Nigerians to pay more for ChatGPT on OpenAI’s 7.5% VAT
OpenAI will start applying a 7.5 percent value-added tax (VAT) to its paid services for users in Nigeria starting from November 1, 2025.
This adjustment affects all paid subscriptions, including ChatGPT Plus and other billable OpenAI offerings.
The company, in an email sent to users, stated that the new charge complies with Section 10 of the Value Added Tax Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 (as amended), and the FIRS Information Circular 2021/19.
The firm urged customers to include a valid Tax Identification Number (TIN) in their account payment settings to facilitate proper tax documentation, a shift which reflects Nigeria’s intensified efforts to regulate tax compliance among foreign digital service providers.
Digital platforms such as Google, Netflix, Amazon, and Facebook have already started charging VAT to Nigerian users. Recent reports suggest that Nigeria collected as much as N600 billion in VAT from such companies.
As a result of the new VAT inclusion, existing ChatGPT Plus users who currently pay N31,500 (≈ US$20) will see their monthly bill rise to N33,862.50 (≈ US$22.43) once VAT is added.
OpenAI has also introduced a lower-cost subscription tier for Nigerians at N7,000/month as a partial buffer against the price hike. This price increase is likely to ripple through the local AI ecosystem as startups built on OpenAI infrastructure (for example, Decide and ChatATP) may face higher operating costs.
