Uganda’s Cabinet has approved the phasing out of separate Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) for individual taxpayers, paving the way for the use of National Identification Numbers (NINs) as the primary tax identifier.
The decision was announced on Tuesday, September 1st, 2026, by the ICT and National Guidance Minister, Justine Kasule Lumumba while briefing the public on resolutions from Monday’s Cabinet meeting.
“Cabinet approved the use of the National Identification Number (NIN) issued by NIRA as the Tax Identification Number (TIN) going forward,” Lumumba said.
Under the new system, an individual’s NIN, issued by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), will serve as their TIN, eliminating the need for individuals to obtain a separate TIN from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
Lumumba said Uganda’s separate TIN registration system had served the country for years but was increasingly affected by weaknesses associated with manual and fragmented registration processes.
“For years our tax registration system has relied on separate, largely manual TIN-based processes. It has served its purpose but it has also left us with outdated and inconsistent records, and that created real weaknesses in data accuracy, compliance and service delivery,” she said.
She added that adopting the NIN as the TIN would create a single and consistent identity for individual taxpayers, making it easier for government agencies to verify and trace taxpayers.
“By adopting the NIN as the TIN, we are establishing one consistent identity for every taxpayer,” Lumumba said.
Government expects the integration to strengthen information sharing between agencies, improve the accuracy of the taxpayer register, reduce revenue leakages and make it easier for citizens to access tax-related services.
The reform builds on efforts already underway to integrate national identification and tax records.
In May 2026, URA issued a public notice asking taxpayers to update their registration details and link existing tax records to their NINs to Business Registration Numbers (BRNs).
The changes are part of broader reforms under amendments to the Tax Procedures Code Act. Under the integrated identification framework, NINs will be used to identify individual taxpayers, while registered companies and other entities will continue to use their BRNs.
