Nigeria’s revenue authority has issued detailed crypto tax rules requiring exchanges and P2P marketplace operators to collect, report and remit taxes arising from virtual asset transactions.

The Nigeria Revenue Service published the Guidelines on Taxation of Virtual Assets on July 31. The agency announced the framework publicly on Aug. 3, saying it explains how the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 apply to digital assets.

One of the most unusual requirements concerns the form of payment. Income tax deducted at source and stamp duty must be remitted to the NRS in the token used for the underlying transaction. VAT must instead be paid in the currency used for payment, according to the guidelines.

Nigeria crypto tax rules shift collection to platforms

Platforms must withhold 1% of the proceeds from taxable disposals of cryptocurrencies, security tokens and applicable nonfungible tokens. The deduction serves as an advance payment toward the taxpayer’s final income tax bill rather than a separate final tax.

Sales involving stablecoins are exempt from that 1% withholding requirement. However, the exemption does not necessarily remove every possible tax obligation arising from stablecoin activity. The final treatment depends on the transaction, the taxpayer and whether income or a taxable gain arose.

Staking rewards, mining income, airdrops and returns from decentralized finance may attract 10% withholding when treated as taxable income. Platforms and P2P operators must make the deduction when they process covered payments.

The rules also apply a 1.5% stamp duty to transfers from fiat currency into tokens and from tokens into fiat currency. The platform or marketplace handling the transaction must collect the duty from the virtual asset credited to the recipient.