Nigerian companies are on track to pay significantly more taxes in 2025 and of the largest payouts in corporate history.
This is according to data from a cross-section of publicly available financial statements reviewed by Naijaonpoint.
Data from about 30 listed companies on the NGX (excluding banks and insurance firms) show that about N1.007 trillion in corporate taxes was accrued in the first six months of the year, already higher than the N664.09 billion recorded for the entire 2024 financial year.
Data from the government’s medium-term expenditure framework shows non-oil corporate taxes more than doubled in 2024 to N4.6 trillion, largely on the back of devaluation and aggressive tax collection.
Nigeria projects a total corporate tax receipt of N5.66 trillion in 2025 and N6.6 trillion in 2026 per the MTEF data.
A closer look at the data shows, manufacturing companies, telcos, and consumer goods companies on the list are likely to pay significantly more taxes in 2025 as they return to profitability following a brutal 2024.
Collectively, Seplat, Dangote Cement, and MTN account for about 82% of all taxes paid by the companies in this dataset.
The only major outlier is Oando Plc, which reported a N209.1 billion tax credit in H1 2025. This credit significantly reduced the gross taxes payable of all other firms (N1.22 trillion) to the reported N1.007 trillion net.
Oando’s credit likely reflects deferred tax adjustments or accounting for prior losses, but it stands in sharp contrast to the heavy liabilities booked across the rest of corporate Nigeria.
In 2024, most listed companies were hammered by currency devaluation, surging energy costs, and higher interest rates, leaving them with huge losses and tax credits.
Corporate Profits for these companies printed over N2.86 trillion in the first half of this year, compared to about N923 billion in the whole of 2024.
With over N1 trillion collected from this small sample in six months, the Federal Government’s non-oil tax receipts are poised to exceed 2024 levels significantly.
Most banks and insurance firms under our coverage are yet to release their half-year 2025 results.
However, Naijaonpoint expects insurance companies to post higher tax liabilities this year, reflecting the surge in profitability many insurers recorded in the first half.
For banks, tax receipts are likely to come in only slightly higher than 2024, as earnings growth is projected to remain stable, compared to the outsized profit expansion seen in the previous year.
Note: Figures in brackets indicate tax credits