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The short answer
The Capital Gains Tax Act is repealed by the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 (section 195), so from 1 January 2026 there is no separate flat 10% capital gains tax. Individuals add chargeable gains to their income and pay the personal income tax bands of 0% to 25%, and companies include gains in total profits taxed at the company rate, with exemptions such as share disposals under ₦150 million with gains of ₦10 million or less in 12 months.
What changed (as of October 2026)
| Point | Before 2026 | From 1 January 2026 | Where in the 2025 Act |
|---|---|---|---|
| Law | Capital Gains Tax Act | Repealed; gains taxed under the Nigeria Tax Act | s.195(a) |
| Individuals | Flat 10% (as reported by KPMG) | Gains form part of total income, taxed at 0% to 25% | s.28(2)(a)(v), Fourth Schedule |
| Companies | Flat 10% (as reported by KPMG) | Gains form part of total profits, taxed at 30% (0% for small companies) | s.27(1), s.56 |
| Indirect transfers by non-residents | Not covered in the same way | Chargeable where a share disposal changes ownership of a Nigerian company or Nigerian asset | s.47 |
| Digital and virtual assets | Not expressly listed | Expressly chargeable assets; losses only set against digital asset gains | s.34(1)(a), s.28(3) |
What is a chargeable asset and how the gain is worked out
Section 34 makes all forms of property chargeable assets, whether in Nigeria or not, including shares, options, rights, debts, digital or virtual assets, incorporeal property, any currency other than naira, and property created by the person disposing of it. A disposal includes a sale, lease, transfer, assignment, compulsory acquisition, and sums received as insurance proceeds or for giving up a right (s.35).
- Asset used in a business with capital allowances claimed: gain is disposal proceeds less the tax written-down residue (s.39(a)).
- Other assets: gain is disposal proceeds less the cost of acquisition, in money or money's worth (s.39(b)).
- Disposal costs: incidental costs incurred wholly and exclusively for the disposal are deductible (s.40).
- Part disposals: cost is apportioned between the part sold and the part kept (s.41).
- Losses: a loss on disposal of a chargeable asset can be deducted in arriving at total income (s.28(3)(b)).
Some receipts count as disposals even though no asset passes to the payer (s.35(2)): compensation for loss of office or employment, insurance money for injury, damage or loss of assets, and sums received for forfeiting or surrendering a right or for not exercising one. Gains on life assurance policies are not chargeable unless the person disposing of the policy bought it from the original owner (s.48).
Reporting the gain
An individual reports chargeable gains in the annual self-assessment return to the state internal revenue service (NTAA s.13), alongside other income. A company reports them in its annual return to the NRS (NTAA s.11). A person who pays compensation for loss of office above ₦50 million must deduct tax on the excess at the point of payment and remit it within the time set by the PAYE or deduction-at-source regulations (NTA s.50(3)-(4)).
Exemptions and thresholds
| Exemption | Condition | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Shares in Nigerian companies | Aggregate proceeds under ₦150,000,000 and gain not over ₦10,000,000 in any 12 consecutive months | s.34(1)(a)(i) |
| Shares reinvested | Proceeds reinvested in shares of Nigerian companies within the same year of assessment; tax applies to the part not reinvested | s.34(1)(a)(iii) |
| Regulated securities lending | Transfers between approved borrower and lender | s.34(1)(a)(ii) |
| Principal private residence | Dwelling house and up to one acre of adjoining non-commercial land; once in a lifetime | s.51 |
| Personal chattels | Consideration in a period not above ₦5,000,000 or three times the annual national minimum wage, whichever is higher | s.52 |
| Private motor vehicles | Used solely for private or non-profit purposes; up to two vehicles a year | s.53 |
| Compensation for injury or loss of office | First ₦50,000,000 exempt; the payer deducts tax on the excess | s.50 |
| Gifts | Disposal by way of gift (not on death) | s.54 |
| Charities, friendly and co-operative societies, trade unions | Gain not from a trade asset and applied to the body's purposes | s.55, s.162(1)(a) |
| Labelled startups | Gains of angel investors, VCs, PE funds, accelerators and incubators on assets held in Nigeria at least 24 months | s.162(1)(m) |
| Pension funds | Assets approved under the Pension Reform Act; national provident or retirement schemes | s.162(2)(a) |
| Decorations for valour | Acquired other than for money | s.162(2)(b) |
Worked examples (illustrative figures)
Land sold by an employee
- Plot sold for ₦60,000,000; bought for ₦35,000,000; agent and legal costs ₦1,000,000. Gain: ₦24,000,000.
- Other chargeable income for the year after deductions: ₦5,340,000. Tax on that alone: ₦751,200.
- Chargeable income including the gain: ₦29,340,000. Tax: ₦4,680,000 on the first ₦25,000,000 plus 23% × ₦4,340,000 = ₦5,678,200.
- Extra tax caused by the gain: ₦4,927,000, about 20.5% of the gain. At the old flat 10% it would have been ₦2,400,000.
Shares sold by an individual
- Proceeds ₦120,000,000, gain ₦8,000,000 in 12 months: below both limits, not chargeable.
- Proceeds ₦200,000,000, gain ₦8,000,000: the proceeds limit is exceeded, so the gain is chargeable unless the proceeds are reinvested in Nigerian shares within the same year of assessment.
For how gains interact with the bands, see personal income tax bands and reliefs; for companies, see company income tax rates. Freelancers holding foreign currency should note that currency other than naira is a chargeable asset; our guide to tax on dollar income covers the income side.
How we put this together
We read the gazetted texts of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 (Official Gazette No. 117, Vol. 112, dated 26 June 2025) section by section. The Nigeria Revenue Service website lists these Acts on its laws page, but its topic pages load in the browser and could not be read by our tools, so we worked from copies of the Gazette hosted by a third party and checked figures against the section and schedule numbers quoted here. Regulations, practice notes and orders issued after the Acts may change how a rule applies; where something depends on an order or regulation we say so. The description of the pre-2026 flat rate comes from KPMG's alert on the Act. The examples are ours.
Questions people ask
Is capital gains tax still 10% in Nigeria?
No. The Capital Gains Tax Act is repealed from 1 January 2026. Individuals pay the personal income tax bands on gains and companies pay the company income tax rate.
Do I pay tax when I sell shares in Nigeria?
Not if total proceeds in 12 consecutive months are under ₦150 million and the gain is ₦10 million or less, or if you reinvest the proceeds in Nigerian shares in the same year. Otherwise the gain is taxable.
Is selling my house taxed in Nigeria?
Gains on your principal private residence and up to one acre of adjoining non-commercial land are exempt, but the exemption can be used only once in a lifetime.
Is crypto subject to capital gains tax in Nigeria?
Digital and virtual assets are chargeable assets under section 34 of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, and losses on them can only be set against digital asset gains.
Sources
- Nigeria Tax Act, 2025 (Act No. 7), Official Gazette No. 117, Vol. 112, 26 June 2025 (gazetted copy) · accessed Oct 2026
- KPMG, Nigeria: Personal income tax changes under the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025 (Flash Alert 2025-168) · accessed Oct 2026
- Nigeria Revenue Service: Laws and regulations · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.