In seven months, the NRS has already collected 95.76% of the  ₦28.3 trillion ($20.81 billion) it collected throughout 2025, and has reached two-thirds (66.57%) of its ₦40.71 trillion ($29.93 billion) revenue target for 2026. 

The NRS attributed the increase to the “digitisation of tax systems, four new tax reform laws, the transformation of the revenue service and an executive order that closed loopholes in the system.”

In 2025, President Bola Tinubu signed four new tax laws, changing the framework for administering, collecting, and enforcing taxes in Nigeria. The reforms came as the government sought to raise more revenue from an economy where oil could no longer be relied on as heavily as it once was.

The four tax laws signed in 2025 outlined new rules for administering and collecting taxes, including a legal basis for using technology to automate tax assessment, collection, and information gathering. 

“A relevant tax authority may deploy technology to automate tax administration processes including tax assessment, collection, accounting and information gathering,” part of the Tax Administration Act read.

In 2021, the NRS, then called the Federal Inland Revenue Service, launched TaxPro Max, a platform that allows taxpayers to register, file returns, make payments, and download tax clearance certificates online.

Since August 1, 2025, businesses with annual turnovers above ₦5 billion ($3.68 million) have been required to integrate their invoicing systems with the NRS platform for real-time validation and reporting.

“Leveraging technology, such as the automated tax administration system (TaxPro Max and E-services) to further simplify tax processes, drive voluntary tax compliance, increase revenue collection, and create a tax environment that is conducive for taxpayers to fulfil their tax obligations,” the government explained in a policy paper.

In July, the NRS told TechCabal that large taxpayers were already under compliance monitoring, while medium-sized businesses began mandatory onboarding in July 2026. Emerging businesses will follow in 2027 as part of a three-year phased rollout.

Nigeria is looking to mirror the success of countries such as Rwanda, which digitised its customs process through the Electronic Single Window, and Kenya, which uses its iTax platform.

The taxman can see more of the money

In July 2025, TechCabal reported that the NRS, then the FIRS, had developed a real-time portal to track Value-Added-Tax-eligible electronic transactions and was requiring banks, card schemes, fintechs, and payment service providers to integrate with the system. In August 2025, the Federal Government said the portal had been introduced as part of the Transaction Monitoring System (TMS). 

To give the TMS access to more of Nigeria’s payment system, which processed more than ₦1.2 quadrillion ($882.26 billion) in 2025, the Central Bank of Nigeria in March 2026 mandated all licensed Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSPs) and Switches and Processing Operators to integrate with the system.

VAT collections increased by 9.98% in the first quarter of 2026 to ₦2.42 trillion ($1.78 billion), according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The point of a more aggressive and efficient tax system is ultimately how it affects everyday economic activity. But higher revenue collections have not eliminated the government's need to borrow, with Nigeria's debt stock reaching ₦159.35 trillion ($117.16 billion) at the end of March 2026.

Taiwo Oyedele, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, said on July 20 that higher revenue collection does not necessarily eliminate the need to borrow when expenditure requirements remain higher than available resources.

“We look at all our numbers and say that we can generate ₦6. ₦6 is our revenue target; our expenditure is ₦10,” Oyedele said. “If we end up generating ₦7, we will say we have exceeded our revenue target. It is not a lie. But we still need ₦3 to balance the budget because we need to spend ₦10. So this is the reason why both can co-exist. The government can exceed the revenue target and still have to borrow.”

The numbers show that the government is getting better at identifying taxable activity and collecting revenue. The harder question is when that additional revenue will be enough to reduce the government's reliance on borrowing and, eventually, translate into better public services.

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