The new tax code dropped, giving a break to the little guy and tightening the screws on big money. President Bola Tinubu's 2025 tax reforms are now active, restructuring Nigeria's system with an ₦800,000 annual income exemption for low earners and new progressive bands hitting a 25% rate for incomes over ₦50 million. The laws introduce a Rent Relief deduction, replace old levies with a 4% Development Levy for larger companies, and enforce strict digital compliance via the Nigeria Revenue Service, or NRS, with hefty penalties for non-filers.
For personal taxes, the old flat relief is gone. Anyone making under roughly sixty-seven thousand naira monthly pays nothing. Those above that face tiered rates. The abolished Consolidated Relief Allowance is swapped for specific breaks, like deducting twenty percent of annual rent, up to half a million naira.
A major clarification came from the reform committee chairman, Taiwo Oyedele, who shot down rumors about bank surveillance. He stated authorities cannot monitor transfer descriptions for taxes, confirming the system still relies on annual self-declaration, not automated grabs from transaction notes.
On the corporate side, small businesses with turnover under ₦100 million are now exempt from Companies Income Tax and the new Development Levy. That levy replaces previous charges like the Tertiary Education Tax for larger firms. New rules also require banks to report accounts to the NRS only when individual quarterly turnover exceeds twenty-five million naira, or one hundred million for companies.
Enforcement is going digital. A Taxpayer Identification Number, which for individuals is their National Identification Number, is mandatory for major financial moves. Penalties for failing to file are severe, starting at one hundred thousand naira for the first month of default and fifty thousand naira for each month after.
For personal taxes, the old flat relief is gone. Anyone making under roughly sixty-seven thousand naira monthly pays nothing. Those above that face tiered rates. The abolished Consolidated Relief Allowance is swapped for specific breaks, like deducting twenty percent of annual rent, up to half a million naira.
A major clarification came from the reform committee chairman, Taiwo Oyedele, who shot down rumors about bank surveillance. He stated authorities cannot monitor transfer descriptions for taxes, confirming the system still relies on annual self-declaration, not automated grabs from transaction notes.
On the corporate side, small businesses with turnover under ₦100 million are now exempt from Companies Income Tax and the new Development Levy. That levy replaces previous charges like the Tertiary Education Tax for larger firms. New rules also require banks to report accounts to the NRS only when individual quarterly turnover exceeds twenty-five million naira, or one hundred million for companies.
Enforcement is going digital. A Taxpayer Identification Number, which for individuals is their National Identification Number, is mandatory for major financial moves. Penalties for failing to file are severe, starting at one hundred thousand naira for the first month of default and fifty thousand naira for each month after.
