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The short answer
Under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, in force from 1 January 2026, an electronic receipt or transfer of ₦10,000 or more attracts a fixed stamp duty of ₦50, and the Act names the transferor as the person liable. Transfers below ₦10,000, salary payments and transfers between the same owner’s accounts in the same bank are exempt.
The rule at a glance (as of October 2026)
- Legal basis
- Nigeria Tax Act 2025 (2025 No. 7), Eighth Schedule item 48, and section 185(i)
- In force
- 1 January 2026
- Instrument
- Electronic receipt or transfer of ₦10,000 upwards
- Type and rate
- Fixed duty of ₦50 per transaction, regardless of size above the threshold
- Person liable
- Transferor (the sender)
- Exempt (section 185(i))
- Electronic transfers or receipts below ₦10,000 or the equivalent in other currencies; transfers for salary payment; intra-bank self-transfers
- Exempt (Eighth Schedule)
- Money paid into one’s own account, or transferred electronically between accounts of the same owner within the same bank
- Commonly called
- EMTL, electronic money transfer levy, “stamp duty” on statements
Worked examples
Examples only, applying the Act as written. How a particular bank labels or collects the duty may differ.
| Transaction (example) | Amount | Duty? | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer to a friend at another bank | ₦9,999 | ₦0 | Below ₦10,000 |
| Transfer to a friend at another bank | ₦10,000 | ₦50 | At the threshold |
| Payment to a supplier | ₦2,500,000 | ₦50 | Fixed duty, not a percentage |
| Employer paying monthly salary | ₦250,000 | ₦0 | Salary payments exempt |
| Moving money between your two accounts at the same bank | ₦100,000 | ₦0 | Intra-bank self-transfer exempt |
| Moving money to your own account at a different bank | ₦100,000 | Unclear | The exemption text refers to self-transfers within the same bank |
Example: a market trader who receives 40 transfers of ₦10,000 or more in a month would, under the pre-2026 levy, typically have seen about ₦2,000 deducted from incoming payments. Under the 2025 Act as written, each of the 40 payers bears ₦50 instead, and the trader receives the full amounts.
Over a month, someone who makes 20 transfers of ₦10,000 or more would bear ₦1,000 in duty, on top of any bank fees capped by the CBN Guide to Charges.
What businesses should check
- Payroll. Salary payments are exempt, but your bank has to recognise a payment as salary. Ask how it identifies salary runs (for example a payroll product or a salary narration) and use that channel. See payroll.
- Collections. With the transferor named as liable, customers paying you should bear the duty rather than you. Compare what lands in your account with the invoice amount for a few weeks to see how your bank applies it.
- Supplier payments. Each qualifying transfer you send carries ₦50. Paying a supplier once for a batch of invoices costs less duty than paying each invoice separately, without any change to what you owe.
- Bookkeeping. Record stamp duty as a tax expense, separate from bank charges, so that you can reconcile both against your statement.
How the levy has changed
| Period | Law | What applied |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Finance Act 2019 amendments to the Stamp Duties Act | Stamp duty extended to electronic receipts of ₦10,000 and above |
| 2021–2025 | Finance Act 2020 (electronic money transfer levy) | A ₦50 levy on electronic receipts or transfers of ₦10,000 and above, generally deducted from the recipient’s account |
| From 1 Jan 2026 | Nigeria Tax Act 2025 | ₦50 fixed stamp duty on electronic receipts or transfers of ₦10,000 and above, transferor liable, with the exemptions above |
The most visible change for customers is who is named as liable. Under the earlier levy, people usually saw the ₦50 deducted when they received money. The 2025 Act names the transferor. In practice, check your statement: some banks label the line “stamp duty”, others “EMTL”.
Related stamp duties on payment instruments
The same Eighth Schedule sets other fixed duties that touch everyday payments:
| Item | Instrument | Duty | Person liable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | Cheque leaf | ₦50 | Account owner |
| 41 | Draft for money | ₦50 | Payee |
| 44 | Order for the payment of money | ₦50 | Payee |
| 47 | Receipt for value from ₦10,000 | ₦50 | Same as liable for the underlying transaction |
| 48 | Electronic receipt or transfer of ₦10,000 upwards | ₦50 | Transferor |
Common questions in practice
- Is it a bank charge? No. It is a tax under the Nigeria Tax Act, so the Guide to Charges does not cap it and banks cannot waive it. Banks act as collectors and pass the duty to the tax authorities. See our banking glossary for related terms.
- Does splitting a payment avoid it? Splitting a ₦20,000 payment into smaller transfers to stay under the threshold may look like avoidance. Pay the way the transaction naturally happens.
- Is it charged on POS or card payments? The Schedule refers to electronic receipts or transfers; how card and POS transactions are treated depends on how the bank processes them. Check your statement.
- Is it the cybersecurity levy? No. That is a separate 0.5% levy under the Cybercrimes Act whose bank implementation was withdrawn in May 2024. See the cybersecurity levy explained.
How we put this together
The rule, exemptions and person liable are quoted from the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 (section 185(i) and Eighth Schedule items 39 to 48), full text read on 17 October 2026. The commencement date of 1 January 2026 is from KPMG’s summary of the reform Acts. The history rows summarise the Finance Acts 2019 and 2020 as generally applied; we did not re-read those Acts for this page. We describe how banks apply the duty only in general terms, because practice can vary between banks.
Questions people ask
Who pays the ₦50 stamp duty on transfers in 2026?
The Nigeria Tax Act 2025 names the transferor (the sender) as the person liable for electronic transfers of ₦10,000 and above.
Is the ₦50 charged on transfers below ₦10,000?
No. Transfers or receipts below ₦10,000 are exempt.
Is salary exempt from the ₦50 levy?
Yes. Transfers for salary payment are exempt under section 185(i) of the Act.
Is EMTL charged on every transfer above ₦10,000?
It is a fixed ₦50 per qualifying transfer, whatever the amount, unless an exemption applies.
Sources
- Nigeria Tax Act, 2025 (full text) · accessed 17 Oct 2026
- KPMG: Nigeria tax reform acts, key changes (effective January 2026) · accessed 17 Oct 2026
- PwC Nigeria: The Nigeria Tax Reform Acts, top 20 changes to know · accessed 17 Oct 2026
- CBN: Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial and Non-Bank Financial Institutions (effective 1 Jan 2020) · accessed 17 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.