What Is a Tax Card Number in Egypt and How Do You Get One?

If you're starting a business in Egypt, freelancing, or registering any commercial activity, you'll need a tax card number before you can legally invoice, open a corporate bank account, or deal with the authorities. Here's what it actually is and how to get yours.

Quick answer

A tax card number (رقم البطاقة الضريبية) is the unique identifier the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA) assigns to every registered taxpayer — individuals, sole proprietors, and companies. You get it by registering with the ETA (مصلحة الضرائب المصرية), either at your local tax office or through the e-registration portal on eta.gov.eg. For companies, registration is required within 30 days of starting activity under the Unified Tax Procedures Law No. 206 of 2020. The card itself is now largely digital, tied to your National ID or commercial register number.

Who needs a tax card number?

Anyone generating taxable income in Egypt. That includes companies registered with the General Authority for Investment (GAFI), sole proprietors with a commercial register, professionals (lawyers, doctors, engineers, consultants), and — since the expansion of the VAT regime — most freelancers whose turnover crosses the EGP 500,000 VAT threshold.

Even if you're below the VAT threshold, if you have a commercial register (السجل التجاري), you need a tax card. The two go together. Banks won't open a business account without the tax card number. Clients who are themselves registered taxpayers won't pay your invoices without it, because they can't deduct the expense.

Honestly, if you're operating in the grey market and wondering whether to bother — the e-invoicing system (الفاتورة الإلكترونية) now in force makes it nearly impossible to stay invisible if your clients are companies.

How to register and get the number

Two routes. The traditional one is in person at the tax office (المأمورية) covering your registered address. You bring:

• National ID (or passport + residence for foreigners)
• Commercial register extract (for businesses)
• Lease contract or ownership deed for the premises, properly registered
• Form 1 individuals (نموذج 1 أفراد) or Form 1 companies, depending
• For companies: articles of association and GAFI certificate

The second route is the ETA e-registration portal. You create an account on eta.gov.eg, submit scans of the same documents, and the office processes it electronically. Processing is typically 3-10 working days once the file is complete, though in practice it varies office by office.

Watch out: Your tax card number is tied to the activity and address you register. Change your office, open a branch, or add a new activity, and you must update the file within 30 days under Law 206/2020. Fines for late notification start at EGP 3,000 and climb fast.

The card you receive lists your name, tax ID (the number itself — usually 9 digits), the tax office you belong to, your registered activity, and the issue date.

What the tax card number is used for

Everything tax-related, plus a lot that isn't strictly tax. You'll need it on every invoice you issue — the Income Tax Law No. 91 of 2005 and the VAT Law No. 67 of 2016 both require the seller's tax number on tax invoices. You'll need it to:

• Register on the e-invoicing portal (mandatory for B2B since 2023)
• File income tax returns (annual) and VAT returns (monthly or quarterly)
• Deal with customs if you import or export
• Participate in government tenders
• Open or operate a corporate bank account
• Hire employees and register them for payroll withholding

Lose the physical card? You can request a replacement at your tax office. The number itself doesn't change — it stays with the taxpayer for the life of the registration.

When things go wrong

The common headaches: a lease that isn't properly registered (المأمورية will reject it), an activity on your commercial register that doesn't match what you declared, or a prior registration you forgot about from a previous business. That last one catches people — if you registered as a sole proprietor years ago and never deregistered, the system flags you and you can't start fresh until the old file is closed.

If your registration is refused, you get a written reason. You can appeal through the internal tax committees or, ultimately, before the tax court. Most refusals, though, are documentation problems. Fix the paper, resubmit.

One more thing worth saying plainly: the tax card number is not optional once you cross the thresholds. Operating without one when you're required to have one exposes you to back-taxes, estimated assessments (which are almost always higher than reality), and penalties under Articles 133-135 of the Income Tax Law. Get it sorted early.

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