FG releases new tax guidelines for smooth transition

The Federal Government has shared new guidelines to help with the switch from Nigeria’s old tax laws to the new tax rules that started this year.

These guidelines, released on Thursday by the Federal Ministry of Finance, aim to explain how tax duties, audits, disputes, incentives, and filings will be managed during this changeover.

The new tax rules began on 1 January 2026 after a set of tax reform laws was passed to update revenue management and boost compliance.

The ministry stated that tax duties, audits, investigations, disputes, and enforcement actions related to times before the new rules started will still follow the old tax laws.

Also, tax returns for accounting periods that finished before 1 January 2026 will be submitted under the old laws, while duties from that date forward will fall under the new laws.

The government explained that these guidelines were made to tackle real issues that might come up during the transition and to make sure that tax authorities apply them consistently.

The reforms are based on four key laws: the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act.

The guidelines also detail how existing tax incentives, exemptions, development levies, and record-keeping rules will be managed under the new system.

One important point is that tax incentives and exemptions given under old laws will stay valid until they expire.

The government said this step aims to assure businesses and investors that previous commitments will still be respected.

But new applications and pending requests for tax incentives will be looked at under the new tax laws.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the guidelines are meant to ensure a smooth move to the new system without applying the laws to past actions.

"The document provides a framework for managing transitional issues while ensuring that the new laws are not applied retrospectively," he said.

Mr Oyedele called the Tax Acts 2025 a major achievement in the government’s plans for fiscal reform, noting that this transition framework will give certainty to both taxpayers and tax administrators.

The ministry mentioned that the guidelines are based on principles of clarity, fairness, and certainty in administration.

The release of this transition framework is another step in Nigeria’s ongoing tax reform efforts, which the government says aim to create a better, clearer, and more growth-friendly revenue system.

Officials said these guidelines would help with uniform implementation across the Nigeria Revenue Service, state internal revenue services, the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service, local government revenue committees, and tax professionals.

The government has always maintained that these reforms are meant to boost voluntary tax compliance, improve revenue collection, and create a more predictable business climate without hindering economic growth.

According to the ministry, this framework should reduce uncertainty for businesses and investors while helping to effectively manage Nigeria’s new tax regime.