Free payslip generator (Nigeria)

What a Nigerian payslip should show

A payslip has one job: let the employee check that they were paid correctly. Anything that helps with that belongs on it. Anything that does not, such as internal cost codes, can stay in your payroll records.

What a Nigerian payslip should show

1. 01

   Who and when

   Employer name, employee name and ID, job title, pay period and pay date

2. 02

   Earnings

   Basic, housing, transport and every other allowance, then gross pay

3. 03

   Deductions

   PAYE, employee pension, NHF where it applies, and any agreed deduction

4. 04

   Net pay

   The amount paid into the employee's bank account

5. 05

   Year to date

   Gross pay, PAYE and pension so far this year, to help with annual returns

The Labour Act does not prescribe a payslip format, but it does require employers to tell workers in writing how their wages are calculated and paid.

Section 7 requires a written statement of the main terms of employment within three months of the start date.

That statement covers the rate of wages, the method of calculation, and how often wages are paid. A monthly payslip that follows the same structure as the contract makes it easy for staff to see that the promise and the payment match.

Reading a payslip line by line

The chart below shows how a ₦500,000 monthly salary splits into take-home pay and deductions, and what the employer pays on top. Change the salary to see how the shares move.

Where a monthly salary goes

Default split: 50% basic, 25% housing, 15% transport, 10% other. Change the salary to update both bars.

Monthly gross salary₦

Deduct NHF (2.5% of basic)

Take-home pay a month…

Deductions a month…

Cost to employer a month…

Employee: where gross pay goes

Employer: what the salary costs

Show the numbers

Source: Nigeria Tax Act 2025; Pension Reform Act 2014; National Housing Fund Act; Employees' Compensation Act 2010; Industrial Training Fund Act. Assumes basic, housing and transport make up 90% of gross, 8% employee pension on that amount, no rent relief or other reliefs. Rates effective 1 January 2026. Estimates only. NSITF is shown at 1% and ITF at 1% of pay; ITF applies only to employers with 5 or more staff or ₦50 million turnover.

Earnings. List basic salary first, then housing and transport, then every other allowance. Keep the first three separate even if you pay them as one figure, because pension is calculated on them and NHF on basic alone.

Gross pay. The total of all earnings for the period.

PAYE. Income tax under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, worked out on annual taxable income and divided by 12. Our PAYE calculator shows the working for any salary.

Pension. The employee’s contribution, at least 8% of basic, housing and transport, deducted and paid to their Pension Fund Administrator with the employer’s 10%.

NHF. 2.5% of basic salary for contributing employees. See NHF deduction in Nigeria.

Other deductions. Staff loans, salary advances, cooperative contributions and union dues, each on its own line with a balance where one applies.

Net pay. Gross pay minus all deductions. This is what reaches the employee.

Example payslip

This is the payslip the generator produces for a ₦500,000 monthly salary with the default split and 8% pension:

Line	Amount
Basic salary	₦250,000
Housing allowance	₦125,000
Transport allowance	₦75,000
Other allowances	₦50,000
Gross pay	₦500,000
PAYE	₦66,020
Employee pension (8% of ₦450,000)	₦36,000
Net pay	₦397,980

The employer also pays 10% pension (₦45,000) and 1% NSITF (₦5,000). These are employer costs. Some payslips show them in a separate box so staff can see their total package, but they never reduce net pay.

How to use the generator

1. Fill in the company and employee details. You can add your logo; it stays in your browser.
2. Enter monthly earnings. Keep basic, housing and transport as the first three rows so pension and NHF are calculated on the right amounts.
3. Leave automatic deductions on to calculate PAYE under the 2026 rates, or turn them off and type your own figures.
4. Add any other deductions, such as a staff loan repayment.
5. Click Download PDF and choose “Save as PDF” in the print window.

The amount in words is written out for you, which many Nigerian HR teams expect on payslips and pay letters.

Payslips in special situations

New starters and leavers

For someone who joins or leaves mid-month, pay the days worked. A common method is monthly pay divided by the working days in the month, times the days worked. State the method in your handbook and use it every time. Show the full monthly rate and the pro-rated amount so the employee can follow the calculation.

Unpaid leave and absence

Show unpaid days as a deduction line with the number of days, rather than quietly lowering basic pay. It keeps pension and NHF calculations clear.

Overtime and arrears

Put overtime on its own line with the hours and rate. Our overtime guide explains how to set the rate. Put arrears, such as a backdated pay rise, on a separate line with the months it covers.

Correcting an overpayment

If you overpaid someone, recover it openly with a separate line and tell the employee first.

Payslip, payroll register and pay letter

Three documents get confused:

Document	Who it is for	What it shows
Payslip	One employee	That employee’s earnings, deductions and net pay for one period
Payroll register	Payroll and finance	Every employee’s figures for the period, with totals for each deduction
Pay letter or salary review letter	One employee	A change in pay, with the new amount and the date it applies from

The payslip should always agree with the payroll register for that employee. When pay changes, the pay letter comes first and the payslip shows the effect.

Sending payslips securely

Payslips contain salary and bank details, so treat them as confidential. Send PDFs to each employee’s own email address or through a staff portal, never to a shared address. Some employers protect each PDF with a password the employee knows, such as part of their staff ID. Keep copies in your payroll records, where access is limited to the people who need it.

Common payslip mistakes

• Showing one “consolidated” salary line, which hides the basic, housing and transport figures pension depends on.
• Deducting pension without recording the employee’s PFA and RSA PIN in your payroll records.
• Leaving NHF off for staff who contribute.
• Changing the format every month, which makes payslips hard to compare.
• Sending payslips as editable files. Send PDFs, or use a portal where staff log in.

Payslips for a whole team

The generator is built for one payslip at a time. For a team, run payroll in the free payroll template or in payroll software, which produces a payslip for every employee from the same run. Our payroll software guide covers what to look for.