About one in five households and businesses that sought to resolve tax-related issues in Nigeria waited more than a month for a resolution or said their complaints were rarely resolved, highlighting persistent delays in the country’s tax administration system.
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) Tax Perception Survey Report 2026 found that while 60.5 percent of households and 53.6 percent of firms reported that their tax-related issues were resolved on the same day or within a few days, a significant proportion continued to experience prolonged delays.
The report, which examined institutional capacity and taxpayer experience, also identified gaps in the clarity of tax information, the consistency of officials’ explanations and taxpayers’ understanding of amounts owed.
According to the survey, 47.4 percent of households gave positive assessments of the ease of completing tax processes. However, only about 30 percent rated tax officials’ explanations, consistency and clarity on tax liabilities positively.
The findings suggest that although some aspects of tax administration are relatively easy to navigate, taxpayers may still struggle to understand their obligations and obtain clear, consistent information from officials.
The survey also highlighted concerns about informal levies and the cost of dealing with tax-related demands. It found that 67.2 percent of households had encountered informal, non-state levies at least once, while 13.9 percent of firms said they had been required to pay a fee they considered illegal.
Such experiences could undermine public confidence in the tax system and weaken efforts to improve voluntary compliance, particularly as the Federal Government implements reforms aimed at expanding domestic revenue and improving tax administration.
The report also drew attention to operational challenges confronting tax officials, including shortages of personnel, vehicles and equipment, particularly in local offices. Security risks during fieldwork were identified as another constraint affecting tax administration.
The findings come as Nigeria implements the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, which took effect in January 2026. The reform is designed to modernise and consolidate the country’s tax framework, broaden the revenue base, simplify tax provisions, improve administrative efficiency and strengthen fairness and transparency.
However, the NESG noted that the success of the reform would depend not only on the legal provisions but also on taxpayers’ ability to understand their obligations, access effective complaint-resolution mechanisms and trust the institutions responsible for collecting taxes.
The survey was commissioned by the NESG with support from the United Kingdom Government to assess how households, businesses and tax officials understand and experience the tax system during the early implementation of the new framework.
Fieldwork was conducted between July and September 2026, covering 18,000 working adults, with one respondent selected per household, and 9,097 firms across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Six states-Abia, Bauchi, Kano, Nasarawa, Ogun and Rivers-were oversampled to increase the number of observations. The study also conducted focus group discussions with households and firms, alongside interviews with tax officials in those states.
The NESG said the report was a diagnostic study of taxpayers’ perceptions and experiences, rather than an audit or ranking of tax administrations.
It provides an early baseline for identifying implementation bottlenecks, improving taxpayer services and strengthening confidence in the tax system as the reforms take effect