The Federal Government has announced that all taxable Nigerians will be required to obtain a Tax Identification Number (TIN) or Taxpayer Identification Number (TPIN) to operate a bank account from January 1, 2026.
The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this in an interview shared on his X account on Thursday.
He explained that Section 4 of the Nigerian Tax Administration Act (NTAA), which comes into effect on January 1, 2026, provides legal backing for the mandatory use of tax IDs for all taxable individuals.
According to him, the directive will not apply to students or dependents, who are exempted from the requirement and can continue operating bank accounts without a tax ID.
“A taxable person is anyone who earns income through trade, business, or any economic activity. So banks must request a tax ID from taxable persons,” Oyedele said.
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He added that income earners and businesses already issued TINs will not need to obtain new tax IDs.
Oyedele noted that although the policy framework first appeared in the 2020 Finance Act, the NTAA now formalises its enforcement. He warned that taxable individuals without a tax ID “may have difficulty running their bank accounts in the near future.”
The clarification follows rising concerns among Nigerians that bank accounts without tax IDs could soon face restrictions.
President Bola Tinubu signed the new tax laws in June 2025, with implementation scheduled for January 2026.