Abuja, Nigeria – The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) says new tax reforms have positioned the agency to generate N40.7 trillion (approximately $26 billion) in taxes and royalties in 2026, representing a significant increase from the N28.23 trillion collected in 2025.
Okay News reports that Executive Chairman Zach Adedeji disclosed this on Wednesday during a roundtable in Abuja organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations. He explained that the higher target reflects recent reforms transferring petroleum revenues and mineral royalties to the NRS. Adedeji recalled that in 2025, the agency surpassed its N25.2 trillion target by generating N28.23 trillion in revenue, collecting N6.5 trillion more than in 2024 for a 30.3 percent increase driven largely by non-oil taxes.
In 2024, tax reform bills were introduced at the National Assembly to halt revenue collection by certain federal agencies, including the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Nigeria Customs Service. Under the new framework, all federal taxes are now paid to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which has been renamed the Nigeria Revenue Service. The tax reform laws were published in the government gazette in 2025 after being signed into law on June 26, 2025, by President Bola Tinubu.
At the roundtable, Minister of Finance Wale Edun noted that Nigeria previously relied heavily on Ways and Means financing to cover large fiscal deficits, and the former subsidy regime funded by NNPC through under-recovery arrangements was unsustainable. He stressed the need to correct fiscal distortions and transition to market-based solutions, which the reforms are designed to achieve. Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Rep. Abubakar Bichi, said the engagement allowed lawmakers to review 2025 performance and assess 2026 revenue projections.
In December 2025, the Federal Inland Revenue Service formally rebranded as the Nigeria Revenue Service following the enactment of the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Act, 2025. With the new law, the NRS replaced the FIRS as Nigeria’s central revenue authority, expanding its mandate under the country’s sweeping tax reform programme that took effect on January 1, 2026. What happens next depends on whether the agency achieves its ambitious N40.7 trillion target and whether the tax reform framework delivers the anticipated boost to government revenues.
