You do not register for a Tax ID from a blank form. You look it up, because the portal already has the record.
That is true whether you are searching for your own number as an employee, or for the Tax ID your company needs before a tender closes. The steps differ slightly for each, which is why it helps to know which tab to use before you start.
Where the lookup lives
The lookup sits at taxid.nrs.gov.ng, run by the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), formerly FIRS. The JRB runs one too, at taxid.jrb.gov.ng. Both tabs, individual and business, live on the page.
If you are unsure what a Tax ID even is before you start, read our short explainer first.
Steps for an individual
- Open taxid.nrs.gov.ng on your phone or a computer.
- Choose the individual tab.
- Enter your NIN, first name, last name and date of birth as held by NIMC.
- Submit the search and wait for the match.
- Note the 13 digits number the portal returns. That is your Tax ID.
Type your name exactly as it sits on your NIN record. A shortened first name or a missing middle name is the most common reason the search comes back empty.
Steps for a business
- Open the same portal and switch to the corporate tab.
- Enter the organisation type and CAC registration number.
- Submit the search.
- Record the Tax ID shown against the company.
A business Tax ID is tied to its CAC registration number, so whoever registered the company at the CAC should have that number on the incorporation documents.
If more than one person handles compliance for the business, agree who keeps the CAC number and the resulting Tax ID on file. Searching with a slightly different company name than the one on the certificate is a common way this step stalls.
Searching on a shared or borrowed device
The portal does not store your Tax ID locally once you close the tab, so searching from a cybercafe or a colleague's phone is not a privacy risk in the way a saved password would be. Still, note the number down somewhere of your own rather than relying on browser history to find the page again.
What to do if your details don't match
Double-check for typos first. A hyphen, an extra space or an old spelling of your name can all break the match.
If the details are correct and the portal still cannot find you, the underlying NIMC or CAC record may need correcting before the Tax ID lookup will work. That is a separate fix, not something the tax portal itself can override.
Give it another attempt after a few hours rather than assuming the record is broken. A newly issued NIN, or a CAC filing completed the same week, can take a little time to reach the Tax ID system.
What to do once you have it
Save the number somewhere you will find it again. A bank, an employer or a tender desk may ask for it without warning.
If a tender or a bank is what sent you looking for your Tax ID in the first place, you may also need a tax clearance certificate soon after. Our guide to requesting one online covers that next step, and the NRS and Rev360 hub has the rest of what changed this year.