Individual taxpayers in Uganda will soon use their National Identification Number (NIN) as their official tax reference, marking one of the biggest changes in the country’s tax administration system, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has confirmed.
The announcement was made on Tuesday as URA officially launched its annual tax return filing season, signalling a long-anticipated transition aimed at streamlining national registration systems and expanding tax compliance.
According to URA, the shift means that citizens will no longer need to hold two separate identification numbers for national and tax purposes, with NIN set to phase out the traditional Tax Identification Number (TIN) for individuals.
“Soon and very soon, your NIN will be your TIN,” URA noted in its communication under the ongoing LearnTaxUg public sensitisation drive.
The overhaul will not only affect individual taxpayers. Businesses formally registered with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) will adopt their business registration numbers as their official tax identifiers, eliminating the need for a separate TIN structure.
URA says the reform aligns with the government’s wider digital transformation ambitions, particularly the move toward integrated public service systems. The authority believes synchronising NIN and tax records will improve efficiency, reduce duplication and widen the national tax base.
Experts say the reform will also help plug loopholes associated with manual identity mismatches and incomplete taxpayer records.
While the development has been largely welcomed, analysts caution that successful adoption will require widespread public sensitisation especially among informal sector workers who previously operated outside the traditional tax registration framework.
Concerns have also been raised about data management, given the scale of national identity integration, with calls for URA and the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) to prioritise data security, accuracy and system reliability during the rollout phase.
Although URA has confirmed the policy direction, details on timelines, migration procedures and required actions by current TIN holders are expected to be shared in upcoming public guidance notices.
Taxpayers are encouraged to ensure that their NIN details are accurate and up to date, as the integrated system will rely on national identity records as the primary source of taxpayer verification.