By Ayo Kehinde
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has urged content creators and other operators in the creative industry to formalise their businesses, obtain tax identification numbers and maintain proper financial records to benefit from available tax incentives and investment opportunities.
Officials of the agency made the call during a tax policy discussion on Thursday at the ongoing Creative Africa Nexus Weekend 2026 in Lagos, where they outlined how Nigeria’s tax reforms could support creative entrepreneurs, improve compliance and attract investment.
Speaking during a panel session, an Assistant Director in the NRS Field Operation Monitoring Department, Simeon Onyegbula, said business registration and accurate record-keeping were essential to accessing applicable tax reliefs.
“Formalise, register, and obtain a tax ID. Keep proper records with all of this, and comply with all the relevant tax laws. Enjoy all the incentives available, and then grow”, he said.
Onyegbula explained that taxpayers must retain invoices, receipts, ledgers and other financial documents to substantiate business expenses and establish their actual taxable profits.
He warned that personal expenditure could not be treated as business costs, noting that deductions must meet the requirements of the relevant tax laws.
An Assistant Director of Tax at the NRS, Kazeem Lawal, said creators earning substantial income through social media and other digital platforms risked limiting their commercial opportunities by operating through personal bank accounts without adequate financial records.
“Formalisation is what creates the pathway to growth and then sustainability in business”, he said.
Lawal said registration gives businesses separate legal identities, improves their credibility and makes it easier to secure corporate contracts, attract investors and build enterprises capable of operating beyond their founders.
He also clarified that small businesses were relieved of certain VAT collection responsibilities but could still pay VAT on taxable purchases.
According to him, taxpayers wrongly charged VAT could obtain refunds within 30 days without first undergoing an audit.
The NRS Director of Government Business South Directorate, Mustapha Akaje, said qualifying investments in eligible sectors, including the creative industry, could attract a five per cent tax credit on capital expenditure of at least N250m.
“This tax credit is specifically saying that you have a 5 percent tax credit on your investment that is based on qualified capital expenditure,” he said.
Akaje added that companies with annual turnover not exceeding N100m and fixed assets below N250m could qualify for zero company income tax and exemption from the four per cent development levy.
He also outlined incentives covering qualifying startups, research and development, foreign-source income, overseas tax credits and export-oriented businesses operating in free trade zones.
For businesses operating in free trade zones, he said the exemption discussed required qualifying operators to export at least 75 percent of their products or services.
Akaje further disclosed that small businesses no longer needed separate exemption certificates but must continue filing tax returns to demonstrate their eligibility for the reliefs.
The NRS Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Services, Mohammed Abubakar, cautioned that relief from international double taxation was not automatic.
He explained that eligibility could depend on applicable tax agreements between Nigeria and other countries, while the tax jurisdiction applicable to individuals could also depend on their residence.
Abubakar called for further engagement to make complex tax provisions easier for creative entrepreneurs to understand.
In his remarks, the NRS Executive Director of People, Stakeholders and Communication, Obinna Ihedioha, announced the establishment of an NRS Investment and Tax Advisory Hub and a Creative Economy Tax and Investment Initiative.
He said the platforms would guide business registration, available incentives, investment opportunities, and tax compliance while strengthening engagement between regulators and businesses.
Ihedioha cited the experience of a Lagos-based creative entrepreneur who feared penalties after earning income for two years without filing tax returns, describing uncertainty as a major obstacle to formalisation.
“Uncertainty is a tax nobody collects, but everybody pays”, he said.
He argued that entrepreneurs would be more willing to enter the formal economy when registration offered practical benefits, including access to finance, markets, contracts and intellectual property protection.
He added that the initiative would support collaboration on tax education, business formalisation, investment facilitation and policy dialogue, including possible policy adjustments where necessary.
“Our responsibility, therefore, is to make the formal path the easier path and, of course, reward it”, Ihedioha stated.
He said the agency would work with investors, financial institutions and development partners to help transform Nigeria’s creative talent into sustainable businesses, employment and economic growth.
