How crypto tax works in Nigeria
Finance Act 2023 brought digital assets into capital-gains tax at a flat 10% on net disposal profits, with exchange fees deductible and holding alone untaxed.
SEC rules license VASPs with KYC and reporting, the banking ban lifted in December 2023, and 2026 reform discussion points toward income-scale treatment.
Salary, staking, and mining rewards enter ordinary income tracks, while losses offset same-class gains with five-year carryforward.
Tax rates at a glance
- Crypto gains tax
- 10%
- Reform direction
- Income scale?
- Loss carryforward
- 5 years
- Salary tokens
- Ordinary income
- Mining rewards
- Taxable
- Exchange reporting
- From 2026
Who benefits most
These profiles tend to benefit most when the rules match their real residence, payroll and business setup.
Active tradersLong-term holdersFreelancers paid in cryptoExpatsMiners
Watch out for
- Reform direction could replace 10% with income-scale rates to 25%, so large realisations need legislation monitoring, not just current-law math.
- FIRS enforcement uses exchange KYC, BVN linkage, and blockchain analytics, ending estimate-based filing permanently.
- VASP penalties scale per statement and month, which makes platform compliance part of every trader's counterparty risk.
- Salary and staking income never enters the 10% lane, arriving as ordinary income on receipt value.
Frequently asked questions
How is crypto taxed in Nigeria?
Disposal gains face flat 10% CGT under Finance Act 2023, with losses offsetting same-class gains over five years. Salary and staking rewards are ordinary income.
Will Nigeria raise crypto tax in 2026?
Reform discussion points toward income-scale treatment, but 10% remains current law. Monitor enactment before repricing positions.
Do Nigerian exchanges report to FIRS?
Yes. SEC-licensed venues carry KYC and reporting duties, with 2026 rules tightening transaction-level disclosure.