Cuba TIN number guide
Carné de Identidad
Cuba's tax identifiers are listed in the worldwide directory of VAT and tax ID names. The CI comprises 11 digits with specific significance:
The initial six digits, read from left to right, encode the citizen's year, month, and day of birth, where the first two digits represent the year. The seventh digit indicates the century of birth: 9 for the 19th century, 0-5 for the 20th century, and 6-8 for the 21st century. Digits 8 and 9 create two-digit numbers from 00 to 99 to prevent duplicates. The eighth digit signifies gender, with even numbers for males and odd numbers for females. Lastly, the eleventh digit acts as a check digit, computed using a specific algorithm, resulting in a digit between 0 and 9.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do MIPYMEs (small and medium enterprises) obtain a NIT from ONAT — and do they still get a tax-free grace period on startup?
MIPYMEs do not register directly at an ONAT office. Instead, registration flows automatically through the Ministry of Economy and Planning's Economic Actors Platform (PAE): ONAT receives the digital file from PAE and completes taxpayer registration within ten business days, issuing the NIT certificate. Critically, Resolutions 306 and 307 of 2023 from the Ministry of Finance and Prices eliminated the six-month to one-year tax exemption that MIPYMEs previously enjoyed during their incorporation phase — all taxes apply from day one of authorised operation. [1] [2]
What is the Declaración Jurada deadline, and what happens if a self-employed worker (TCP) misses it?
The annual sworn-declaration campaign (Declaración Jurada) runs from January 5 to April 30 each year for natural persons, including TCP workers, MIPYME partners, artists, and usufructuary landowners — even if no profit was earned during the fiscal year. Filing and paying by February 28 earns a 5% bonus on the amount owed; digital payment adds a further 3% discount. Missing the April 30 deadline triggers fines under Ley 113 of the Tax System ranging from 50 to 5,000 pesos, plus surcharges on unpaid principal. Repeated or intentional non-filing can escalate to license withdrawal, business closure, asset embargo, or a criminal complaint for tax evasion carrying one to three years' imprisonment. [3] [4]
Joint ventures with Cuban state entities pay 15% corporate tax — but does the 4% services withholding still apply when paying foreign suppliers?
Joint ventures and International Economic Associations (EACs) authorised under Law 118 (Foreign Investment Act, 2014) benefit from a reduced 15% corporate income tax rate on net taxable profit, compared to 35% for wholly foreign-owned companies, plus an eight-year exemption from the date of authorisation. However, when a joint venture contracts to purchase services or products from abroad, it must withhold 4% of the contract price and remit it to ONAT before the payment is transferred. This withholding is separate from the corporate tax preference and catches many foreign counterparties off-guard when their invoice is short-paid. The joint venture's NIT is required on all withholding remittances. [5] [6]
Can Cuban TCP workers and MIPYMEs file and pay taxes digitally, or is an in-person ONAT visit still required?
Initial NIT registration for TCP (self-employed workers) must be completed in person at the ONAT office for the municipality shown on the Carné de Identidad, within 15 calendar days of receiving the activity licence; MIPYMEs register digitally via the PAE platform without visiting ONAT. Once registered, all subsequent obligations — filing the Declaración Jurada, viewing the Fiscal Vector (the personalised schedule of payment obligations), checking suspended months, and making tax payments — can be handled online at the ONAT portal or via Transfermovil (Cuba's mobile payment app), which applies a 3% discount. Since Resolution 8 of 2024, electronic signature is mandatory for submitting the Declaración Jurada model online at djutilidades.onat.gob.cu. [7] [8]
Does US sanctions exposure (OFAC) create a compliance conflict when a foreign company holds a Cuban NIT and must route tax payments through Cuban state banks?
Yes — this is a documented cross-border conflict. Cuba requires all businesses, including foreign-capital entities, to hold a fiscal bank account with a Cuban state bank and to route tax payments to ONAT through that account. Because Cuban state banks fall under US OFAC jurisdiction, US-nexus companies (or those using US correspondent banks) face a direct conflict: complying with ONAT's payment requirement may constitute a prohibited transaction under the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (31 CFR Part 515). Non-US companies using dollar-clearing corridors through US correspondent banks face the same risk of automatic transaction blocking. Entities in this position typically require a specific OFAC licence before making any payment that transits the Cuban financial system. [9] [10]
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