From 2nd, January, 2020, millions of Nigerians will not be able to access their bank accounts.

This is because of the Finance Bill currently passed by National Assembly has amended sections 33, 49 & 58 of the Personal Income Tax Act. Thus, individuals are required to produce their Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) before they can operate existing or new bank accounts in Nigeria.

What this means is that, if you don’t have TIN, you will not be able to operate your bank account. This may come as shock to many, but the important thing to do at this point is to ensure you have a TIN as the date for implementation has been set for 2nd of January 2020. The minister of finance, Zainab Ahmed, made this known to the public.

If you run a registered business and have dealings with government, there is a likelihood you already have your TIN, so you should not have issues. The idea of this new law is to get more Nigerians into the tax net.

Obtaining TIN is FREE of charge, you should not pay for it. Also there are no age limits in having TIN as teenagers are obliged to pay Tax if they receive income from a company. The only exemptions are on certain thresholds of income.

If you want to verify your TIN or to know if you have one, you can go to the Joint Tax Board website. https://tinverification.jtb.gov.ng