, what it leaves out, and how holidays bear on tax deadlines and staff leave.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Nigeria, Kenya
Public holidays in Nigeria and Kenya do not all arrive on fixed dates. Some are known years ahead; others are confirmed only weeks before, when the government makes its declaration. For a business, that uncertainty lands in two places: the tax deadlines that cluster around the start of each month, and the leave records of staff who take time off around a long weekend.
This article explains which holidays Achekam's business calendar includes, what it deliberately leaves out, and how to plan deadlines and leave around them.
Fixed-date national holidays
Achekam's business calendar includes the fixed-date national public holidays of both Nigeria and Kenya: the holidays that fall on the same date every year, such as Independence Day in Nigeria or Jamhuri Day in Kenya.
These are the easy ones. Because their dates never change, the calendar holds them for every year, and you can plan month-end work around them as far ahead as you like.
Movable holidays confirmed for 2026
Other national holidays move. Good Friday and Easter Monday follow the Easter calendar, and the Eid holidays depend on the Islamic calendar and are confirmed by government declaration closer to the day.
For these, Achekam's calendar includes only the movable holidays officially declared or confirmed for 2026. Holidays for later years are added once they are confirmed, not guessed in advance. That is the honest approach, but it has a practical consequence: if you are planning work for next year, the calendar will not yet show next year's movable holidays. Pencil in the expected dates yourself and replace them when the declaration comes.
Kenya's Sunday substitution and Nigeria's declared days
The two countries treat a holiday that falls on a weekend differently, and the calendar follows each.
- Kenya applies the Sunday substitution rule: when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following day is observed instead.
- Nigeria gives no day in lieu unless the government declares one. The Federal Government sometimes announces a replacement day, but until it does, there is none.
For Nigerian businesses, that means watching for the declaration in the days before any holiday that falls on a weekend, and adjusting rosters and cut-offs if one is made.
State holidays are not included
Nigerian States can declare holidays of their own, and those are not in Achekam's calendar. The calendar is national. If your business operates in a State that has declared its own day, or has branches in several States, keep a short local list alongside the national calendar and brief branch managers on it.
Deadlines at the end of the day in Lagos or Nairobi
Achekam's filing calendar sets Nigerian and Kenyan deadlines to the end of the day in Africa/Lagos or Africa/Nairobi time. It also leaves out any deadline whose rule is still awaiting approval or is contested, and says why it has done so. A gap in the calendar is therefore a reason to check the law, never a sign that nothing is due.
Some common deadlines at the time of writing:
| Country | Obligation | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | VAT return, including nil returns | 21st of the following month |
| Nigeria | Withholding tax remittance to the NRS | 21st of the following month |
| Kenya | PAYE filed and paid | 9th of the following month |
| Kenya | VAT return | 20th day after the month end |
| Kenya | Affordable Housing Levy | Within 9 working days after the month end |
Holidays matter differently depending on how a deadline is written. The Kenyan housing levy counts working days, so a public holiday early in the month pushes its last day later; KRA's notice on the collection of the Affordable Housing Levy describes the levy, its due date by the ninth working day after month end, and how it is declared and paid. Deadlines fixed to a date, such as the 21st or the 9th, are different: do not assume they move because they land on a holiday. Treat the date as the date, and file the working day before when it falls on a holiday or weekend.
Leave still counted against South African holidays
One limit applies to payroll. Leave days in Achekam are counted against South African public holidays, and the built-in leave entitlements follow South African law, even for a Nigerian or Kenyan employer.
In practice, two things can go wrong. A Nigerian or Kenyan holiday that is not a South African one may be counted as a leave day when an employee takes leave across it. And a South African holiday that is an ordinary working day in Lagos or Nairobi may be left out of a leave count when it should be in it. Have payroll check any leave request that spans a public holiday by hand until the calendars are separated. Other payroll gaps of this kind are listed in what payroll does not yet do for NG and KE employers.
Planning around holidays
- At the start of each year, list the fixed-date holidays and the deadlines in the same month.
- When a movable holiday is declared, check whether it shortens your month-end window.
- In Nigeria, watch for days in lieu; in Kenya, expect the Monday after a Sunday holiday to be off.
- Add any State holidays that affect your branches.
- Check leave across holidays by hand.
The full deadline lists for each country are in the Nigerian tax calendar and the Kenyan tax calendar. Before each month starts, look at its holidays first and its deadlines second, and move your own internal cut-offs forward wherever the two collide.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
