What the Tax number is
The Tax number is the number Income and Sales Tax Department (ISTD) assigns to a taxpayer in Jordan. It follows you across every tax you deal with: Sales tax, income tax and withholding. Businesses that pay you will ask for it before they release payment, because they report their suppliers to Income and Sales Tax Department (ISTD) by this number.
Who needs one
Two registrations, both with the Income and Sales Tax Department, and most businesses need both. Article 22 of the Income Tax Law requires every resident with taxable income to register and obtain a tax number before starting the activity, with no threshold. Sales tax registration is separate and triggered by turnover, or for an importer by the first import within 30 days whatever its value. Any change to your registered particulars must be notified within 30 days.
How to register, step by step
- Register the business first with the Companies Control Department or the commercial register, and get the municipal vocational licence: ISTD asks for both.
- Open an account through ISTD's electronic registration with your national number, a Jordanian mobile number and an email address, and upload the documents.
- ISTD notifies the tax number by SMS or email; you can then issue a formal certificate of it from the e-query service.
- Log in to the Electronic Gate and register for sales tax if a trigger applies, then enrol in JoFotara using the establishment's tax number and gate credentials, and generate the client id and secret key to link your billing software.
How to find or check a Tax number
ISTD runs a free taxpayer inquiry that takes the tax number with the national or establishment number, and a separate check of whether a tax number is enrolled in JoFotara.