3 Sectors Hold Strong as Nigeria’s Company Income Tax Revenue Dips 31%

By Àkànní Olúwaségún Michael

Nigeria’s financial services, mining and manufacturing sectors remained the backbone of company income tax (CIT) revenue in the first quarter of 2026, accounting for more than half of total collections despite a sharp decline in overall tax receipts.

According to the latest Company Income Tax report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), total CIT collections stood at N1.37 trillion in Q1 2026, representing a decline of 8.08 percent from the N1.49 trillion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.

On a year-on-year basis, company income tax revenue dropped by 31.05 percent compared with the first quarter of 2025, highlighting weaker tax collections during the period. The NBS report, however, did not provide reasons for the decline.

Despite the overall downturn, Financial and Insurance Activities emerged as the largest contributor to company income tax revenue, accounting for 24.73 per cent of total collections. Mining and Quarrying followed with 16.06 percent, while Manufacturing contributed 13.82 percent.

Combined, the three sectors accounted for 54.61 percent of all company income tax revenue generated in the quarter, underscoring their continued importance to government non-oil revenue generation.

The report also showed that foreign companies contributed ₦828.82 billion in company income tax during the quarter, significantly higher than the ₦538.91 billion paid by domestic companies.

Sectoral performance was mixed. Water Supply, Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities recorded the strongest quarter-on-quarter growth in tax collections, rising by 485.71 percent. However, the sector contributed only 0.38 percent of total CIT revenue, indicating that the sharp increase came from a relatively small base.

Activities of Households as Employers and Undifferentiated Goods- and Services-Producing Activities of Households for Own Use posted the second-highest growth rate at 197.04 percent.

Meanwhile, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing recorded the steepest decline in tax collections, falling by 73.52 percent quarter-on-quarter. The Construction sector also experienced a significant contraction, with collections dropping by 63.15 percent during the period.

At the lower end of the spectrum, Activities of Households as Employers and Undifferentiated Goods- and Services-Producing Activities of Households for Own Use contributed the least share of total company income tax revenue at 0.01 percent. Activities of Extraterritorial Organisations and Bodies accounted for 0.13 percent, while Water Supply, Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities contributed 0.38 percent.

The figures highlight the continued dependence of Nigeria’s company income tax base on a handful of key sectors, particularly financial services, mining and manufacturing, even as overall tax collections weakened in the opening quarter of 2026.