Nigeria’s Federal Government has released official guidelines to help businesses, taxpayers, and revenue authorities smoothly transition from the country’s old tax system to the new tax framework introduced under the Tax Acts 2025.
The guidelines, issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance, provide detailed instructions on how tax matters will be handled as Nigeria moves to the new tax regime, which officially takes effect on January 1, 2026.
According to the ministry, the document is designed to ensure a seamless changeover from the repealed tax laws while reducing confusion among taxpayers, tax professionals, investors, and government agencies.
Speaking on the development, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the guidelines were created to address transitional issues and ensure fairness during implementation.
He explained that the framework is built on three major principles: clarity, fairness, and administrative certainty. These principles are intended to help taxpayers understand their obligations while giving tax authorities a clear roadmap for enforcement and compliance.
The Tax Acts 2025 consist of four major laws: the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act. While each law has its own commencement date, the Nigeria Tax Act will officially become operational on January 1, 2026.
Under the new guidelines, all tax liabilities, audits, assessments, investigations, disputes, and enforcement actions relating to periods before January 1, 2026, will continue to be governed by the old tax laws. This means that taxpayers with unresolved tax matters from previous years will still be required to comply with the rules that were in place when those obligations arose.
Similarly, tax returns covering accounting periods that ended before January 1, 2026, must be filed under the previous legal framework. However, any returns due from that date onward will be processed under the provisions of the new tax laws.
The government also assured businesses and investors that existing tax incentives, exemptions, and reliefs granted under the former laws will remain valid until they expire. This measure is expected to provide stability and confidence for companies that have already made investment decisions based on those incentives.
However, any new applications for tax incentives, as well as pending requests that have not yet been approved, will be assessed according to the provisions contained in the Tax Acts 2025.
The guidelines further address issues relating to income taxes, transaction taxes, development levies, record-keeping requirements, and transactions that begin under the old tax system but are completed after the new regime takes effect.
The Ministry of Finance stated that the document aims to ensure consistency in tax administration across all revenue agencies, including the Nigeria Revenue Service, State Internal Revenue Services, the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service, and Local Government Revenue Committees.
Oyedele described the Tax Acts 2025 as a major milestone in Nigeria’s tax reform journey, noting that the new guidelines provide much-needed clarity on how current obligations and future transactions will be managed as the country adopts a modernized tax system.
The government believes the framework will help create a more transparent, predictable, and efficient tax environment that supports economic growth and improves revenue generation across the country.
