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.
The document, titled “New Tax Acts and Tax ID – What You Need to Know”, was shared by Taiwo Oyedele, the chairman of the tax reform committee.
In a post, he wrote “???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????? ???? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????? 1 ???????????????????????????? 2026?”
Then he answered that “Without a Tax ID, a taxable person may not be able to operate bank accounts, insurance policies, pension accounts, or investment accounts. Sanctions also apply under the NTAA. However, individuals who are not taxable persons are not required to obtain a Tax ID.”
But JTB, 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.”
