Crypto is Taxable in Nigeria
Let's be direct: cryptocurrency transactions are taxable under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025. Whether you're trading Bitcoin on Binance, earning USDT for freelance work, or receiving airdrops — there are tax consequences[1].
This guide covers everything Nigerian crypto users need to know.
Two Types of Crypto Tax
1. Income Tax (When You Earn Crypto)
If you receive cryptocurrency as payment for goods or services, it's treated as income and taxed under the NTA 2025 income tax brackets[2].Taxable crypto income includes:
Crypto received as payment for freelance work
Staking rewards
Yield farming / DeFi returns
Mining rewards
Airdrops (taxed at fair market value when received)How to calculate:
Determine the NGN value of the crypto at the time you received it (using CBN rates for NGN/USD, then market price for crypto/USD)
This is your gross income from that receipt
Include it in your total annual income
Apply NTA 2025 bracketsExample:
You receive 0.05 BTC for a design project on March 15
BTC price on March 15: $60,000 → 0.05 BTC = $3,000
CBN rate on March 15: ₦1,550/$
Taxable income: ₦4,650,0002. Capital Gains Tax (When You Sell/Trade Crypto)
When you dispose of a crypto asset, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) applies to any profit[3].What counts as a disposal:
Selling crypto for fiat (NGN, USD, etc.)
Swapping one crypto for another (BTC → ETH, ETH → USDT)
Using crypto to purchase goods or services
Gifting crypto above a thresholdWhat does NOT count as a disposal:
Transferring between your own wallets
HODLing (no tax until you sell)CGT rate: 10% on net capital gains
How to Calculate Capital Gains
Step 1: Determine Your Cost Basis
This is what you paid to acquire the crypto, including:
Purchase price at time of acquisition
Exchange fees paid to buy
Network/gas fees for the acquisition transactionStep 2: Determine Your Proceeds
What you received when you disposed of the crypto:
Sale price in NGN (or converted to NGN via CBN rate)
Minus: exchange fees and network fees for the sale transactionStep 3: Calculate the Gain
Gain = Proceeds – Cost BasisStep 4: Use FIFO Method
When you have multiple purchases at different prices, use First In, First Out (FIFO):
The first coins you bought are deemed to be the first ones sold
This determines which cost basis to useExample:
| Date | Transaction | Amount | Price (NGN) |
| Jan 15 | Buy 1 BTC | 1 BTC | ₦90,000,000 |
| Mar 20 | Buy 0.5 BTC | 0.5 BTC | ₦50,000,000 |
| Jun 10 | Sell 0.8 BTC | 0.8 BTC | ₦80,000,000 |
FIFO calculation for the 0.8 BTC sale:
0.8 BTC comes from the Jan 15 purchase (first in)
Cost basis: 0.8 × ₦90,000,000 = ₦72,000,000
Proceeds: ₦80,000,000
Capital gain: ₦8,000,000
CGT at 10%: ₦800,000Crypto-to-Crypto Swaps
This is where it gets tricky. Every swap is two taxable events:
You "sell" the crypto you're giving up (potential capital gain)
You "buy" the crypto you're receiving (establishes new cost basis)Example: Swapping 1 ETH for 0.05 BTC
Disposal of 1 ETH at current market value → calculate gain/loss
Acquisition of 0.05 BTC at current market value → this becomes your cost basis for future disposalDeFi, Staking, and Yield
Staking rewards: Taxed as income at the market value when received. The received tokens have a cost basis equal to the income recognized.
Liquidity provision: Adding tokens to a liquidity pool may trigger a disposal. Removing them establishes a new cost basis. Fees/rewards earned are income.
Token swaps via DEX: Same as crypto-to-crypto swaps — each is a taxable disposal.
NFTs
Buying an NFT: Not a taxable event for the buyer (unless you used appreciated crypto to buy it — that's a disposal of the crypto).
Selling an NFT: The profit is a capital gain, subject to 10% CGT.
Receiving an NFT as payment: Treated as income at fair market value.
Record-Keeping Requirements
This is the hardest part. You need records of[4]:
Every purchase: Date, amount, price, fees, exchange used
Every sale/swap: Date, amount, proceeds, fees
Every receipt: Date, amount, market value, source
Wallet addresses for all your holdings
Exchange account statementsRecords must be kept for 6 years (NTAA Section 31).
Practical tips:
Export transaction history from every exchange (Binance, Quidax, Luno, etc.)
Save screenshots of DeFi transactions
Use a dedicated crypto tracking tool alongside TaxJeje
Don't wait until filing season — reconcile monthlyWhat About the CBN Crypto Ban?
The CBN lifted the ban on crypto transactions in December 2023[5]. Banks can now process crypto-related transactions. However:
Crypto exchanges are not yet formally regulated in Nigeria
P2P transactions are legal
Tax obligations exist regardless of regulatory status — if you made a gain, you owe taxPenalties for Non-Compliance
The NRS can detect crypto activity through:
BVN-linked bank account monitoring (deposits from exchanges)
International data sharing agreements
Exchange reporting requirementsPenalties for not declaring crypto income/gains are the same as for any unreported income — ₦100,000 for the first month plus ₦50,000 per subsequent month under NTAA Section 101, plus potential fraud charges for deliberate underreporting[6].
Action Steps
Export all your exchange transaction histories for 2026
Calculate your total crypto income (payments, staking, airdrops)
Calculate capital gains on all disposals using FIFO
Include both in your annual tax return
Keep records for 6 yearsTaxJeje supports BTC, ETH, USDT, and USDC income tracking, with automatic CBN rate conversion.
Start Tracking Your Crypto Tax →
References
References
- Nigeria Tax Act 2025 - Digital assets and cryptocurrency provisions
- Fourth Schedule, NTA 2025 - Income tax brackets apply to crypto income
- Capital Gains Tax Act (as amended by NTA 2025) - 10% CGT rate
- Section 31, NTAA 2025 - 6-year record retention requirement
- CBN Circular - Lifting of Crypto Banking Restrictions, December 2023
- Section 83, NTAA 2025 - Penalties for false declaration
