Nigeria’s Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue increased to N2.42 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 9.98 per cent rise from the N2.20 trillion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.
This is according to the latest VAT Q1 2026 report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report showed that local VAT payments accounted for N1.11 trillion of the total collections, while foreign VAT contributed N830.47 billion and import VAT generated N477.55 billion during the period.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities for own use recorded the highest growth rate at 74.36 per cent. This was followed by arts, entertainment and recreation, which grew by 20.91 per cent, and manufacturing, which expanded by 12.82 per cent.
However, the education sector posted the sharpest decline, falling by 31.96 per cent. Public administration and defence, including compulsory social security activities, declined by 31.38 per cent, while activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies dropped by 29.89 per cent.
In terms of sectoral contributions, manufacturing remained the largest contributor to VAT revenue, accounting for 29.75 per cent of total collections during the quarter.
The information and communication sector followed with a contribution of 20.61 per cent, while mining and quarrying contributed 12.32 per cent.
Conversely, activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities for own use recorded the lowest share at 0.01 per cent. Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies contributed 0.02 per cent, while water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities accounted for 0.06 per cent.
On a year-on-year basis, VAT collections rose by 17.06 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2025, highlighting continued growth in government tax revenue despite varying performances across economic sectors.
The latest figures underscore the growing role of manufacturing, telecommunications and extractive industries in driving Nigeria’s non-oil tax revenue as authorities continue efforts to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation.
