In a public notice issued on Monday,  the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS)  said it had published Guidelines on the Taxation of Virtual Assets, covering taxpayers, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace operators and other participants in the digital-asset ecosystem.

The framework requires taxpayers and service providers to maintain transaction records, file relevant tax returns, and determine taxable income using the fair market value of virtual assets on the date each transaction occurs. 

The guidelines also impose reporting, record-keeping and compliance obligations on virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and P2P marketplace operators for transactions conducted on their platforms, in line with the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025.

It also goes beyond reporting requirements, outlining tax treatment for income gained from virtual asset activities, including gains made from selling digital tokens, payments received in virtual assets, mining rewards, staking income, decentralised finance (DeFi) rewards, and other forms of digital asset income.

The move underscores the first substantive follow-through to President Bola Tinubu’s July 18 executive order establishing a coordinated framework for the regulation of virtual assets, signaling that Nigerian authorities are shifting toward a more comprehensive tax regime as the government seeks to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. 

Push for compliance

The tax authority said the framework is intended to provide “clarity, certainty, and consistency” in the administration of Nigeria’s tax obligations related to virtual assets, while promoting voluntary compliance and greater transparency in digital asset transactions.

“All affected taxpayers and stakeholders are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the provisions of the Guidelines and ensure full compliance with the applicable tax obligations,” the agency said in a statement.

Nigeria is one of the world’s most active cryptocurrency markets, with digital assets widely used for payments, remittances, hedging against currency depreciation and retail trading. The popularity of P2P platforms has made enforcement challenging for regulators seeking to monitor transaction flows and collect taxes.

The framework could also increase compliance obligations for exchanges and other intermediaries operating in Nigeria, particularly around transaction reporting and customer record retention.

The publication comes as governments across Africa and other emerging markets intensify efforts to bring cryptocurrency activity within existing tax, anti-money-laundering and financial-reporting frameworks. Kenya, one of East Africa’s largest cryptocurrency markets, gazetted its virtual asset laws on July 24, introducing clear operational rules for startups in and outside the country that target Kenyan users.

For Nigeria, the guidelines could help broaden the country’s tax base as policymakers push to increase non-oil revenue and strengthen fiscal administration.

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