PAYE Holiday: 9 in 10 Nigerians Set to Pocket More Salary in 2026
The Big Picture
If your January 2026 pay-slip looks a little heavier, thank Nigeria’s freshly minted tax overhaul. The quartet of new acts signed in June, NTA, NTAA, NRSA and JRBA, will wipe Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) obligations off the books for roughly 90% of workers, committee chair Taiwo Oyedele told BusinessDay at the Nigerian Economic Summit.
The Details
Oyedele broke down the numbers: “97,98 % of Nigerians will either pay zero PAYE or less PAYE,” while the top 2 % will shoulder more. Speaking at the same summit, he stressed that the laws are “not to tax poverty” but to streamline compliance and spur growth, Guardian noted.
Behind the scenes, the reform team is rolling out multilingual guides and town-hall sessions with SMEDAN so that the informal sector isn’t left guessing, according to Voice of Nigeria.
Use our Paye Calculator to see if you will be paying more or less come 2026
Why It Matters
PAYE has long been the cash cow for states,₦1.86 trn or 69.84 % of their 2024 tax haul, per the latest NBS data. Slashing that revenue stream means governors must beef up other collections or brace for leaner coffers.
The reaction was swift: tax pros cheered the relief for low-income earners but warned of a communication gap. Oyedele himself urged reporters to “correct false narratives”, during a Lagos media chat covered by TVC News.
Around the Tax World
• Triple-Whammy CGT: From January 2026, foreign investors selling Nigerian shares face a 30 % capital gains tax, triple the old rate, unless they reinvest locally (Investors King).
• Exemptions Galore: Small businesses and investors with annual share sales below ₦150 m will pay zero CGT, Oyedele clarified at NES31 (Punch).
• Tax Ombud Debuts: A new Office of the Tax Ombud will mediate disputes and rebuild trust between taxpayers and the FIRS, a move BusinessDay calls “a new dawn” (BusinessDay).
Tax Stat of the Day
₦1.86 trn, the PAYE chunk of state tax revenue in 2024, equal to nearly 70 % of all state-level collections.
Looking Ahead
All eyes now turn to the Federal Executive Council, which must release accompanying regulations before year-end to keep the January 1, 2026, start date on track.