Nigeria’s tax receipts denominated in foreign currency rose sharply to N6.33 trillion in 2025, representing a 27.3% increase from N4.97 trillion recorded in 2024, according to an analysis of data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The significant jump highlights the growing contribution of multinational corporations, oil companies, exporters, and other foreign-exchange-earning businesses to government revenue. The depreciation of the naira during the year amplified the local currency value of these foreign-denominated tax payments.
Combined Value Added Tax (VAT) and Company Income Tax (CIT) collections reached approximately N17.83 trillion in 2025. Foreign currency-linked taxes accounted for about 35.5% of this total, meaning more than one-third of revenue from these two major tax heads was tied to foreign currency transactions.
Breakdown of the figures shows:
Company Income Tax (CIT) paid in foreign currency increased from N3.14 trillion in 2024 to N4.23 trillion in 2025. Value Added Tax (VAT) collected through “other payment channels” (including naira equivalents of foreign currency VAT) rose from N1.83 trillion to N2.10 trillion over the same period.
This growth occurred against the backdrop of broader improvements in tax collections. Total VAT rose from N6.72 trillion in 2024 to N8.61 trillion in 2025, while CIT increased from N7.66 trillion to N9.22 trillion.
Quarterly CIT payments in foreign currency showed notable volatility: N1.34 trillion in Q1, dropping to N469.36 billion in Q2, before rebounding strongly to N1.75 trillion in Q3 and moderating to N668.21 billion in Q4.
Analysts attribute the surge largely to the naira’s depreciation, which boosted the naira equivalent of taxes paid by companies with dollar-denominated revenues, especially in telecommunications, oil and gas, financial services, and digital sectors. Exchange rate reforms introduced in recent years have made the naira more market-reflective, further magnifying this effect.
Domestic tax components also grew steadily. Local VAT (excluding imports) increased from N3.30 trillion to N4.48 trillion, while import VAT collected by the Nigeria Customs Service rose from N1.59 trillion to N2.03 trillion. On the CIT side, taxes paid by domestic companies climbed from N3.40 trillion to N4.99 trillion.
The data points to a structural shift in Nigeria’s tax base, with a rising dependence on sectors exposed to foreign exchange. This trend underscores both the opportunities and vulnerabilities created by naira volatility — while it inflates nominal revenue in local currency, it also reflects underlying macroeconomic challenges.
The figures align with broader reports showing strong performance from large corporations. Nigeria’s 30 biggest firms alone paid a record N2.32 trillion in income taxes in 2025, accounting for a substantial portion of overall CIT collections.
Experts note that while the rise in foreign currency tax receipts provides short-term fiscal relief, sustained revenue growth will require deeper domestic economic diversification, improved tax compliance, and measures to reduce excessive reliance on exchange rate effects.
The 2025 performance reflects the interplay between Nigeria’s ongoing exchange rate liberalisation and the expanding activities of export-oriented and multinational businesses in the economy.
