- Govt rules out tax-related debit on bank customers’ accounts
- Banks to demand TIN from taxable Nigerians
New Tax Law: Banks to Report Accounts with ₦25m Quarterly Turnover
Commercial banks will begin filing reports on bank accounts with a quarterly turnover of ₦25 million and above to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for tax monitoring, under Nigeria’s new tax administration framework effective January 1, 2026.
Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this in Lagos, explaining that the reporting threshold has been raised from ₦10 million to ₦25 million per quarter—about ₦100 million annually.
He clarified that the requirement does not amount to blanket surveillance of all bank transactions. Only accounts that meet the turnover threshold will be identified for compliance, noting that business accounts have long been required to carry a Tax Identification Number (TIN) under existing law.
Oyedele also said possession of a TIN is mandatory for taxable individuals, but students and dependents are exempt and can operate bank accounts without one.
Addressing public concerns, he dismissed claims that banks or government agencies would directly debit customers’ accounts for tax purposes. “Banks will not debit customers’ accounts for tax default,” he said, adding that such rumours are false and capable of causing economic panic.
According to him, unpaid taxes can only be recovered through a court-ordered garnishee process, which involves assessment, notification, opportunity for objection, and a judge’s approval. He recalled that a past attempt under former FIRS chairman Babatunde Fowler to impose post-no-debit orders failed and was abandoned.
Oyedele urged the public to ignore misinformation, warning that fear-driven withdrawals could harm the economy. He stressed that the reforms are aimed at simplifying compliance, widening the tax net, and easing the burden on households and small businesses.
The Tax Reform Bills were signed into law on June 26, 2025 by President Bola Tinubu, ushering in a consolidated tax framework to strengthen revenue generation and administration nationwide.
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