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Tax Number Formats

Every company have a Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) are vital for businesses across the globe, enabling tax authorities to track taxable activities and ensuring businesses comply with tax regulations.

These unique identifiers come in various formats depending on the country, serving a critical role in identifying businesses for tax reporting. For example, in the U.S., TINs are used for federal tax purposes, while sales tax numbers are issued at the state level. Meanwhile, countries like Argentina and Brazil issue unified tax numbers that serve multiple purposes, including VAT, income tax, and more. Each country’s system varies in format, but all aim to streamline tax compliance and make cross-border business interactions smoother.

In short, understanding the specific TIN format of a country is essential for businesses to ensure proper tax handling and compliance in international transactions.

For further reading on tax number formats across different regions, we suggest you visit Fonoa’s blog on “Tax Number Formats Around the World”:

Here’s an expanded list of tax identification number abbreviations for companies around the world:

America & EU

  • TIN – Tax Identification Number (General)
  • VAT – Value Added Tax Number (EU, Global)
  • EIN – Employer Identification Number (U.S.)
  • NIF – Número de Identificação Fiscal (Portugal, Spain)
  • SIREN – Système d’Identification du Répertoire des Entreprises (France)
  • RCN – Registro de Contribuyentes (Mexico)
  • Steuernummer – Tax Number (Germany)
  • USt-IdNr – Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer (Germany, EU)

Africa

  • KDN – Kenya Revenue Authority Number (Kenya)
  • PIN – Personal Identification Number (Kenya, Uganda)
  • NIF – Numero de Identificação Fiscal (Mozambique, Angola)
  • TIN – Taxpayer Identification Number (used in several African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda)
  • VAT – Value-Added Tax Number (used in many African countries for VAT purposes)
  • NIN – National Identification Number (used in countries like Nigeria for individual and business tax identification)
  • RCC – Revenue Collection Certificate (used in Ghana)
  • NIF – Número de Identificação Fiscal (used in Angola)

Middle East

  • TIN – Tax Identification Number (General for many countries)
  • CRN – Commercial Registration Number (Saudi Arabia, UAE)
  • VAT – Value Added Tax Number (UAE, Saudi Arabia)

Far East

  • TIN – Tax Identification Number (China, Japan)
  • VAT – Value Added Tax Number (Japan, China)
  • RUC – Registro Único de Contribuyente (Peru, but applicable for companies in East Asia)
  • KTC – Korean Tax Code (South Korea)
  • CIN – Corporate Identification Number (India)
  • UIN – Unique Identification Number (India)

South America

  • RUC – Registro Único de Contribuyente (Peru, Ecuador)
  • CNPJ – Cadastro Nacional da Pessoa Jurídica (Brazil)
  • CUIT – Código Único de Identificación Tributaria (Argentina)
  • RFC – Registro Federal de Contribuyentes (Mexico)

Australia

  • ABN – Australian Business Number
  • FN – Tax File Number
  • GST – Goods and Services Tax Number

Different countries often have distinct formats or identifiers for tax purposes. We advise you to hire professional tax accredited company to verify the company existence, their tax number and allowance to preform businesses. In case things are not right or deficient or lacking info, bank will hold to your funds and stop the process. That can be costly and time consuming.

Read more also on:
https://www.fonoa.com/
https://remote.com/blog/foreign-tax-id