Nigeria's VAT Revenue Sees 34% Increase, Reaching N6.4 Trillion in Nine Months

Nigeria experienced a substantial surge in non-oil tax revenue throughout the initial nine months of 2025, highlighted by impressive growth in both Value Added Tax (VAT) and Company Income Tax (CIT) collections.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that VAT revenue increased by 34 percent, amounting to N6.4 trillion in the first nine months of 2025, up from N4.77 trillion during the equivalent period in 2024.

Examining quarterly performance, the data portrayed minor variations yet an overall upward trajectory. VAT collections slightly decreased by 1.4 percent, from N2.06 trillion in Q1’25 to N2.03 trillion in Q2’25. However, revenues made a comeback in Q3’25, growing by 10.66 percent from the previous quarter, reaching N2.28 trillion. Year-on-year, VAT in Q3’25 grew by 28.1 percent.

In Q3’25 alone, the breakdown of collections revealed that local VAT contributed N1.12 trillion, while foreign VAT and import VAT accounted for N680.23 billion and N479.79 billion, respectively.

Sector-wise analysis indicated remarkable growth in the Administrative and Support Services sector, which recorded the most significant quarterly increase of 89.28 percent. The Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sectors followed closely with an 82.49 percent increase, while the Human Health and Social Work sector grew by 32.4 percent. In contrast, the Real Estate sector faced the sharpest decline at -51.33 percent. Manufacturing was the largest contributor to VAT, accounting for 25.89 percent, followed by Information and Communication at 18.77 percent, and Mining and Quarrying at 14.85 percent.

CIT also showcased notable advancements, soaring by 48 percent to N7.72 trillion in the first nine months of 2025, compared to N5.22 trillion in the same period last year.

Quarterly data indicated that CIT was recorded at N1.98 trillion in Q1’25, which then surged by 40 percent to N2.78 trillion in Q2’25, and subsequently increased by 5.7 percent to N2.96 trillion in Q3’25. This Q3' performance represented a remarkable 67.19 percent rise from the previous year.

Further examination revealed that domestic CIT payments for Q3’25 totaled N1.21 trillion, while foreign CIT payments were N1.75 trillion, underscoring the significant contribution of foreign earnings to the overall tax revenue.