Under Section 8(2) of the Tax Administration Act, there is a provision saying that a Tax ID is mandatory to operate a bank account or access financial services (insurance, stocks, allied services) once the law comes into force.
The Joint Tax Board has clarified in a statement that Nigerians without Tax IDs will not be denied access to their bank accounts or prevented from conducting financial transactions even after January 1, 2026.
They are urging the public to ignore claims that people without Tax ID will be locked out from banking services.
JTB says the government is working on a harmonised national Tax Identification system, which will make use of the National Identification Number (NIN) for individuals, and the Registration Certificate (RC) for businesses. This system aims to automatically generate Tax IDs for those who have NIN or RC, to make compliance easier without disrupting banking/financial services.
Even though the law includes a provision that could require Tax IDs for certain financial transactions from January 2026, the JTB insists that no one will be denied access to bank accounts or financial services simply because they do not have a Tax ID.
What Section 8 of the NTAA says
Section 8 of the NTAA deals with the requirement for Tax IDs in certain financial and contractual dealings.
Specifically, Section 8(2) reads (in part):
“A person engaged in banking, insurance, stock-broking, or other financial services in Nigeria shall ensure that every taxable person provides a Tax ID.”
So under the law, once it comes into force (January 1, 2026), financial institutions are required to demand that any taxable person must present a Tax ID when transacting (opening/operating accounts, etc.).
“Taxable person” is a critical term. According to the NTAA, a “taxable person” is someone who carries out trade, business, or other economic activity to earn income which is subject to tax. It does not necessarily include everyone (e.g. those with no income, or not engaging in taxable economic activity) depending on the law’s definitions.
Existing identifiers will be leveraged is the NTAA is to harmonize Tax IDs with National Identification Number (NIN) for individuals, and Registration Certificate (RC) for businesses.
JTB says that even though Section 8(2) mandates Tax ID for financial transactions, Nigerians without Tax ID will still be able to operate bank accounts and do financial transactions beyond January 1, 2026.
They argue that the requirement is being misunderstood/misapplied the law speaks of “taxable persons” and JTB claims that not everyone is necessarily a taxable person.
JTB is emphasising that the government is building a harmonised system so that people with NIN or RC will automatically or easily have Tax IDs, so as to avoid disruption.
So far, what I reviewed do not say that everyone regardless of whether they are taxable persons will be forced to shut bank accounts or be denied service purely for lack of Tax ID. The explicit legal obligation is on financial service providers to ask for Tax ID from taxable persons.
There is also no published clause that shows a legal penalty immediately applying to non-taxable persons for lack of Tax ID in bank operations.
Yes, Section 8(2) legally mandates financial institutions to require Tax IDs from taxable persons when engaging in banking, insurance, stock-broking, etc.
However, JTB’s position suggests that:
1. Not everyone is a "taxable person" under the law.
2. Having no Tax ID will not lead to immediate loss of banking access merely because of that, for those who are not taxable persons.
3. They intend to ensure that people who should have Tax IDs are identified (through NIN, RC) so as to reduce disruption.
Therefore, whether someone will be required to have a Tax ID to keep using their bank account depends on whether they fall within the legal definition of a “taxable person” or are otherwise covered by the obligation under Section 8.
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