Senders to Bear N50 Stamp Duty on Electronic Transfers of N10,000 and Above Starting January 2026

Abuja, December 31, 2025

– Commercial banks in Nigeria will begin charging senders a flat N50 stamp duty on electronic money transfers of N10,000 and above from January 1, 2026, as part of changes introduced by the Nigeria Tax Act 2025.
The levy, previously known as the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) introduced in 2020 under the Finance Act, has been renamed and restructured as stamp duty. Under the old EMTL regime, the N50 charge was a one-off deduction from the recipient’s account on inflows of N10,000 or more.
The key shift under the new Tax Act is that the burden now falls entirely on the sender, who will pay the N50 in addition to any existing bank transfer fees. This means the recipient will receive the full amount transferred, with no deduction.
In an email notification sent to customers on Tuesday, United Bank for Africa (UBA) informed account holders that the N50 electronic money transfer levy (EMTL) on transfers will now be uniformly referred to as stamp duty across all financial institutions.
The email stated: “Please note the following: Stamp Duty applies to transactions of ₦10,000 and above (or the equivalent in other currencies).”
The stamp duty is described as a single, one-off charge of N50 on any electronic receipt or transfer of money deposited in a bank or financial institution on any type of account for sums of N10,000 and above.
Transfers below N10,000 remain exempt, as do transfers within the same bank account (self-to-self).
This change reverses the previous system where the receiver bore the cost, effectively making outbound transfers more expensive for senders. For example, combined with standard bank fees (typically N10–N50 depending on the amount), a transfer could attract total charges of N75 to N100 or more.
The reform is part of broader tax changes aimed at boosting non-oil revenue, with the government projecting significantly higher collections from stamp duties in the coming years.
The policy applies uniformly to transfers via banks and is expected to extend similarly across financial platforms in line with Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) regulations.