Nigerians who earn less than ₦250,000 every month will no longer pay income tax under new laws approved by President Bola Tinubu. This was revealed by Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.
Oyedele made the announcement on Channels Television’s Politics Today after the President signed four new tax laws on Thursday.
He explained that the new tax system will take effect in January 2026 and is aimed at reducing the burden on low-income earners while improving the overall tax system.
“This tax law will not give you cash in your pocket, but at least it won’t take your cash away if you are poor,” Oyedele said.
He said the reforms are designed to help poor families, support businesses, and stop taxing those who can barely survive.
“Nobody earning below ₦250,000 monthly will have to pay taxes because they don’t even have enough,” he added.
Oyedele explained that the committee decided ₦250,000 was the right cut-off after calculating the cost of living for an average Nigerian family of five, with only two people working.
He said, “We debated this question: Who is a poor person in Nigeria? We came up with ₦120,000 to ₦130,000 per two people working in a household of five. If the earnings are about ₦250,000, they can take care of themselves. Of course, they are not going to have luxury, but at least they can survive. They are poor, and they shouldn’t pay taxes.”
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Oyedele also noted that the reforms reduce taxes for middle-income earners and slightly increase taxes for those who earn the most.
“We have eliminated the tax component for people at the bottom, reduced it for the middle, and increased slightly for the top,” he said.
According to him, the new tax laws are not about raising taxes but about boosting the economy and closing loopholes that allow tax evasion.
“Nigeria currently collects only about 30 percent of what it should in taxes. Our goal is to close that 70 percent gap,” Oyedele added.
He said the focus of the reforms is efficiency, growth, and fairness, and the new system is built to ensure that poor Nigerians are not taxed into deeper poverty.