Finance & Insurance now makes up 30% of Nigeria’s domestic company income tax, up from 12% in 2022

  • Company income tax collections rose from ₦1.7tn in 2022 to ₦5.0tn in 2025.
  • Finance & Insurance more than doubled its share, from 12.4% to 30.0%.
  • Finance became the largest single sector in the tax mix by 2025.
  • Manufacturing remained important, but its share fell from 27.9% to 17.7%.
  • ICT saw one of the sharpest declines, from 21.6% to 6.5%.
  • Mining & quarrying gained weight, rising from 8.4% to 14.5%.
  • Wholesale & retail also increased, from 3.6% to 7.0%.
  • The tax base became less evenly distributed across sectors.

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.

Source:

National Bureau of Statistics

Period:

2022-2025
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Nigeria's VAT collections have more than tripled in three years
  • Nigeria’s total VAT rose from ₦2.5tn in 2022 to ₦8.6tn in 2025.
  • VAT collections more than tripled in four years.
  • Local VAT remained the largest source of VAT throughout the period.
  • Local VAT increased from ₦1.5tn to ₦4.5tn.
  • Local VAT averaged 54.4% of total VAT between 2022 and 2025.
  • Import VAT also grew strongly, from ₦521.5bn to ₦2.0tn.
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  • VAT growth is increasingly being driven by non-import activity.

Local companies have consistently contributed most of Nigeria’s Company Income Tax payments since 2016
  • Local companies dominated CIT contributions in most years, accounting for over 50% of payments in 9 of 11 periods between 2015 and 2025 (Q1–Q3).
  • Foreign companies briefly closed the gap in 2023, contributing 49%, the closest they have come to matching local firms.
  • Local companies recorded their strongest share in 2021 at 65%, marking the widest gap between local and foreign contributors.
  • “Other payments” peaked during the pandemic, rising to 17% in 2020 before dropping to 0% from 2022 onward.

Local companies have consistently contributed most of Nigeria’s Company Income Tax payments since 2016
  • Local companies dominated CIT contributions in most years, accounting for over 50% of payments in 9 of 11 periods between 2015 and 2025 (Q1–Q3).
  • Foreign companies briefly closed the gap in 2023, contributing 49%, the closest they have come to matching local firms.p
  • Local companies recorded their strongest share in 2021 at 65%, marking the widest gap between local and foreign contributors.
  • “Other payments” peaked during the pandemic, rising to 17% in 2020 before dropping to 0% from 2022 onward.

97% of businesses in Kogi are aware of Nigeria's 2025 tax reform, while 99% in Abia are not
  • Kogi entrepreneurs have the highest tax policy awareness in Nigeria (96.8%) in 2025.
  • Abia has the lowest awareness nationwide at just 1.4%.
  • Fewer than one-third of Nigerian states have awareness levels above 60%.
  • Major economic hubs like Lagos and Rivers have awareness below 50%.
  • Northern states dominate the top awareness rankings more than southern states.
  • Several states cluster around the 40–50% range, indicating partial reach.
  • States with low awareness risk lower compliance and higher friction during enforcement.
  • The gap between the highest and lowest states exceeds 95 percentage points, showing extreme disparity.

Nigeria's non-oil tax revenue solidified its dominance over oil in FIRS collections, reaching a record of ₦15.9t in 2024, more than 2.7x the ₦5.8t from oil
  • FIRS recorded ₦15.9 trillion of non-oil tax, almost three times the ₦5.8 trillion recorded for oil tax.
  • Non-oil tax revenue made up 73.3% of the total revenue collected in 2023.
  • From 2012 down to 2024, non-oil tax revenue surpassed oil tax revenue most of the time.
  • Oil taxes are petroleum profit tax and company income (oil & gas) tax while non-profit tax includes company income (non-oil) tax, gas tax, capital gains, stamp duty, NCS import VAT, and non-import VAT.

Nigeria's FIRS surpassed 2024 target as revenue soared 76% to a record ₦21.7 trillion
  • The FIRS collected ₦21.7 trillion, outpacing the target of ₦19.4 trillion set by the government.
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