Nigeria's Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue climbed to N2.42 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 9.98% increase from the N2.20 trillion recorded in the previous quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
VAT Revenue Breakdown
The NBS disclosed this in its latest Sectoral Distribution of VAT report released on June 11, 2026. Total VAT collections in Q1 2026 stood at N2.42 trillion, driven by contributions from local, foreign, and import-related payments.
Local VAT payments accounted for N1.11 trillion, while foreign VAT payments stood at N830.47 billion. Import VAT contributed N477.55 billion during the period.
Sectoral Growth Rates
On a sectoral growth basis, activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use recorded the highest growth rate at 74.36%. This was followed by arts, entertainment and recreation at 20.91%, and manufacturing at 12.82%.
Conversely, education recorded the weakest performance with a decline of 31.96%, followed by public administration and defence, compulsory social security at 31.38%, and activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies at 29.89%.
Sectoral Share of Total VAT
Manufacturing led with 29.75% of total VAT, followed by information and communication at 20.61%, and mining and quarrying at 12.32%.
At the lower end, activities of households as employers contributed just 0.01%, while activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies and water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities recorded 0.02% and 0.06%, respectively.
Year-on-Year Comparison
On a year-on-year basis, VAT collections in Q1 2026 increased by 17.06% compared to the same period in 2025, indicating continued growth in consumption-driven tax revenue.
Top 10 VAT-Generating Sectors in Q1 2026
- Manufacturing: N329.59bn
- Information and Communication: N228.41bn
- Mining and Quarrying: N136.49bn
- Financial and Insurance Activities: N113.63bn
- Public Administration & Defence: N88.22bn
- Wholesale & Retail Trade: N55.29bn
- Transportation & Storage: N29.96bn
- Other Service Activities: N28.54bn
- Administrative & Support Services: N19.81bn
- Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities: N15.34bn
New Tax ID System Announced
Earlier, the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) announced a new Taxpayer Identification (Tax ID) system to improve tax administration, enhance transparency and unify taxpayer information in Nigeria. This was disclosed in a joint public notice issued on May 19, 2026, citing Sections 6, 7, and 8 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, which mandates all taxable persons in Nigeria to be identified through a Tax ID. The Tax ID will serve as a single and unified identification number for all taxpayers, facilitating smoother dealings with tax authorities at both federal and state levels.
