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The short answer
VAT in Nigeria is 7.5% of the value of taxable supplies (Nigeria Tax Act 2025, section 147). Section 185 lists exempt supplies such as land and buildings, financial services, shared road transport and baby products, while section 186 zero-rates basic food, medical and pharmaceutical products, medical services, school tuition, educational books and exports other than oil and gas.
The VAT rate and the basics (as of October 2026)
- Rate
- 7.5% of the value of all taxable supplies (NTA s.147)
- Where a supply happens
- Goods present, imported, assembled or installed in Nigeria; services provided to and consumed by a person in Nigeria, wherever performed (s.145)
- Time of supply
- The earliest of invoice or receipt, delivery or availability, or payment due or received (s.146)
- Non-resident suppliers
- Must register and include VAT on invoices for taxable supplies to Nigeria (s.150)
- Monthly return
- By the 21st day of the following month (NTAA s.22)
- Small business relief
- No monthly return for a small business (turnover ₦100m or less, fixed assets ₦250m or less, not professional services); it may opt in by written notice (NTAA s.22(4)-(5))
Exempt supplies (NTA section 185)
Exempt supplies carry no VAT. A business making only exempt supplies cannot recover input VAT on its costs through the return.
| # | Exempt supply |
|---|---|
| a | Oil and gas exports |
| b | Crude petroleum oil and feed gas for all processed gas |
| c | Goods bought for humanitarian donor-funded projects (the donor pays VAT first and claims a refund) |
| d | Baby products (defined in s.188, for babies from birth to 3 years) |
| e | Locally manufactured sanitary towels, pads or tampons |
| f | Military hardware, arms, ammunition and locally manufactured uniforms supplied to Nigerian armed forces and security agencies |
| g | Shared passenger road-transport service |
| h | Purchase, hire, rental or lease of tractors, ploughs and other agricultural equipment |
| i | Supplies consumed by an approved free zone entity on its approved activity |
| j | Goods or services supplied to diplomatic missions and diplomats in the public interest and not for profit |
| k | Plays and performances by educational institutions as part of learning |
| l | Land or building, including interest in land or building |
| m | Money, stakes or securities, including interest in money or securities |
| n | Government licences |
| o | Assistive devices and disability-related products, including hearing aids, wheelchairs and braille materials |
Zero-rated supplies (NTA section 186)
Zero-rated supplies are taxable at 0%. The supplier charges no VAT but, unlike an exempt supplier, can claim input VAT credit.
| # | Zero-rated supply |
|---|---|
| a | Basic food items |
| b | All medical and pharmaceutical products, including medicinal herbal products |
| c | Educational books and materials |
| d | Fertilisers |
| e | Locally produced agricultural chemicals |
| f | Locally produced veterinary medicine |
| g | Locally produced animal feeds |
| h | Live cattle, goats, sheep and poultry |
| i | Agricultural seeds and seedlings |
| j | Electricity generated by GENCOs and supplied to the national grid or NBET |
| k | Electricity transmitted by TCN to DisCos |
| l | Medical services |
| m | Tuition for nursery, primary, secondary or tertiary education |
| n | Exported goods, excluding oil and gas |
| o | Exported services |
| p | Exported incorporeal property |
| q | Medical equipment |
What counts as basic food
Section 188 defines basic food items as agriculture-based or aquatic-based staples, including: locally produced table honey; white and brown bread; cereals such as maize, rice, wheat, millet, sorghum and fonio; culinary cooking oils; culinary herbs including onions and ginger; fish of all kinds other than ornamental; flours and starches including garri and yam flour; fruits; raw meat and poultry eggs; milk; nuts; pulses such as beans and lentils; tubers such as yam and cassava; culinary salt; vegetables; and natural and table water. Sparkling or flavoured water, and water sold in restaurants, hotels, eateries and by caterers, are excluded.
Items on hold and items the Minister can reclassify
Under section 185(2) and the Eleventh Schedule, VAT is not collected on petroleum products (AGO, aviation kerosene, petrol, household kerosene and locally produced LPG), renewable energy equipment, CNG, LPG and other gaseous hydrocarbons until the Minister names a start date by order in the Gazette. The Minister may also classify CNG and LPG conversion equipment and installation services as exempt or zero-rated by order. Section 187 lets the President exempt supplies to donor-funded projects by order.
Invoices, credits and where VAT goes
A VAT invoice must be sequentially numbered and carry details including the supplier's Tax ID, the date, the buyer's name, the gross amount and the VAT rate (s.152). Input VAT can be credited against output VAT, and an excess is carried forward (s.155). A taxable supply between connected persons is valued at the arm's length price (s.148(3)), and imports are valued at price plus duties and charges up to the point of entry (s.149). Net VAT revenue is shared 10% to the Federal Government, 55% to states and the FCT and 35% to local governments; the state and local share is split 50% equally, 20% by population and 30% by place of consumption (NTAA s.81). Related guides: does a small business have to charge VAT?, VAT on exported services and VAT on digital services sold into Nigeria.
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 lists are reproduced in the order and lettering of the Act; descriptions are lightly shortened.
Questions people ask
What is the VAT rate in Nigeria in 2026?
7.5%, under section 147 of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, which took effect on 1 January 2026.
Is food VAT-exempt in Nigeria?
Basic food items are zero-rated, not exempt, under section 186. Section 188 defines them, covering staples such as rice, garri, yam, beans, bread, fish, meat, eggs, fruit, vegetables and table water. Food and water sold in restaurants and hotels are treated differently.
Is house rent subject to VAT in Nigeria?
Land and buildings, including interests in land or buildings, are exempt under section 185(1)(l) of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025.
Are school fees subject to VAT in Nigeria?
Tuition for nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary education is zero-rated under section 186(m).
Sources
- Nigeria Tax Act, 2025 (Act No. 7), Official Gazette No. 117, Vol. 112, 26 June 2025 (gazetted copy) · accessed Oct 2026
- Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025 (Act No. 5), Official Gazette No. 117, 26 June 2025 (gazetted copy) · 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.