NRS Announces New Tax Incentives for Content Creators in Nigeria
- The Nigeria Revenue Service told content creators and influencers at a Lagos event to formalise their businesses
- NRS officials outlined tax incentives under the new law, including zero company income tax for small businesses
- The agency announced two new platforms to help creative entrepreneurs navigate registration
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Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has called on content creators, influencers and other creative industry operators to register their businesses and comply with the country's new tax law, saying formalisation opens the door to incentives, investors and long-term growth.
NRS officials delivered the message on Thursday, November 5, during a tax policy panel at the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend 2026, held in Lagos.
Source: Getty Images
Simeon Onyegbula, an assistant director in the NRS Field Operation Monitoring Department, told creative entrepreneurs at the event to obtain a tax identification number and keep proper financial records, including invoices, receipts and ledgers, to establish actual taxable profits and support business expense claims, Punch reports.
He said:
"Formalise, register, and obtain a tax ID. Keep proper records with all of this, and comply with all the relevant tax laws. Enjoy all the incentives available, and then grow."
Onyegbula added that personal spending cannot be counted as a business expense and that any deductions must meet the requirements set out in the law.
Tax benefits available to creative businesses
Kazeem Lawal, an assistant director of tax at the NRS, warned that creators earning significant income through social media and digital platforms risk shutting themselves out of corporate contracts and investment by operating only through personal bank accounts.
Lawal said:
"Formalisation is what creates the pathway to growth and then sustainability in business."
Mustapha Akaje, the director of Government Business South Directorate at the NRS, outlined some of the incentives available.
He said eligible businesses in the creative industry could qualify for a 5% tax credit on capital expenditure of at least N250 million.
Companies with annual turnover below N100 million and fixed assets under N250 million may also qualify for zero company income tax and an exemption from the 4% development levy.
Akaje noted that small businesses no longer need separate exemption certificates but must still file tax returns to demonstrate their eligibility.
Lawal added that small businesses are relieved of certain VAT collection duties, although they may still pay VAT on taxable purchases. Taxpayers wrongly charged VAT can claim refunds within 30 days without an audit.
New platforms to support creative economy
Obinna Ihedioha, the NRS executive director of People, Stakeholders and Communication, announced plans to establish an NRS Investment and Tax Advisory Hub alongside a Creative Economy Tax and Investment Initiative.
He said both platforms would help entrepreneurs understand registration, available incentives and their compliance obligations, noting that fear of penalties was keeping some creators from formalising their businesses,ThisDay reports.
Source: Getty Images
Citing the case of a Lagos-based creative entrepreneur who had earned income for two years without filing tax returns, Ihedioha said:
"Uncertainty is a tax nobody collects, but everybody pays."
He said the agency's goal was to connect registered businesses to finance, corporate contracts, markets and intellectual property protection.
Ihedioha said:
"Our responsibility, therefore, is to make the formal path the easier path and, of course, reward it."
FG to recruit 4,000 TikTokers, YouTubers
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the federal government has unveiled plans to mobilise 4,000 social media influencers to publicise its infrastructure projects and achievements as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections.
Minister of Works David Umahi disclosed the initiative on Tuesday, September 22, in Abuja, while receiving a report from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on its inspection of federal road projects across four northern states.
Source: Legit.ng
