JRB: 23 states record 27% tax revenue rise, 92% of earners pay less

Twenty-three states recorded a 27 per cent increase in tax revenue in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year, the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) said on Wednesday.

The JRB Executive Secretary, Olusegun Adesokan, gave the figure at a news conference in Abuja on the early results of Nigeria's new tax laws, which took effect on January 1, 2026.

He said the growth came from better tax administration and efforts to bring high-income earners into the tax net, rather than from loading more burden on low-income earners.

Adesokan said about 92 per cent of income earners in the states covered will pay lower personal income tax or none at all under the new rules.

Under the new personal income tax structure, the first ₦800,000 of annual income is exempt from tax, and the highest rate is 25 per cent. Adesokan said a worker earning ₦1.2m monthly could save more than ₦80,000 a month, depending on applicable deductions.

He urged employers and payroll officers to make sure the new rates are reflected in workers' deductions.

Harmonised taxes and a single Tax ID

Adesokan said 21 states have adopted a harmonised taxes and levies framework developed with the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms. The framework folds multiple state and local government charges into nine categories.

He said the board is working with state revenue authorities and the police to tackle illegal collections, especially along transport routes, which he said add to the cost of moving goods and push up food prices.

The JRB also announced a National Tax Identification system, built with the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS), which gives individuals and businesses a single Tax ID that revenue authorities across states can verify. Taxpayers can retrieve their IDs online if their personal details are correct.

Adesokan said the reforms introduced no new taxes, but merged existing ones to make the system simpler and fairer. He said disputes can be taken to the Office of the Tax Ombud.

"The vision is to tax prosperity, not poverty," he said.

The JRB, formerly the Joint Tax Board, got a wider mandate under the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Act 2025, including harmonising taxes, settling disputes between tax authorities and sharing tax data across the country.

What happens next

The board expects the gains to grow as more states adopt the harmonised framework and link their records to the national Tax ID system. For workers, the key test is whether employers apply the new deduction bands correctly from their next pay.