What the TRN is
The TRN is the number Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) assigns to a taxpayer in Jamaica. It follows you across every tax you deal with: GCT, income tax and withholding. Businesses that pay you will ask for it before they release payment, because they report their suppliers to Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) by this number.
Who needs one
Almost everyone. The Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN) is needed to deal with any tax department or government agency, and in practice to open a bank account, start a job, register a business or sit an exam. Individuals, companies, partnerships, trusts, estates, charities and overseas companies each get their own. There is no fee and no age limit, and you do not have to be Jamaican or resident to apply. Not registering is an offence: a $5,000 fine for a business, $1,000 for an individual, or a month's imprisonment. You need a TRN before you can register for GCT.
How to register, step by step
- Pick your form: Form 1, Application for Taxpayer Registration Number (Individuals), or Form 2 (Organizations). Download either from jamaicatax.gov.jm or collect it at a tax office. To start online instead, use the non-logon eService 'Apply for a Tax Registration Number (TRN)', fill in the web application, then print and sign what it generates.
- Gather the documents. An individual needs a passport, driver's licence or national/voter ID, plus a birth certificate (and marriage certificate or deed poll if the name has changed). A certified passport-size photograph can stand in for photo ID, but it must be certified within the last six months and come with the Certifying Official's declaration. A self-employed applicant adds an NIS card and, if trading under a name, the Business Name Registration Certificate.
- For a company, the Organization form must be signed by a director or the company secretary and attach the Certificate of Incorporation, the Articles and Memorandum of Association, an NIS clearance letter or payment card, the TRN of every director and ID for the signatory officer.
- Submit the signed application with original or certified documents at the Taxpayer Registration Centre, 116 East Street, Kingston, or any of the 29 collectorates islandwide. An application started online is not finished until the signed form and documents reach a tax office. From overseas, mail the signed form with a notarised copy of your passport or driver's licence to the Taxpayer Registration Centre.
- Collect the result at the office you named on the form. An individual gets a TRN card; someone trading gets a card plus a Registration Data Sheet; an organisation gets a TRN Registration Certificate and Data Sheet. There is no fee at any stage.
How to find or check a TRN
There is no public TRN lookup. TAJ's non-logon validation services cover Tax Compliance Certificates, zero-rated entities, tax withholding entities, WTSS exemption certificates, trade and business licences and transfer tax certificates — not TRNs. If you have lost your own number or card, complete a TRN supplemental form at a tax office with valid ID, or call 1-888-TAX-HELP (1-888-829-4357).