In short: A TIN identifies you to the tax authorities. Individuals get one through their NIN, at no cost, and can retrieve an existing one in a minute on the Joint Tax Board verification portal. Companies and registered business names get one from the Corporate Affairs Commission as part of registration. Since the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 took effect in January 2026, you need a Tax ID to open or operate a business bank account, to be paid by most companies and government bodies without a punitive withholding deduction, and to file any return.
What a TIN is, and who issues it
The Tax Identification Number is a unique number attached to every taxpayer. Two bodies issue them:
- The Joint Tax Board (JTB) issues TINs to individuals, on behalf of the state internal revenue services that collect personal income tax.
- The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), which replaced the Federal Inland Revenue Service in January 2026, issues TINs to companies, business names and other organisations, in practice through its integration with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
The Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 calls the number a Tax ID and requires every taxable person to have one. For individuals the Act ties it to the National Identification Number (NIN); for companies, to the CAC registration number. The old TIN and the new Tax ID are the same thing in daily use.
Individuals: get or retrieve your TIN
Most Nigerian adults with a NIN already have a TIN and do not know it. Check first, apply second.
- Go to the JTB TIN verification portal (search "JTB TIN verification"; the address is on the jtb.gov.ng domain).
- Search by NIN, BVN or registered phone number. If a TIN exists, it is shown with your name and the tax authority it is registered under.
- If nothing is found, register on the JTB individual TIN portal with your NIN, date of birth, phone and email. The number is generated after your NIN is validated, usually the same day.
- Alternatively, register at your state tax office. Lagos residents use the LIRS e-Tax portal, which issues a Payer ID that doubles as your state tax identity; other states have their own portals or walk-in offices.
No fee applies at any step. If someone asks for money to "process" a TIN, they are selling a service you can do yourself in ten minutes.
Companies and business names: the TIN comes with the CAC certificate
Since the CAC and the federal tax authority integrated their systems, registering a company or business name generates a TIN automatically. It appears on your CAC status report and, for companies, on the certificate of incorporation. If you registered years ago and cannot find it:
- Search the CAC public search for your entity; the status report lists the TIN.
- Search the JTB verification portal by RC or BN number.
- Failing both, visit the nearest NRS tax office with your CAC certificate, status report, a valid ID for a director or proprietor, and a utility bill for the business address. The office issues or retrieves the TIN and registers you for the taxes that apply.
A company also needs to be registered for VAT if it is above the small-company threshold, and every company, small or not, must file company income tax returns even when the rate is 0%.
How many digits is a TIN?
- Individuals (JTB): 10 digits.
- Companies and business names (NRS, formerly FIRS): 8 digits, a hyphen, and a 4-digit suffix, for example 12345678-0001. The suffix identifies the tax office.
- Lagos Payer ID: a separate LIRS identifier starting with the letter N, used on the state portal alongside your TIN.
If a client's vendor form asks for your TIN and rejects the hyphen, enter the 8 digits and the suffix without it.
Why the TIN matters for a small business
Withholding tax. Every company that pays you for services deducts withholding tax and remits it under your TIN. Without your TIN on the invoice the deduction is made at double the rate under the 2024 withholding regulations, and the credit cannot reach your tax account. The invoice generator has a TIN field on both sides for this reason, and the withholding tax calculator shows the doubled rate.
Bank accounts. From January 2026 banks require a Tax ID to open or continue operating an account used for business.
Contracts and tenders. Government agencies and large companies will not onboard a vendor without a TIN and, for anything sizeable, a tax clearance certificate, which itself needs three years of filed returns.
Filing. Every return, PAYE, VAT, withholding or company income tax, is filed against a TIN. See how to file tax returns in Nigeria.
Common problems
- "TIN not found" for an individual with a NIN. The NIN may not have been pushed to the JTB database yet. Register directly on the JTB portal; the system validates the NIN and issues the number.
- Two TINs. People who registered at a state office years ago and later got a JTB number sometimes hold two. Ask the JTB or your state IRS to merge them; use the JTB one on invoices in the meantime.
- Company TIN missing from the status report. Older registrations may predate the integration. The NRS office issues one against the CAC documents.
- Name mismatch. The name on the TIN must match the CAC name exactly, including "Limited" or "Enterprises". Mismatches block bank onboarding.