Tuesday, September 16, 2025 - The Joint Tax Board (JTB) has said that Nigerians without Tax Identification (Tax ID) can continue to operate bank accounts beyond January 1, 2026.
The four new Tax Acts recently signed by President Bola
Tinubu will come into effect from January 1, 2026.
The JTB in a statement, yesterday, in Abuja, was
reacting to reports that the Tax Administration Act makes Tax ID mandatory for
persons who want to transact banking and other financial services in the
country.
Section 8 (2) of the legislation makes Tax ID mandatory for
any person to operate a bank account or get involved in insurance, stocks or
allied services in the country, once the Act comes into force from January 1,
2026.
JTB’s statement by Akpe Adoh, Head of Corporate
Communications, reads in full, “The attention of the Joint Tax Board (JTB) has
been drawn to recent reports and insinuations suggesting that Nigerians without
a Tax Identification (Tax ID) will be denied access to their bank accounts or
prevented from carrying out financial transactions from January 1, 2026.
“Nigerians are hereby assured that they will continue to
have access to their bank account and also continue to carry out financial
transactions even beyond January 1, 2026.
“In line with the tax reforms championed by His Excellency,
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Government is working to make tax compliance
simpler, fairer, and more inclusive for all Nigerians. These reforms include
eliminating multiple taxation, granting tax exemptions to vulnerable
individuals and small businesses, and ensuring that the majority of Nigerians
will pay lower taxes under the new tax regime.
“To support this vision, the JTB (comprising the 36 States
Internal Revenue Service, the FCT-IRS and the FIRS) and the FIRS are
collaborating on a harmonised National Tax Identification system.
“This system will leverage the National Identification
Number (NIN) for individuals and the Registration Number (RC) for businesses as
unique identifiers for tax purposes.
“This initiative will enable the seamless and automatic
generation of Tax IDS for individuals with NIN and businesses with RC thereby
making it easier for Nigerians to comply with tax requirements without any
disruption to their banking and/or financial activities.
“We therefore urge the public to remain calm and ignore any
claims to the contrary.
Again we restate for the avoidance of doubt that Nigerians
will continue to have access to their bank accounts and carry out financial
services beyond January 1, 2026, and no one will be denied access on account of
not having a Tax ID.
“The JTB remains committed to implementing people-centred
tax policies that promote economic growth, fairness, and ease of doing business
while ensuring that Nigeria remains a tax friendly environment.”
JTB’s position is at variance with the provisions of the law
as the public awaits its implementation.
The provision which imposes 5 percent Petroleum Products Tax
had attracted widespread criticisms which prompted a clarification by the
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun,
last week, that there was no immediate plan to implement it.
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