If you are an individual with a Ghana Card, you already have a
TIN: since 1 April 2021 the Ghana Card’s personal identification number
- the one that starts GHA- - is your Taxpayer Identification Number. You do
not apply for anything. Getting a TIN is free; anyone charging you for one
is charging you for nothing.
| Who | TIN | How |
|---|---|---|
| A Ghanaian with a Ghana Card | The Ghana Card PIN | Nothing to do; check it is active |
| A Ghanaian with an old TIN too | The Ghana Card PIN | Link the old TIN to it |
| A foreigner living in Ghana | The non-citizen Ghana Card PIN | Get the card from the NIA |
| A company, partnership or NGO | A TIN issued by GRA | Given at business registration |
| A non-resident foreigner | A TIN issued by GRA | Apply to GRA |
If you have a Ghana Card
Give your Ghana Card number wherever a form asks for a TIN: a bank, a land registry, a tender, the Registrar of Companies, a customs declaration.
Check it is active with GRA’s TIN checker (https://gra.gov.gh/online-tools/verify-tin/) before you need it in a hurry. If it does not come up, take your Ghana Card to any GRA Taxpayer Service Centre.
If you had a TIN before 2021
An old TIN (the kind beginning P00) has to be linked to your Ghana
Card PIN, or your tax records sit under a number nobody uses any more. GRA
says you cannot carry out a tax transaction without the Ghana Card PIN.
Link it on GRA’s self-service portal (https://myid.gra.gov.gh/) or at a GRA office. If you somehow had two old TINs, each has to be linked.
A business
A company, partnership, NGO or other organisation still gets a TIN of its own from GRA. You get it while registering the business: GRA’s TIN centre sits with the Registrar of Companies, so directors, shareholders and the organisation are all registered in the same visit. Each director needs a Ghana Card PIN.
A sole proprietor trades on their own Ghana Card PIN.
A foreigner
- Living in Ghana - working, studying or retired here - you need the non-citizen Ghana Card from the NIA. Its PIN is your TIN, as for a Ghanaian. GRA says expatriates need it to complete tax transactions.
- Not living in Ghana, and not able to get a Ghana Card, GRA still issues TINs on application. If you are selling digital services into Ghana from abroad, GRA has a separate non-resident registration at https://digireg.gra.gov.gh.
— The Ghana Card, for citizens and foreigners
What the TIN does not do
Having a TIN does not mean you owe tax, and it does not register you for VAT. Employees pay income tax through PAYE, deducted by the employer; a business registers for VAT separately once its turnover passes the threshold.