The Joint Tax Board (JTB) has dismissed recent claims that Nigerians without a
Tax Identification Number (Tax ID) will lose access to their bank accounts or be
barred from financial transactions starting January 1, 2026.
This statement comes after a document from the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform
Committee said that taxable people without a Tax ID may not be able to use
bank accounts, insurance, pension, or investment services after that date.
In a statement signed by its spokesperson Akpe E. Adoh, made it clear that
Nigerians will continue to have full access to their bank accounts and financial
services beyond the stated date, regardless of whether they possess a Tax ID.
It wrote” The attention of the Joint Tax Board (JTB) has been drawn to recent
reports and insinuations suggesting that Nigerians without a Tax Identification
(Tax ID) will be denied access to their bank accounts or prevented from
carrying out financial transactions from January 1, 2026. “Nigerians are hereby
assured that they will continue to have access to their bank account and also
continue to carry out financial transactions even beyond January 1, 2026.” JTB
explained that the government “is working to make tax compliance simpler,
fairer, and more inclusive for all Nigerians.”
These reforms, according to JTB, include eliminating multiple taxation, granting
tax exemptions to vulnerable individuals and small businesses, and ensuring
that the majority of Nigerians will pay lower taxes under the new tax regime.
It added “To support this vision, the JTB (comprising the 36 States Internal
Revenue Service, the FCT-IRS and the FIRS) and the FIRS are collaborating on
a harmonised National Tax Identification system. “This system will leverage the
National Identification Number (NIN) for individuals and the Registration
Number (RC) for businesses as unique identifiers for tax purposes. “This initiative
will enable the seamless and automatic generation of Tax IDS for individuals
with NIN and businesses with RC thereby making it easier for Nigerians to
comply with tax requirements without any disruption to their banking and/or
financial activities
JTB urged Nigerians to stay calm and ignore any false messages claiming they
will lose access to their bank accounts. “Again we restate for the avoidance
of doubt that Nigerians will continue to have access to their bank accounts
and carry out financial services beyond January 1, 2026, and no one will be
denied access on account of not having a Tax ID.”
Source: https://guardian.ng/news/nigeria/national/nigerians-wont-lose-bank-
access-without-tax-id-jtb/