Nigeria's Tax Reform Acts 2025: What Changes for Businesses from January 2026

• Nigeria Tax Act (NTA): consolidates and rewrites the substantive tax rules previously spread across multiple statutes.
• Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA): harmonises how taxes are assessed, collected and enforced across federal, state and local levels.
• Nigeria Revenue Service Act (NRSA): transforms the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) into the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) — a more autonomous, digitally enabled agency with expanded enforcement powers.
• Joint Revenue Board Act (JRBA): creates a coordinating board to align federal and state revenue authorities.

Together, the Acts are the most significant rewrite of Nigeria's tax framework in years, aimed at simplifying administration, widening the tax net and improving enforcement.

The Acts take effect on 1 January 2026. The transition rule that matters most for planning:

• Tax returns for accounting periods ending before 1 January 2026 are filed under the old (repealed) tax laws.
• Returns for accounting periods ending on or after 1 January 2026 are administered under the new framework.
• Liabilities, assessments, audits, investigations and disputes relating to periods before the cutover continue to be treated under the repealed laws.

If your company's financial year doesn't run to a calendar year, work out precisely which side of the line each of your open accounting periods falls on — this determines which regime applies to you first.

The NRSA officially renames and re‑constitutes FIRS as the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), with expanded autonomy and a mandate to modernise tax administration, including greater use of digital tools for compliance and enforcement. Expect NRS to have broader authority and a more assertive compliance posture than FIRS historically did — this is a good moment to make sure your own filings and records are in order rather than wait to be asked.

The tax reform doesn't stand alone — it intersects with how Nigeria grants tax incentives. Notably, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) stopped accepting new applications for the long‑standing Pioneer Status Incentive (PSI) from 10 November 2025, ahead of the transition to a new Economic Development Tax Incentive (EDTI) scheme that takes effect alongside the Tax Reform Acts from 1 January 2026. If your business holds or was planning to apply for PSI, you need to understand how the switch to EDTI affects you (see our separate guide on the Nigeria Startup Act and the EDTI transition).

1. Map your company's accounting period against the 1 January 2026 cut‑over to confirm which regime applies to each open period.
2. Review any pending FIRS/NRS audits, assessments or disputes and confirm which law governs them.
3. Check whether you hold, or were relying on, Pioneer Status Incentive — and assess your position under the new EDTI scheme.
4. Update internal compliance calendars and registration details to reflect the Nigeria Revenue Service (not FIRS).
5. Brief your finance team on the new Acts before your next filing cycle, and get advice on how the changes apply to your specific sector.