Four landmark tax laws — the Nigeria Tax Act, Nigeria Tax Administration Act, Nigeria Revenue Service Act and Joint Revenue Board Act — took full effect on 1 January 2026, consolidating over a dozen existing federal tax statutes into a single framework, exempting small companies under ₦100m turnover from CIT, and raising the corporate capital gains tax rate from 10% to 30%.
Policy Details
What Changes
Repeals and consolidates the Personal Income Tax Act, Companies Income Tax Act, VAT Act, Capital Gains Tax Act, Petroleum Profits Tax Act and Stamp Duties Act into 4 unified statutes; introduces a 15% minimum effective tax rate for large/multinational companies, controlled foreign company rules, a 4% development levy, and raises corporate CGT from 10% to 30%.
Who Is Affected
Individuals (new progressive PAYE bands, NGN800,000 tax-free threshold), small companies (exempted under NGN100m turnover), multinational enterprises (new residency/global-income rules), and employers (modernised PAYE compliance).
Why It Matters
The most significant overhaul of Nigeria's tax system since 1999, aimed at expanding the tax base and cutting the number of taxes/levies businesses officially pay from 60+ toward single digits, while aligning with OECD-style international tax norms.
Expected Impact
Reduces multiple taxation and compliance costs for most businesses over time but raises the effective tax burden (via CGT and the minimum ETR) on large and multinational companies; expands PAYE relief for lower-income earners.
Risks / Uncertainties
Discrepancies were alleged between the harmonised bills passed by the National Assembly and the Gazetted Acts; the National Assembly released 'certified' versions to resolve the dispute, but consistent implementation across states via the new Joint Revenue Board remains untested.