In 2022, Nigerian banks and insurers paid ₦209 billion in company income tax.
By 2025, that figure had risen to ₦1.5 trillion, a sevenfold increase in just three years, representing a compound annual growth rate of 92.9%. The sector now accounts for 30% of Nigeria's total domestic company income tax collections, up from 12% in 2022. But the story behind the numbers matters.
The surge was not simply a function of banks earning more revenue. It was driven by a dramatic expansion in net profit, fueled by two major naira devaluations in 2023 and 2024, which generated substantial foreign exchange revaluation gains, and by the CBN's aggressive interest rate hikes, which widened bank margins significantly. The total profit after tax for the ten most profitable listed banks rose 53%, from ₦3.39 trillion in 2023 to ₦5.54 trillion in 2024. Higher profits meant higher taxable income.
Manufacturing, once the dominant contributor, has seen its share decline from 27.9% to 17.7% over the same period.





