Nigeria’s foreign currency-denominated tax revenues climbed sharply to N6.33tn in 2025, driven by stronger contributions from multinational companies and the impact of exchange rate volatility, according to an analysis of data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The figure marks a 27.3 per cent increase from the N4.97tn recorded in 2024, underscoring Nigeria’s growing dependence on foreign-currency-linked tax inflows amid persistent naira fluctuations and expanding operations of export-focused and foreign-owned firms.
Breakdowns from the NBS Value Added Tax and Company Income Tax reports, reviewed showed that foreign currency payments accounted for a sizeable portion of collections under the two major tax categories.
Total VAT revenue rose from N6.72tn in 2024 to N8.61tn in 2025, while Company Income Tax collections increased from N7.66tn to N9.22tn. Combined VAT and CIT receipts reached N17.83tn in 2025.
Of this amount, the N6.33tn generated in foreign-currency terms represented about 35.5 per cent of total collections, meaning more than one-third of earnings from the two taxes were linked to foreign exchange transactions.
Within VAT, the category described as “other payment channels, including naira equivalent of VAT paid in foreign currency,” increased from N1.83tn in 2024 to N2.10tn in 2025.
This segment covers VAT tied to foreign-currency transactions in sectors such as telecommunications, oil and gas, financial services, and cross-border digital platforms.
Likewise, company income tax paid in foreign currency rose from N3.14tn in 2024 to N4.23tn in 2025, largely reflecting taxes from multinationals, oil producers, exporters, and firms earning dollar-based revenues.
Quarterly CIT figures revealed notable swings. Foreign-currency CIT stood at N1.34tn in the first quarter of 2025, fell sharply to N469.36bn in the second quarter, rebounded to N1.75tn in the third quarter, and eased to N668.21bn in the final quarter.
Overall foreign-currency tax payments rose from N1.03tn in Q1 2024 to N1.79tn in Q1 2025, before dropping to N929.30bn in Q2, peaking at N2.43tn in Q3, and declining to N1.17tn in Q4.
The rise in foreign-currency tax receipts comes amid Nigeria’s exchange rate reforms and transition to a more market-driven currency system, which has lifted the naira value of foreign-denominated transactions and, by extension, tax revenues when converted locally.
Meanwhile, domestic VAT collections excluding imports grew from N3.30tn in 2024 to N4.48tn in 2025, while import VAT collected by the Nigeria Customs Service increased from N1.59tn to N2.03tn.
Local company income tax payments also expanded from N3.40tn to N4.99tn, suggesting stronger corporate earnings or improved compliance among Nigerian businesses.
However, the faster pace of growth in foreign-currency tax receipts compared to local sources points to a gradual shift in Nigeria’s tax structure toward sectors more exposed to foreign exchange markets.
