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Tax IDs and Teachable

When and how to use tax IDs

Updated over a week ago

It is important for creators to provide their Tax IDs for various reasons:

  • To ensure proper tax calculation

  • To provide accurate receipts to your students when you are considered the supplier of the content (domestic sales and transactions over Custom Payment Gateways)

It is important for students to provide their tax ID at checkout so that we can ensure proper tax calculation. Depending on the country specific tax law, purchasers with a valid tax ID may not be charged tax at checkout. Creators may want to consider putting a note on sales pages to remind students with Tax IDs to enter it at the time of purchase.

Tax ID Formats

Tax ID formats vary from country to country. Creators and students should provide the tax ID of the country in which their business resides. For example, if your business is based in Australia, you should provide your Australian ABN number.

Below is the list of Tax ID formats per country:

NOTE: United States tax IDs/Social Security Numbers are not being utilized at this time for sales tax purposes. Please contact Support for assistance with tax exemptions as a creator or as a student.

Country

Number of Characters

Type of Tax ID

Format Notes

Official Website

United States

9

Social Security Number (SSN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN)

SSN: 9 digits (e.g. NNN-NN-NNNN); ITIN begins with '9' (9NN‑NN‑NNNN)

IRS

Canada

9

Social Insurance Number (SIN)

9 digits, typically formatted XXX‑XXX‑XXX

Canada Revenue Agency

Quebec

9

Numéro d'assurance sociale (NAS) or Identification Number (NIR)

Same format as SIN

Revenu Québec

Saskatchewan

9

Tax Identification Number (TIN)

Follows general Canadian SIN format

Government of Saskatchewan

United Kingdom

10

Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)

10-digit numeric (can accept 13-digit/with k)

HM Revenue & Customs

Australia

9

Tax File Number (TFN)

9 numeric digits; valid TFNs used for individuals

Australian Taxation Office

Germany

11

Steueridentifikationsnummer (Tax ID)

11 digits, cannot start with 0

Federal Central Tax Office

France

13

Numéro d'Immatriculation au Répertoire SIRENE (SIRET)

9-digit SIREN + 4-digit NIC

Impôts.gouv.fr

Italy

16

Codice Fiscale (Tax Code)

16 alphanumeric (6 letters, 2 digits, letter, digits, etc.)

Agenzia delle Entrate

India

10

Permanent Account Number (PAN)

5 letters + 4 digits + letter (e.g. ABCDE1234F)

Income Tax Department

Kenya

9

Personal Identification Number (PIN)

Alphanumeric (starts with letter A, ends with letter)

Kenya Revenue Authority

Malaysia

12

Income Tax Number (Nombor Cukai Pendapatan)

12 alphanumeric

Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia

Mexico

13

Registro Federal de Contribuyentes (RFC)

3–4 letters + 6 digits (YYYYMMDD) + 3 alphanumeric

Servicio de Administración Tributaria

Moldova

13

Identification Number of the Person (IDNP)

13 numeric digits

State Tax Service of Moldova

Chile

9

Rol Unico Tributario (RUT)

7–8 digits + d.v. digit/K (e.g., 12 345 678‑K)

Servicio de Impuestos Internos

Iceland

10

Kennitala (National ID number)

10 digits (DDMMYYXXXX)

Ríkisskattstjóri

New Zealand

8-9

Inland Revenue Number (IRN)

8 or 9 digits

Inland Revenue

Norway

11

Fødselsnummer (National ID number)

11 numeric digits (DDMMYY####X)

Skatteetaten

Russia

12

Идентификационный номер налогоплательщика (INN)

12 digits

Federal Tax Service of Russia

Ukraine

10

Ідентифікаційний код (Tax Identification Number)

10 digits

State Tax Service of Ukraine

Saudi Arabia

10

National ID Number

10 digits

Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority

Singapore

9

Tax Reference Number (TRN)

1 letter + 7 digits + letter (e.g. S1234567A)

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore

South Korea

13

Resident Registration Number (RRN)

YYMMDD‑XXXXXXX

National Tax Service

Taiwan

10

National Tax ID Number (統一編號)

8 digits

National Taxation Bureau of the Ministry of Finance

Thailand

13

Tax Identification Number (TIN)

13 digits

Royal Thai Revenue Department

Japan

13

個人番号 (My Number) or 税務署番号 (Tax ID)

12 digits

National Tax Agency

Netherlands

9

BSN (Burgerservicenummer)

9 digits - strictly numeric

Citizen service number (BSN)

Ireland

10

PPSN (Personal Public Service No.)

7 digits, 1 or 2 letters.

Personal Public Service Number (PPSN)

Belgium

11

Rijksregisternummer

DDMMYY‑XXX‑XX

Rijksregister

Spain

9

NIE (Foreign ID) - NIF (Spanish nationals) — CIF for companies

letter + 7 digits + letter

NIF Natural person

Sweden

10-12

Personnummer

format YYYYMMDD‑XXXX

Personal identity numbers

Brazil

11-14

CPF / CNPJ

CPF (11 digits, dashes) and CNPJ (14 digits, punctuation)

CPF, CNPJ and Other Records

Romania

13

CNP (Cod Numeric Personal)

13 digits: gender + YYMMDD + county + serial + check digit

Romanian Personal Numerical Code (CNP)

Poland

10

NIP (Numer Identyfikacji Podatkowej)

10 digits (domestic); in EU use: 'PL' + 10 digits

Your e-PIT/E-Tax Office

Portugal

9

NIF (Número de Identificação Fiscal)

9 digits (1‑ or 2‑digit region + sequence + check)

Applying for a taxpayer identification number (NIF) for a natural person

Argentina

11

CUIT

(11‑digit; XX‑XXXXXXXX‑X)

ARCA

Colombia

9-10

NIT via RUT

10 digits total (9 base + 1 check digit); Numeric only; may appear with separators (- or .)

DIAN

Bolivia

7-10

NIT (numeric, VAT-used)

7–10 digits, numeric only, variable length

Impuestos nacionales

Czech Republic

9-10

DIČ / rodné číslo

YYMMDDXXXX

Official Information Portal for Foreigners of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic

Austria

8-9

Abgabenkontonummer & UID/VAT-ID

Abgabenkontonummer: 9 digits, pure numeric / UID (VAT): 8 digits (after ATU), 11 chars total

Federal Ministry of Finance

Steps to add the Tax ID as a Creator:

  1. Log into your Teachable account.

  2. For each of your schools, go to the Settings > Taxes page, where you will see a field to submit your Tax ID.

  3. Enter and save your Tax ID.

admin_settings_taxes_vat.png

Steps to add the Tax ID as a Student:

Students making purchases with a valid tax ID can enter their tax ID in the Billing Address section of the checkout page.

If purchasing the product as a business, students can click the Are you a business? Enter your Tax ID (if applicable) link. This will reveal a field for Business name and Tax ID number. (Note that purchasers must first fill out their billing address in order to enter in their Tax ID number.) Entering in a valid Tax ID number will remove the tax charge, if any, from the total.

business_name_tax_id_gif.gif

FAQs

Why is my Tax ID needed? (By country)

Australia

GST or Goods and Services Tax applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in Australia. Those who are registered in Australia shall enter in their ABN ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. An ABN, or Australian Business Number, is a unique 11-digit number that identifies a customer that conducts business in Australia to the government and community. Please note that the ABN is different from an ARN which is a 12-digit unique identifier that indicates the non-resident business is registered for Australian GST under a “simplified GST registration”.

Canada

GST/HST or Goods and Services Tax generally applies to all taxable supplies made in Canada. Those who are registered in Canada for GST/HST shall enter in their GST/HST ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. A GST/HST account number is a unique 9-digit number activated by the Canada Revenue Agency that identifies a person as registrant for GST/HST purposes in Canada. The GST account number generally appears on invoices issued by the supplier.

Quebec, Canada

QST or Quebec Sales Tax applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in Quebec. Those who are registered in Quebec for QST shall enter in their QST ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. A QST account number is a unique 10-digit number issued by Revenue Quebec that identifies a person as a registrant for QST purposes in Quebec. Similar to a GST account number, the QST account number of the supplier should appear on invoices issued when QST is charged to allow the customer to recover the QST they paid.

Saskatchewan, Canada

PST or Provincial Sales Tax applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in Provinces within Canada such as Saskatchewan. Those who are registered in Saskatchewan shall enter in their PST-SK ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. A PST-SK account number is a unique 7-digit number issued by Saskatchewan Finance that identifies a person as a registrant for PST purposes in Saskatchewan.

Chile

VAT or Value Added Taxes applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in Chile. Those who are registered in Chile shall enter in their VAT ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. A TAX ID Number is a unique 9-digit number XX.XXX.XXX-X) that identifies a person or entity as being registered for VAT and other tax purposes in Chile.

Iceland

VAT or Value Added Taxes applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in Iceland. Those who are registered in Iceland shall enter in their VAT ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. A TAX ID Number is a unique 5-digit number that identifies a person or entity as being registered for VAT and other tax purposes in Iceland.

India

GST or Goods and Services Tax applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in India. Those who are registered in India shall enter in their GSTIN ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. A Goods and Service Tax Identification number (referred to as ‘GSTIN’) is a unique 15-digit PAN based identification number that identifies a person/entity as being registered for GST in India.

Kenya

VAT or Value Added Taxes applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in Kenya. Those who are registered in Kenya shall enter in their PIN at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. A Personal Identification Number (PIN) is a universal tax registration number in Kenya. It is an alphanumeric number consisting of 11 characters, the first and last of which are letters whilst the middle characters are digits. The PIN for an individual is identified where the first character is A, for example “A000123456F”, whereas the PIN for corporate business entities starts with the letter P for example "P123456789X”. Both individuals and corporations may be registered for VAT in Kenya.

Malaysia

Service Tax on Digital Services or Digital Service Tax (“SST/DST”) is a consumption tax charged and levied on the provision of digital services by a foreign registered person ("FRP") to any consumers in Malaysia. Those who are registered in Malaysia shall enter in their SST ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. Each SST registered person is issued with a unique identification number starting with a letter followed by 14 digits (e.g. X99-9999-99999999).

Mexico

VAT or Value Added Taxes applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in Mexico. Those who are registered in Mexico shall enter in their RFC ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. RFC stands for Registro Federal de Contribuyentes, and the clave RFC (RFC number) is a Mexican tax identification number. It’s issued by the Mexican Tax Administration Service (Servicio de Administración Tributaria). RFCs are 13 digits for individuals, 12 for companies, and they’re made up of letters and numbers. The first 4 digits for individuals, or 3 for companies, are taken from the name, then there are six numbers denoting the date of birth or when the business was founded, and the end digits are check digits.

Moldova

VAT or Value Added Taxes applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in the Republic of Moldova. Those who are registered in the Republic of Moldova shall enter in their VAT ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. Tax identification numbers can be verified with the Principal State Fiscal Inspectorate, and will be made up of 7 digits.

New Zealand

GST or Goods and Services Tax applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in New Zealand. Those who are registered in New Zealand shall enter their NZBN ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. New Zealand businesses should enter their NZBN ID, a unique 13 digit identifier.

Norway

VAT or Value Added Taxes applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in Norway. Those who are registered in Norway shall enter in their VAT ID, also known as MVA, at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. An MVA is an alphanumeric number consisting of 12 characters, the first nine are digits whilst the last three are characters (XXX XXX XXX MVA). The MVA identifies a person or entity as being registered for VAT and other tax purposes in Norway.

Russia

VAT or Value Added Taxes applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in Russia. Those who are registered in Russia shall enter in their INN (NHH) at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. The VAT number INN (ИНН) is used for all tax purposes in Russia. INN (ИНН) for individuals is 12-digits and INN (ИНН) for business is 10-digits.

Saudi Arabia

VAT or Value Added Taxes applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in Saudi Arabia. Those who are registered in Saudi Arabia shall enter in their TRN ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. A VAT (Tax Registration Number - “TRN”) number is a unique numeric 15-digit number that identifies a person/entity as being registered for VAT purposes in the KSA.

Singapore

GST or Goods and Services Tax applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in Singapore. Those who are registered in Singapore shall enter GST ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. A GST number is a 10-digit unique identifier assigned to a business or person registered under the GST Act in Singapore.

South Korea

VAT or Value Added Taxes applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in South Korea. Those who are registered in South Korea shall enter in their VAT ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. A TAX ID is a 12-digit (000-00-00000) unique identifier assigned to a person registered in South Korea.

Taiwan

VAT or Value Added Taxes applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in Taiwan. Those who are registered in Taiwan shall enter in their UBN ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. A UBN (Unified Business Number) is an 8-digit unique identifier assigned to a person registered in Taiwan.

Thailand

VAT or Value Added Taxes applies to most goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in Thailand. Those who are registered in Thailand shall enter in their VAT ID at either checkout if you are a Student or if you are a Creator, you may enter it in your Admin settings. A TAX ID is an 13-digit unique identifier assigned to a person registered in Thailand.

What happens if my tax ID will not save or does not work?

Depending on your country-specific tax laws, If your business is registered and you have a valid tax ID issued in your country of residence, then Teachable may not charge you tax. If your Tax ID is being rejected by the system, please go through the following checklist:

  • Make sure you are typing the tax ID in the correct format, as mentioned above.

  • Check that your tax ID is valid by contacting your tax authorities

If you still have trouble verifying your tax ID, please reach out to Support with your tax ID number and country of registration.

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