Starting from November 1, 2025, Nigerians who pay for services from the Artificial Intelligence company OpenAI, including its popular chatbot ChatGPT Plus, will have to pay more. The company has announced it will begin applying a 7.5% Value-Added Tax (VAT) to all its paid services for users in Nigeria.
This price increase is a direct response to a directive from the Nigerian government. OpenAI stated in an email to its users that the new charge is required to comply with Section 10 of Nigeria’s Value Added Tax Act. This move reflects the government’s intensified efforts to ensure that foreign digital service providers are paying the appropriate taxes in the country.
This development follows a trend already set by other major international tech companies, such as Google, Netflix, Amazon, and Facebook, which have all started charging VAT to Nigerian users. Reports suggest that these tax compliance efforts have been successful, generating a significant amount of revenue for the country.
For existing subscribers, the impact will be a clear rise in their monthly bills. For example, a ChatGPT Plus user who currently pays the equivalent of around N31,500 per month will see their bill increase to approximately N33,862.50 once the 7.5% VAT is added.
To help mitigate the financial impact, OpenAI has also introduced a new, lower-cost subscription tier for Nigerian users, priced at N7,000 per month.
OpenAI is now asking all Nigerian customers to provide a valid Tax Identification Number (TIN) in their account settings. This is a crucial step needed for the company to complete the necessary tax documentation for the Nigerian government.
The price hike is expected to create ripple effects across Nigeria’s burgeoning AI industry, as local start-ups and developers who build their services using OpenAI’s infrastructure may also face higher operating costs.
