Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025 · Circular 2026/21 ¶9.3, ¶9.6
Cost base: what you are allowed to deduct
First in, first out unless you elect weighted average at the start — and you cannot switch later.
Who this lands on: Anyone who has bought, swapped or been given tokens.
Bought with naira: the cost base per unit is the total naira paid divided by the units you actually received after stamp duty, in dollars at that day's rate. The duty is already inside the cost base, so it is not deducted again at disposal.
Received in a swap: the cost base of the new token is the dollar market value of the token you gave up, divided by the units received.
Received for nothing — staking, mining, airdrops with a real value, hard forks, promotional tokens: the cost base is stepped up to the dollar value at receipt, because that value was already taxed as income. That step-up is what stops the same money being taxed twice.
A hard fork does not reduce the cost base of the original tokens; the new tokens get their own, at their value on the day.
Where an airdrop or fork has no market, no bid price and no way to redeem it, nothing is taxed at receipt. Tax waits until you sell, and then the whole proceeds are taxable with a nil cost base. Document the absence of a price and keep it for six years.
Tokens with no issuer, no value and no prospect of one attract no tax at all unless real money eventually comes in.
First in, first out is the default. Weighted average cost is allowed instead, but only if you elect it from the start of your virtual-asset activity and stay with it — you may not switch backwards.