What Is a TIN Number in Malaysia and How Do I Find Mine?
Your Tax Identification Number identifies you to LHDN and appears on every e-Invoice. Find yours, read what the prefix means, and apply the two formatting rules that cause most TIN rejections.
Updated on 8 min read
Quick answer
A TIN is the number LHDN uses to identify you as a taxpayer. It is a letter prefix followed by digits, and it appears on every e-Invoice for both the supplier and the buyer. Three things settle most TIN problems:
- Get the real number from MyTax. Do not rebuild it from memory or reuse a buyer TIN recorded years ago.
- Use the current prefix. Individuals now use IG. The older OG and SG prefixes are no longer the ones to submit.
- Apply the zero rules. A non-individual TIN drops leading zeros after the prefix and always ends in a zero.
Those last two rules come straight from LHDN's own MyInvois guidance and cause a large share of rejected submissions.
Key terms
- TIN
- Tax Identification Number, also called Nombor Pengenalan Cukai. It identifies a taxpayer to LHDN and is made up of a letter prefix followed by digits.
- LHDN / HASiL
- Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri, the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia. It issues TINs and runs the MyInvois e-Invoice system.
- MyTax
- LHDN's online tax portal. It is the normal place to look up your own TIN, through e-Daftar or your profile information.
- NRIC
- Your MyKad identity card number. It is not a TIN, though people often confuse the two when filling in invoice details.
- BRN
- Business Registration Number from SSM. An e-Invoice carries this alongside the TIN, but they are separate identifiers.
Where to find your TIN
LHDN lists several channels for retrieving your own TIN. Start at the top and work down.
- 1
Check the MyTax portal
Log in to MyTax and look under e-Daftar or your profile information. This is the channel LHDN names first, and it shows the TIN exactly as LHDN holds it.
- 2
Look at past tax documents
Your TIN appears on income tax return forms, assessment notices, and correspondence from LHDN. For a company it is usually on file with whoever prepares your tax return.
- 3
Ask your tax agent or company secretary
If someone files on your behalf, they will already hold the TIN and any related file numbers for your entity.
- 4
Contact the HASiL Contact Centre
If none of the above works, LHDN's contact centre can retrieve it. You will need identifying details such as your NRIC or business registration number.
You can reach the portal at mytax.hasil.gov.my.
What the prefix means
The letters at the start of a TIN say what kind of taxpayer it belongs to. These are the prefixes LHDN lists for e-Invoice use.
| Prefix | Taxpayer type |
|---|---|
| IG | IndividualReplaced the older OG and SG prefixes |
| C | Company |
| CS | Cooperative society |
| D | Partnership |
| F | Association |
| FA | Non-resident public entertainer |
| PT | Limited liability partnership |
| TA | Trust body |
| TC | Unit trust or property trust |
| TN | Business trust |
| TR | Real estate investment trust or property trust fund |
| TP | Deceased person's estate |
| J | Hindu joint family |
| LE | Labuan entity |
An individual TIN is at most 14 characters including the prefix, and the digits that follow are the ones LHDN already holds for you. Do not pad or trim them to reach a particular length.
Two formatting rules for non-individual TINs
These two rules are stated by LHDN in its MyInvois guidance and are the ones most often missed, because the TIN can look perfectly reasonable and still fail.
Drop leading zeros
If your TIN has zeros sitting immediately after the prefix, remove them before submitting.
C00123456700 C123456700
End with a zero
LHDN states a non-individual TIN always ends in zero. Add the trailing zero if yours does not have one.
C12345678 C123456780
Both rules apply to the non-individual prefixes in the table above. They do not apply to an individual IG number, where the digits stay exactly as LHDN issued them.
General TIN codes when there is no real TIN
Sometimes there is genuinely no TIN to use, such as a walk-in customer or an overseas buyer. LHDN publishes four general codes for those cases.
| Code | Use for | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| EI00000000010 | General public | A Malaysian individual buyer who does not need their own e-Invoice, and consolidated e-Invoices covering many individual buyers. |
| EI00000000020 | Foreign buyer | A buyer outside Malaysia, such as a tourist or an overseas customer, with no Malaysian TIN. |
| EI00000000030 | Foreign supplier | A supplier outside Malaysia, typically on a self-billed e-Invoice for imported goods or services. |
| EI00000000040 | Government or public sector buyer | Government agencies, statutory bodies, and exempt institutions without a designated TIN. |
Treat these as a fallback, not a shortcut. If a buyer can give you a real TIN, use it, and keep a note of why a general code was used where one was needed.
Why TINs get rejected
A wrong or outdated TIN is one of the most common reasons an e-Invoice fails validation. These are the usual causes and what to do about each.
| Cause | What to do |
|---|---|
| Using an old OG or SG prefix | Swap the prefix for IG and leave the digits unchanged. SG123456789 becomes IG123456789. |
| Leading zeros left in a non-individual TIN | Remove any zeros that sit immediately after the prefix before submitting. |
| A non-individual TIN that does not end in zero | LHDN states that a non-individual TIN always ends in zero. Add the trailing zero if yours is missing one. |
| An NRIC entered instead of a TIN | An NRIC identifies a person, not a tax file. Look up the actual TIN, which begins with a letter prefix. |
| A buyer TIN that was correct last year | Buyer details change. Confirm the TIN with the buyer rather than reusing one stored years ago. |
| Copy-paste spaces or dashes | Submit the prefix and digits with nothing between them, and no trailing space. |
TIN checklist
- I retrieved my TIN from MyTax rather than reconstructing it from memory.
- I checked the prefix matches my entity type, not someone else's.
- I replaced any old OG or SG prefix with IG.
- I removed leading zeros sitting straight after the prefix on a non-individual TIN.
- I confirmed a non-individual TIN ends in zero.
- I used a general TIN code only where no real TIN could be obtained.
- I asked the buyer to confirm their TIN instead of reusing an old record.
- I verified the TIN through MyTax or LHDN where anything looked unclear.
This guide explains how a TIN is structured and where to find it. It cannot confirm that a particular TIN exists or is active. Verify through MyTax, or with LHDN or a qualified tax adviser, before relying on one.
Working on an e-Invoice?
Check whether the mandate applies to you, then look up the MSIC and classification codes your invoice needs.
Sources
This guide is based on the official pages below, last checked on 19 August 2026. Where they disagree with anything written here, they are the authority.
- MyInvois SDK: frequently asked questions
The IG prefix replacing OG and SG, the 14-character limit, and the leading and trailing zero rules for non-individual TINs.
- MyTax portal
Where to retrieve your own TIN through e-Daftar or your profile information.
- Validate Taxpayer's TIN API
Why a TIN cannot be checked from a public website: validation requires credentials tied to a registered taxpayer.
- LHDN e-Invoice
General e-Invoice guidance, including where a TIN is used on a submission.
How this content is put together is set out in our editorial policy.
Malaysia TIN Number FAQs
What is a TIN number in Malaysia?
A TIN, or Tax Identification Number, is the reference LHDN uses to identify a taxpayer. It is written as a letter prefix followed by digits, such as IG for an individual or C for a company. It is also called Nombor Pengenalan Cukai.
Is my TIN the same as my NRIC or my SSM number?
No. Your NRIC identifies you as a person and your SSM business registration number identifies the business entity. A TIN is a separate tax reference issued by LHDN. An e-Invoice asks for the TIN and the business registration number as two different fields.
How do I find my TIN?
The usual route is the MyTax portal, through e-Daftar or your profile information. Your TIN also appears on past tax returns and LHDN correspondence, and your tax agent will hold it. If none of those work, the HASiL Contact Centre can retrieve it.
My TIN starts with SG or OG. Is it still valid?
The numeric part stays the same, but the prefix changed. LHDN states that the individual prefix is now IG, replacing OG and SG, and gives the example that SG123456789 should be entered as IG123456789. Submitting the old prefix is a common cause of rejection.
Why does my non-individual TIN need to end in zero?
LHDN states that a non-individual TIN always ends with a zero, and that you should add one if yours does not appear to. The same guidance says to remove any leading zeros that sit immediately after the prefix. Both rules exist so the TIN matches the format LHDN validates against.
What TIN do I use when my customer will not give me one?
LHDN publishes general TIN codes for exactly this. EI00000000010 covers the general public, EI00000000020 a foreign buyer, EI00000000030 a foreign supplier, and EI00000000040 a government or public sector buyer. Use them only when a real TIN genuinely cannot be obtained, and keep a record of why.
Can I check whether someone else's TIN is real?
Not from a public website. LHDN provides a Validate Taxpayer's TIN API, but it requires credentials tied to a registered taxpayer or intermediary, and the MyTax TIN search requires a login. In practice you confirm a buyer's TIN by asking the buyer, and your accounting software validates it at submission.
Do I need a TIN if my business is exempt from e-Invoice?
Being outside the e-Invoice mandate does not remove your normal tax obligations, and you will still have a TIN if you are registered with LHDN. You may also need to give your TIN to a customer who is in scope and is issuing a self-billed e-Invoice.