NPWP for foreigners: when you need one and how to get it
NPWP is Indonesia's tax number. A KITAS alone does not require one. The duty appears once you are a tax resident and either start a business or earn above the tax-free threshold of IDR 54,000,000 a year. Since 2025 registration runs only through Coretax, and the law asks a foreigner for just three things: a passport copy and two photographs.
Updated: 29 September 2026 · Verified by the Malina Visa team
Residency first, number second
The usual confusion here is treating the tax number as something attached to your visa. It is not. First you work out whether you are an Indonesian tax resident; only then does the question of registering arise.
The residency tests sit in the income tax law and were clarified by tax office regulation PER-23/PJ/2025, in force since 9 December 2025. Meeting any one of the three is enough:
- ✓You have a place to live in Indonesia that you can use at any time
- ✓You spent more than 183 days in the country within any rolling 12 months — not a calendar year. Part of a day counts as a full day
- ✓You are in the country with the intention of residing here
Who must register and who need not
The registration duty is set out in regulation PER-7/PJ/2025. For an individual it arises in two situations, and both need more than residency — they need income or activity.
| Situation | Deadline to register |
|---|---|
| You start a business or independent profession | Within 1 month of starting |
| No business, but your income passed the tax-free threshold | By the end of the month following the month your cumulative income for the year reached the threshold |
The tax-free threshold (PTKP) for a single person is IDR 54,000,000 a year, or IDR 4,500,000 a month. If you are a tax resident but have no Indonesian income and stay under the threshold, the law creates no formal duty to register.
One caveat: if you were required to register and did not, the head of the tax office may issue an NPWP ex officio after an administrative review.
What the law actually asks for
It is worth separating the written rule from counter practice. For a foreigner without an Indonesian identity number, PER-7/PJ/2025 requires exactly three attachments:
- ✓A copy of your passport
- ✓A colour photograph of you
- ✓A colour photograph of you holding your passport
Registering in Coretax
The old e-Registration service is closed. Since 1 January 2025 everything runs through the tax office's new system, Coretax, at coretaxdjp.pajak.go.id. The rules say plainly that filing is electronic, and that visiting an office in person is allowed only when electronic filing is impossible.
Go to coretaxdjp.pajak.go.id and choose new taxpayer registration.
Pick individual, then the option for applicants with no NIK — the Indonesian identity number most foreigners do not have.
Your passport number serves as your identity document. Attach the passport copy and the two photographs.
The tax office reviews the application, after which you can download the electronic NPWP from your account.
You register with the office covering where you live. Where several addresses exist, the law looks in order at your permanent home, then the centre of your personal and economic interests, then where you spent the longest part of last year.
Why a foreigner gets a 16-digit number
Since 2024 Indonesians use their NIK as their tax number. A foreigner has no NIK, so the system issues a separate 16-digit NPWP instead.
Worth knowing for later: if you do obtain a NIK — for instance together with an SKTT, the temporary residence certificate — you are required to file a data change, and the 16-digit number is replaced by your NIK acting as the tax number. We covered SKTT and related paperwork separately.
The cost of not having one
The main consequence is a higher withholding rate. The figures are exact and come straight from the income tax law.
| Tax | How much higher without a number | Example |
|---|---|---|
| PPh 21 — on salary | 20% above the normal rate | 5% becomes 6%, 15% becomes 18% |
| PPh 23 — on services and royalties | Double | 2% becomes 4%, 15% becomes 30% |
Note that the 20% is a surcharge on the rate itself, not 20 percentage points. On a salary of IDR 8,000,000 a month the difference works out at roughly IDR 372,000 a year. Annoying rather than ruinous — worth calculating, not worth panicking over.
The tax administration law does contain a criminal provision for deliberately failing to register: six months to six years, plus a fine of two to four times the unpaid tax. That is the ceiling written into the statute, not the normal outcome for someone who simply did not know the rules.
Rates and deadlines worth knowing
Personal income tax is progressive, charged on income after the tax-free allowance.
| Annual taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|
| up to IDR 60,000,000 | 5% |
| IDR 60,000,000 – 250,000,000 | 15% |
| IDR 250,000,000 – 500,000,000 | 25% |
| IDR 500,000,000 – 5,000,000,000 | 30% |
| above IDR 5,000,000,000 | 35% |
The allowance stacks: IDR 54,000,000 for yourself, plus IDR 4,500,000 for married status, plus IDR 4,500,000 for each dependant up to three. The annual return is due by 31 March of the following year.
Does immigration ask for your NPWP?
A straight answer, because the internet is full of confident claims. The official immigration document lists name the sponsoring company's NPWP — it appears for the investor and expert categories. The applicant's personal tax number is not in those lists.
Several agencies write that immigration now cross-checks your personal NPWP and filed returns. We found no official source for that, so we report it as practice others describe, not as a rule. The calm conclusion: get the number because tax law requires it once you have income, not out of fear of immigration.
What to do with the number when you leave
Leaving an active NPWP behind when you go for good is a bad idea — reporting duties follow it. A foreigner has two routes.
- ✓Delete the number. The ground is permanent departure from Indonesia. The only document the rules list is one confirming you have left for good. Filing is electronic and can be done by an authorised representative after you have gone
- ✓Switch to inactive taxpayer status. This fits when the activity has stopped or income is below the threshold, but you keep a connection to the country
The tax office has six months from receipt to decide on a deletion request. If no decision is issued in time, the request is deemed granted and the deletion letter must follow within one further month. The condition is no outstanding tax debt and no open proceedings.
How we help
We register NPWPs for foreigners and then run the reporting, so the number does not quietly turn into a source of missed deadlines. Companies can use our monthly accounting service: taxes, payroll, BPJS and investment reporting. The wider tax picture for foreigners is in our article on taxes in Bali, and if you are still choosing a stay permit, see our index of all KITAS types.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an NPWP if I hold a KITAS but earn nothing in Indonesia?
Formally, no. The duty to register arises when you are a tax resident and either start a business or your income passes the tax-free threshold of IDR 54,000,000 a year. A KITAS by itself does not require a tax number.
From what day am I a tax resident?
Any one of three conditions is enough: a home in Indonesia available to you at any time; more than 183 days in the country within any rolling 12 months; or the intention to reside. A stay permit valid longer than 183 days is expressly named as proof of that intention, so with a one-year KITAS residency starts on the day the permit is issued.
Which documents are genuinely required?
Under PER-7/PJ/2025 a foreigner without an Indonesian NIK needs three things: a passport copy, a colour photo, and a colour photo holding the passport. The KITAS and an employment contract are not in the rules, although some tax offices ask for them.
How much more tax do I pay without an NPWP?
On salary the rate is 20% higher than the normal rate: 5% becomes 6%, 15% becomes 18%. On services and royalties the rate doubles: 2% becomes 4%. It is a surcharge on the rate, not 20 percentage points.
What should I do with my NPWP when I leave Indonesia?
File for deletion on the ground of permanent departure, attaching a document that confirms it. Filing is electronic and can be done by an authorised representative. The tax office must decide within six months, failing which the request is deemed granted.
Official sources: pajak.go.id — determining tax residency, regulation PER-7/PJ/2025, pajak.go.id — PPh 21/26. Verified on 29 September 2026.
We register your NPWP and handle the reporting
Tell us your stay permit and where your income comes from — we will work out whether you need a number at all, and take care of it end to end.
Accounting