A ₦1 million ($733.92) Bitcoin transaction can attract multiple taxes amounting to ₦64,250 ($47.15) before accounting for exchange commission, blockchain network fees or any investment gains or losses, with the government’s take increasing as the asset appreciates before it is sold.
That is because Nigeria’s new virtual asset tax framework no longer taxes only crypto profits. It taxes almost every stage of a virtual asset’s lifecycle.
The Nigeria Revenue Service’s (NRS) new guidelines introduce a 1.5% stamp duty on virtual asset transactions, but that is only the beginning.
Crypto users could also pay a 1% withholding tax when disposing of most cryptocurrencies, income tax on realised gains, and Value Added Tax (VAT) on exchange service fees.
Each tax applies to a different taxable event. Together, they make buying, selling, earning, and spending digital assets materially more expensive.
