The Nigeria Revenue Service has officially released a comprehensive set of guidelines for taxing virtual assets, ending years of uncertainty for cryptocurrency traders, exchanges, and other digital asset operators in the country.
In a public notice issued on Monday, the NRS said the new framework establishes clear tax obligations for all participants in Nigeria’s rapidly growing digital asset ecosystem, including Virtual Asset Service Providers, peer-to-peer marketplace operators, tax practitioners, and individuals engaged in virtual asset activities. The guidelines are issued pursuant to the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025.
Under the new rules, medium and large companies earning profits from cryptocurrency trading, exchange operations, transaction fees, brokerage commissions, custody and wallet services, token issuance, mining, staking, decentralised finance activities, and investment gains will be subject to the standard 30 per cent corporate income tax. Individuals will be assessed under the applicable progressive personal income tax regime.
The guidelines also clarify what does not attract tax. Simply holding cryptocurrencies is not a taxable event, and unrealised gains remain untaxed until an asset is sold, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of. Transfers of virtual assets between wallets owned and controlled by the same individual are also exempt from income tax, provided there is no change in beneficial ownership. However, the exemption does not extend to transfers involving companies, partnerships, trusts, or other corporate entities.
A major provision of the framework requires every individual or entity engaged in virtual asset activities to register with the NRS and obtain a Tax Identification Number before commencing operations. VASPs, including cryptocurrency exchanges, trading platforms, and wallet providers, must make a valid Tax ID a mandatory requirement for customer onboarding, effectively integrating tax verification into the account opening process.
The NRS warned that non-compliance would attract significant sanctions. VASPs and P2P marketplace operators that default face a penalty of N10 million for the first month of non-compliance and N1 million for every subsequent month until the breach is remedied. Individuals and businesses that fail to register for tax purposes will be liable to a penalty of N50,000 for the first month of default and N25,000 for each additional month of non-compliance.
Operators are also required to deduct applicable withholding taxes, collect Value Added Tax and stamp duties where applicable, remit proceeds within statutory deadlines, file periodic tax returns, and maintain comprehensive transaction records. The guidelines impose a 1.5 per cent stamp duty on eligible fiat-to-token and token-to-fiat transfers, with the tax deducted from the digital assets being credited to a buyer’s wallet and remitted to the NRS in the same cryptocurrency.
The NRS said the guidelines are intended to promote voluntary compliance, enhance transparency, and support the development of a fair and efficient tax framework for digital asset transactions. The initiative forms part of broader reforms designed to improve certainty in tax administration as digital assets become increasingly integrated into the country’s financial system.
The release follows President Bola Tinubu’s recent Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, which established a cross-agency framework for overseeing cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokenised assets. The executive order created a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria, with the NRS and the Securities and Exchange Commission as vice chairs.
The guidelines are available for download on the Nigeria Revenue Service website at www.nrs.gov.ng. All affected taxpayers and stakeholders are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the provisions and ensure full compliance with the applicable tax obligations.
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