Govt pegs 1.5% stamp duty on cryptocurrency conversions in Nigeria, new tax rules reshape digital asset market – Technology Times

The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has introduced a 1.5% stamp duty on cryptocurrency conversions, requiring taxes to be collected whenever fiat currency is exchanged for virtual assets or virtual assets are converted into fiat currency, in a move that brings greater tax certainty to Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital asset market.

The measure is contained in the Guidelines on the Taxation of Virtual Assets, issued on July 31, 2026, which establishes Nigeria’s most comprehensive tax framework yet for virtual asset transactions involving taxpayers, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace operators, financial institutions and other participants in the country’s digital asset ecosystem.

The guidelines clarify tax obligations, reporting requirements, valuation methods, collection mechanisms and enforcement procedures governing cryptocurrency and other virtual asset transactions.

According to the guidelines, the tax obligation arises immediately a cryptocurrency is converted to or from fiat currency within Nigeria, irrespective of what subsequently happens to the digital asset.

Cryptocurrency: NRS applies stamp duty to crypto-to-fiat, fiat-to-crypto conversions

Under the guidelines, stamp duty applies specifically to FIAT-to-TOKEN and TOKEN-to-FIAT transactions under Item 33 of the Ninth Schedule to the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025.

Where a cryptocurrency conversion is processed through a VASP or another recognised intermediary, the operator is responsible for deducting and remitting the applicable stamp duty in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Nigeria Revenue Service.

The NRS further clarified that…