New tax laws: Sender of transfer above ₦10,000 to be charged ₦50 stamp duty from January 1, says Banks

As Nigerians prepare for the implementation of new tax laws, commercial banks have announced that a reverse deduction of a ₦50 stamp duty from the sender, sending ₦10,000 and above would be effective from January 1, 2026 as part of provisions for the newly enacted Tax Act.

This was communicated to customers by several commercial banks ahead of the policy’s implementation, whereas, the charge, previously known as the Electronic Money Transfer Levy, will now be formally classified as stamp duty and applied as a one-off ₦50 fee on qualifying electronic transfers.

In a notice to customers on Tuesday, the United Bank for Africa informed its account holders that the new Tax Act would take effect from January 1, 2026, and that the charge would apply uniformly across financial institutions.

The bank clarified that transfers of ₦10,000 and above would attract the stamp duty, while transactions below the threshold would remain exempt.

UBA stated, “Stamp Duty applies to transactions of ₦10,000 and above (or the equivalent in other currencies). Salary payments and Intra-bank self-transfers are exempt from stamp duty.

“The Sender now bears the Stamp Duty charge. Previously, this charge was deducted from the Beneficiary/ Receiver.”

A similar notification was issued by Access Bank to its customers, confirming the changes and the exemptions.

Before now, electronic transfers of ₦10,000 and above attracted a ₦50 levy, but the deduction was typically made from the beneficiary’s account, a practice that often sparked complaints from customers.

Banks say the revised framework is intended to simplify compliance and make the charges more transparent for individuals and businesses.