Commercial banks are now required to file reports on bank accounts with N25 million quarterly turnover and above to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) or other related agencies for effective tax monitoring.

This is in alignment with the federal government’s new tax administration framework which comes into effect on January 1, 2026, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, said yesterday in Lagos.

Oyedele, speaking during a media workshop on the new consolidated tax law, explained that the new dispensation has raised the threshold for mandatory reporting from N10 million to N25 million, which he said translates to “almost N100 million a year before any report is triggered.”

Addressing the misconception that banks will begin reporting all transactions, Oyedele said the 2020 Finance Act already requires accounts used for business to have a Tax Identification Number (TIN).

Oyedele said only accounts that meet the turnover threshold would be identified and monitored for proper tax payment.

Besides, he said that banks request Tax Identification Number (TIN) from all taxable Nigerians in line with the new tax regime.

According to him, Section 4 of the Nigerian Tax Administration Act, makes the possession of a tax ID mandatory for all taxable individuals.

But the requirement does not apply to students or dependents who, according to him, will be exempted from tendering TIN to maintain a bank account.

He also said there was no need for anxiety over possibility of banks directly debiting customers’ accounts over tax matters.

“Nobody will debit your bank accounts in banks. Banks will not debit customers’ accounts for tax default,” he said.

He dismissed fears that government plans to deduct money directly from bank accounts of taxpayers, insisting that such claims are “false, dangerous and capable of destabilising the economy.”

He said the speculations on social media were based on ignorance and deliberate misinformation.

“Let me say this clearly: nobody — not FIRS, not Central Bank of Nigeria, not any government agency — has the power to debit your bank account,” he declared.

“Whether you have N50,000 or N50 million, nobody is taking any money from your account. It is simply not true.”

Oyedele explained that the allegation arose from the consolidation of major tax statutes into a single code, which led many to assume that the government has introduced new enforcement powers.

He said that the only existing mechanism that allows recovery of unpaid taxes is a court-ordered garnishee, which he described as “a long legal process that is almost never used.”

“Even in extreme cases where someone owes hundreds of millions and refuses to pay, the government cannot just wake up and remove money,” he said.

“They must assess you, notify you, allow objections, conclude the process, go to court, and get a judge’s order. Without that, nobody can touch your account.”

According to him, in nearly three decades of tax administration work, he has “never seen a single instance where money was removed from an account without due judicial process.”

He recalled the attempt under the former FIRS Chairman, Babatunde Fowler, to impose post-no-debit orders on accounts suspected of tax evasion — a move that failed without recovering a single naira.

His words: “That process didn’t succeed, and it created unnecessary panic. Nobody is repeating that mistake.”

The tax reform chair warned that rumours could cause harmful panic withdrawals.

One thing that can damage the economy very quickly is people rushing to withdraw their money out of fear,” he cautioned.

Nothing in the law authorises the government to debit accounts. Please help us educate others so we don’t create a problem where none exists.”

Oyedele maintained that the goal of the reform is to simplify compliance, expand the tax net, and reduce the burden on households and small businesses.

The Tax Reform Bills were signed into law on June 26,2025 by President Bola Tinubu.

They are the Nigeria Tax Act (NTA), The Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA), The Nigeria Revenue Service Act (NRSA) and the Joint Revenue Board Act (JRBA), collectively referred to as “the Acts” hereafter).

The Acts comprehensively overhaul the Nigerian tax landscape to drive economic growth, increase revenue generation, improve the business environment and enhance effective tax administration across the different levels of government.

Highlights of the law include exemption of individuals earning NGN800,000 or less per annum from tax on their income and gains, while higher income earners will be taxed at a higher rate up to 25%.

It also increases the tax exemption threshold for compensation for loss of employment or injury from NGN10million to NGN50million.

There is also provision for the establishment of Tax Ombuds office to liaise with the tax authorities on behalf of taxpayers, and serve as an independent arbiter to review and resolve complaints relating to taxes, levies, duties or similar regulatory charges. (The Nation)

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