Nigeria’s foreign currency-denominated tax receipts rose sharply to N6.33 trillion in 2025, reflecting increased contributions from multinational firms and exchange rate effects, an analysis of data released by the National Bureau of Statistics has shown.
The figure represents a 27.3 per cent increase from N4.97 trillion recorded in 2024, highlighting a growing reliance on foreign-currency-linked tax inflows amid currency volatility and the expanding activities of foreign and export-oriented companies.
Breakdowns from the NBS Value Added Tax and Company Income Tax reports show that foreign currency tax payments accounted for a significant share of total tax collections across the two major tax heads. Total VAT collections rose from N6.72 trillion in 2024 to N8.61 trillion in 2025, while CIT collections increased from about N7.66 trillion in 2024 to N9.22 trillion in 2025. Combined, total VAT and CIT stood at approximately N17.83 trillion in 2025.
Of this, the N6.33 trillion paid in foreign-currency terms amounts to about 35.5 per cent of total tax receipts, indicating that more than one-third of government earnings from these taxes were tied to foreign-currency transactions.
A closer look at the VAT component shows that “other payment channels, including naira equivalent of VAT paid in foreign currency,” rose from N1.83 trillion in 2024 to N2.10 trillion in 2025. This category captures VAT payments associated with foreign-currency transactions, particularly in sectors such as telecommunications, oil and gas, financial services, and digital platforms operating across borders.
Similarly, company income tax paid in foreign currency increased from N3.14 trillion in 2024 to N4.23 trillion in 2025, reflecting taxes paid by companies earning in foreign currencies, including multinational corporations, oil producers, exporters, and firms in dollar-denominated sectors.
The CIT data showed significant volatility across quarters, with foreign-currency CIT standing at N1.34 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, dropping sharply to N469.36 billion in the second quarter, rebounding to N1.75 trillion in the third quarter, before moderating to N668.21 billion in the fourth quarter.
The rising share of foreign-currency tax receipts comes as Nigeria has implemented exchange rate reforms and moved toward a more market-reflective currency regime, which has increased the naira value of foreign-denominated transactions.
