By Chibuzor Alli
Content creators operating without registered businesses could be missing out on tax incentives, investment opportunities and corporate contracts, as the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) urges operators in the creative industry to formalise their businesses.
The agency said business registration, obtaining a Tax Identification Number (TIN) and maintaining accurate financial records would help creative entrepreneurs benefit from available tax reliefs while building sustainable businesses.
NRS officials made the recommendation on Thursday during a tax policy discussion at the ongoing Creative Africa Nexus Weekend 2026 in Lagos, where they explained how Nigeria’s tax reforms could support business growth and attract investment into the creative economy.
An Assistant Director in the NRS Field Operation Monitoring Department, Simeon Onyegbula, said proper registration and record-keeping were necessary for businesses seeking to access applicable tax incentives.
“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 stressed that business owners must preserve invoices, receipts, ledgers and other financial documents to establish legitimate business expenses and calculate their actual taxable profits.
He cautioned that personal spending could not be classified as business expenditure, noting that only deductions that meet the requirements of the law would be recognised.
Also speaking, an Assistant Director of Tax at the NRS, Kazeem Lawal, warned that content creators generating substantial income through social media and other digital platforms could restrict their business growth by relying solely on personal bank accounts without proper financial documentation.
“Formalisation is what creates the pathway to growth and then sustainability in business,” he said.
Lawal explained that registering a business creates a separate legal identity, strengthens its credibility and improves its chances of securing corporate contracts, attracting investors and building an enterprise that can operate beyond its founder.
He also clarified that although small businesses were relieved of certain VAT collection obligations, they 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.
On investment incentives, the Director of Government Business South Directorate at the NRS, Mustapha Akaje, disclosed that 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 per cent 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 further highlighted incentives available to qualifying startups, research and development activities, foreign-source income, overseas tax credits and export-oriented businesses operating in free trade zones.
For businesses operating in free trade zones, he said qualifying operators must export at least 75 per cent of their products or services to benefit from the exemption discussed.
Akaje also noted that small businesses no longer required separate exemption certificates but remained obligated to file returns to establish their eligibility for the relevant reliefs.
However, the NRS Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Services, Mohammed Abubakar, cautioned that relief from international double taxation was not automatic.
He explained that access to such relief could depend on the tax agreements between Nigeria and the countries involved, while an individual’s tax jurisdiction would also be determined by applicable residency rules.
Abubakar called for further engagement to make complex tax provisions easier for creative entrepreneurs to understand and apply.
In a move to bridge the information gap, 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 provide guidance on business registration, tax incentives, investment opportunities and compliance, while improving engagement between regulators and creative businesses.
Ihedioha illustrated the challenges of operating outside the formal economy with the experience of a Lagos-based creative entrepreneur who feared penalties after earning income for two years without filing tax returns.
He described the uncertainty surrounding tax obligations as a major barrier to business formalisation.
“Uncertainty is a tax nobody collects, but everybody pays,” he said.
According to him, creative entrepreneurs would be more willing to enter the formal economy when registration offered practical benefits such as access to finance, markets, corporate contracts and intellectual property protection.
He said the initiative would also promote collaboration on tax education, business formalisation, investment facilitation and policy dialogue, including possible adjustments to existing policies.
“Our responsibility, therefore, is to make the formal path the easier path and, of course, reward it,” Ihedioha stated.
He added that the NRS would work with investors, fi
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