Tinubu’s New Tax Law to Mandate Banks Report All Accounts With ₦5 Million Monthly Transactions Starting January 2026

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Beginning January 2026, Nigerian banks will be required to report all customer accounts with monthly transactions of ₦5 million or more to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). This directive forms part of a sweeping tax reform signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in June 2025, aimed at expanding the tax net, boosting government revenue, and tightening fiscal oversight.

Under the new regulation, banks must flag and report accounts exceeding the ₦5 million threshold—whether through deposits, withdrawals, transfers, or other inflows and outflows—to tax authorities on a monthly basis. This new level of financial scrutiny is designed to help FIRS detect undeclared income and catch discrepancies between tax returns and actual bank activity.

While the process for filing annual tax returns will remain unchanged, the key shift is in how FIRS will now verify claims. By cross-checking income declarations with high-value transaction data from banks, the agency will be better equipped to identify underreporting and impose penalties or trigger audits where necessary.

This measure is one of many within President Tinubu’s ambitious tax overhaul, which consolidates previously fragmented taxes into a streamlined single-digit structure, introduces mandatory electronic invoicing, raises the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) to 30%, and imposes a new 4% National Development Levy. While small businesses and low-income earners will receive exemptions, the reforms are expected to drive more aggressive tax compliance across the board.

Despite government assurances that the reforms are essential for national development and improved service delivery, many Nigerians have expressed concern about potential overreach and the growing surveillance of citizens’ private financial activity. Critics also question whether the new rules will meaningfully address systemic corruption or simply burden honest earners and small businesses.

Analysts warn that the new policy could encourage more Nigerians to avoid formal banking systems altogether, reverting to cash-based transactions to escape scrutiny. Others, however, see the reform as a necessary step to finally hold high-income individuals accountable and reduce Nigeria’s widespread tax evasion problem.

As the January 2026 implementation date draws closer, the financial sector, tax professionals, and the public at large are bracing for what may become a historic shift in how Nigeria tracks and collects taxes in the digital age.