Last updated on August 5th, 2023 at 09:30 pm
A tax is a mandatory financial levy imposed on business owners and individuals by the government in order to finance government spending and public projects. The process is called taxation.
Do you know that you could be jailed for tax evasion or resistance in countries like the United Kingdom, United States, and Argentina among others?
In Nigeria, it’s a different ball game, no one has ever been jailed for evading tax since independence. But the government has devised a means of indirectly compelling business owners in paying their taxes.
One of such tactics employed by the Nigerian government is making its single-digit business loan.
To enjoy some of these credit facility privileges, you need to pay tax and apply for your TIN or Tax Identification Number as explained in one of our guides at: https://infomediang.com/get-tin-for-your-business-nigeria
After paying your tax, there is a specific digit number given to you which you can use to continually use to make remittances to the Federation Account.
So how can I verify my Tax ID?
Your tax identification number is a series of digits handed to you by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
You check whether your tax ID is valid or not, if you’ve got the number several years ago, below is a list of three major ways to verify your tax identification:
- Using Tax ID number
- Using your CAC registration number
- Using your phone number
Using Tax ID number
To use this method, head straight to the official search form portal of FIRS at: https://apps.firs.gov.ng/tinverification
- Choose from the drop-down menu “Tax Identification Number”
- Enter your TIN (FIRS or JTB TIN) in the Search value field
- Input the captcha image text correctly
- Click on the search button to see your tax ID number come up
Using your CAC registration number
If you have forgotten your Tax identification, there is another option for you, it’s by using your business name or company registration number issued to you by the Corporate Affairs Commission also known as BN or RC
- Follow step 1 above but this time, choose “CAC Registration number” in the search criteria dropdown list
- Input your CAC Registered number eg RC139844 (for company) or BN4627838 (sole proprietorship)
- Enter correctly the correct captcha image text
- Click the search button and wait for the portal to display your tax ID
Using your phone number
In a situation whereby your CAC registered number isn’t within reach and you don’t know the tax number issued to you, you can this method.
Note: The phone number must be the valid number used during the tax ID application process
Here is how to go about it:
- On the search portal, choose ‘Registered Phone Number’ from the dropdown list
- Enter your phone number
- Input the correct captcha image text
- Tap on the search button and see your tax ID number come up
Wrapping up:
If after using the three methods above, you see “data not found” it’s possible there was an issue with your application, in this case, contact FIRS for clarification.
Reference:
Olga DeLawrence of unsplash.com for photo credit
