December 14th, 2025
Individuals earning up to N100,000 per month will not pay personal income tax next year under Nigeria’s new tax reforms, according to Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee.
Oyedele said the reforms are designed to ease the tax burden on low-income earners while promoting fairness, compliance, and broader economic growth.
He explained that even with a minimum wage benchmark of N70,000, the tax payable by workers will drop significantly under the new tax law. According to him, the first N800,000 of taxable income is now subject to zero percent tax, which effectively means that individuals earning up to about N100,000 per month will not pay personal income tax next year. Oyedele stressed that many people often confuse gross income with taxable income, noting that taxable income is calculated after statutory deductions and other allowable contributions have been removed.
Speaking at a workshop in Lagos, Oyedele urged workers to take personal responsibility for understanding the new system by calculating their own tax using the official tax calculator. He advised employees to question their accountants or employers if their take-home pay does not drop as expected, adding that transparency and awareness are essential to making the reforms work as intended.
Oyedele said the tax reforms are aimed at promoting fiscal equity and reducing the burden on low-income earners, while ensuring that those with higher incomes contribute a fairer share. He explained that the reforms include changes to income tax rates, with low-income earners exempted and the top rate increased for high-income earners. He also emphasised the importance of formalising the informal sector, noting that bringing more economic activities into the tax net is critical to increasing government revenue and supporting sustainable economic growth.
