By John Umeh
Commercial banks will soon begin submitting periodic returns on high-value bank accounts as Nigeria rolls out a new tax administration regime scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.
Under the revised framework, banks are required to file quarterly reports on accounts recording turnovers of ₦25 million or more, forwarding such data to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other authorised government agencies to enhance tax oversight and compliance.
The disclosure was made in Lagos by Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, during a media engagement on the recently harmonised tax laws. He explained that the reporting benchmark was deliberately raised from ₦10 million to ₦25 million per quarter, translating to nearly ₦100 million annually, in order to limit monitoring to genuinely large-volume accounts.
Oyedele stressed that the measure does not amount to blanket surveillance of customers’ banking activities. He noted that existing laws already require business-related accounts to be linked to a Tax Identification Number (TIN), and only accounts exceeding the stipulated turnover threshold would come under regulatory reporting for tax purposes.
As part of the reforms, banks are now obligated to obtain TINs from all taxable persons opening or operating accounts. However, he clarified that students and dependents are excluded from this requirement and can continue to operate bank accounts without a tax ID.
Addressing public anxiety, Oyedele firmly rejected claims that the new law empowers government agencies to withdraw money directly from bank accounts. He described such narratives as misleading and harmful.
“Banks will not deduct money from anyone’s account for tax issues,” he said, adding that no institution — including the FIRS or the Central Bank of Nigeria — has unilateral authority to seize funds from customers without due process.
According to him, unpaid taxes can only be recovered through a court-approved garnishee order, following a lengthy legal process involving assessment, notification, dispute resolution, and judicial authorisation. “Without a court order, nobody can touch your account,” he emphasised.
Oyedele attributed the confusion to the consolidation of several tax statutes into a single legal code, which some have wrongly interpreted as granting new enforcement powers. Drawing on decades of experience, he noted that direct debits without judicial approval have never been lawful and remain impossible under the new regime.
He warned that false information could trigger panic-driven withdrawals capable of destabilising the financial system, urging Nigerians to rely on verified sources and official explanations.
The tax reform package, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on June 26, 2025, comprises the Nigeria Tax Act, Nigeria Tax Administration Act, Nigeria Revenue Service Act, and Joint Revenue Board Act. Together, the laws aim to modernise tax administration, broaden the tax base, support economic growth, and improve Nigeria’s business climate.
Among the notable provisions are income tax exemptions for individuals earning ₦800,000 or less annually, a progressive tax structure with rates rising to 25 per cent for top earners, an increase in tax-free compensation for job loss or injury from ₦10 million to ₦50 million, and the establishment of a Tax Ombuds office to independently address taxpayer complaints.
