Nigeria Property Tax Guide: What Foreign and Diaspora Owners Actually Pay

Property tax is the cost diaspora buyers forget until the bill arrives. The purchase price gets all the attention, but the taxes and fees attached to buying and holding Nigerian property can add a meaningful percentage to your real cost, and the rules differ by state. Here is what a foreign or diaspora owner actually pays in Nigeria, broken down by the moment it hits you: when you buy, every year you hold, and when you sell.

Taxes you pay when you buy

Buying property in Nigeria triggers a bundle of transfer costs rather than a single tax. As of 2026, Lagos does not levy one flat "property transfer tax." Instead you face several charges that stack: Governor's Consent fees, stamp duty, and registration fees. Together these typically add 4 to 8 percent to the purchase price.

The largest single piece is usually the Governor's Consent fee. Because Section 22 of the Land Use Act requires the Governor's consent for any transfer of land held under a statutory right of occupancy, you must obtain and pay for that consent to make your purchase legally valid. The consent fee commonly runs 3 to 5 percent of the property's assessed value.

Stamp duty is charged on the instrument of transfer, the Deed of Assignment, and registration fees are charged to record the transaction at the state land registry. Neither is optional if you want a title the law will protect. Skipping registration to save the fee is how people end up holding a signed deed that was never perfected, which is no real protection at all.

Plan for the full 4 to 8 percent on top of the price, and treat the consent and registration as part of the cost of owning, not an extra you can defer.

Taxes you pay every year you hold

The recurring property tax is the Land Use Charge in Lagos, and equivalent annual property charges in other states. In Lagos, the Land Use Charge consolidates what used to be several separate levies, the old tenement rates, neighbourhood improvement charge, and land rates, into a single annual bill payable to the Lagos State Government.

For owner-occupied residential property in Lagos, the Land Use Charge is assessed at 0.076 percent per year of the property's assessed value. Investment and commercial properties are charged at higher rates than owner-occupied homes, so a property you rent out will carry a heavier annual charge than one you live in. The state assesses the property's value itself, which means the bill is based on the government's valuation, not what you paid.

Lagos has been pushing hard on collection. The state released its 2024 Land Use Charge bills with a 15 percent discount for owners who paid within the early window, and it collected over ₦14 billion in Land Use Charge in 2024, a 37 percent jump on the prior year. The practical lesson for a diaspora owner is simple: this is an enforced tax, not a theoretical one, and paying early earns a real discount. Some categories, including properties owned and occupied by pensioners, religious worship and education properties, and public cemeteries, qualify for exemption, but the owner has to apply for it with evidence. Exemption is not automatic.

If you own in Abuja, Port Harcourt, or another state, confirm the local equivalent. Each state administers its own annual property charge under its own law, and the rate and assessment method vary.

Taxes you pay when you sell

When you sell, the main charge to plan for is capital gains tax on the gain you realise. Nigeria applies capital gains tax to the disposal of chargeable assets, including real property, at a rate set by federal tax law. There can also be transaction costs on the sale side, including agent fees and any charges tied to perfecting the buyer's transfer. The specific capital gains treatment, and any reliefs, should be confirmed with a Nigerian tax adviser at the time of sale, because federal tax rules and rates are subject to reform and the exact figure depends on how the property was held and for how long.

What is different for foreign (non-citizen) owners

The annual Land Use Charge and the transfer costs apply to property regardless of whether the owner is a Nigerian citizen, a diaspora citizen, or a non-citizen foreigner. The tax bill follows the property, not your passport. Where a non-citizen's position differs is in ownership structure rather than tax rate. Because the Land Use Act and state alien land laws restrict the interests a non-Nigerian can hold directly, many foreign owners hold through a long lease or a Nigerian-registered company, and that company structure can carry its own filing and compliance obligations. If you hold property through a company, you are taking on corporate tax compliance on top of property tax, so factor that into the cost of the structure.

Putting it together

For budgeting, work in three layers. At purchase, add 4 to 8 percent to the price for consent, stamp duty, and registration, plus your legal and agency fees. Each year, budget the annual property charge, which in Lagos starts around 0.076 percent of assessed value for an owner-occupied home and rises for rentals. At sale, plan for capital gains tax and selling costs. A property that looked like a clean deal at the asking price can shift meaningfully once these are included, which is exactly why they belong in your numbers from the start.

Verifying that a property and its title are genuine is the first line of defence, and platforms like Bektu (https://bektu.com) help diaspora buyers confirm a developer's delivery record before committing. But once you own, the tax side is its own discipline. Keep your Land Use Charge current, keep your documents registered, and keep a Nigerian tax adviser in the loop for anything to do with disposal. The owners who run into trouble are usually the ones who treated tax as an afterthought rather than a line in the budget.