diff --git a/pkg/cloudprovider/provider/vsphere/helper.go b/pkg/cloudprovider/provider/vsphere/helper.go
index 27b7ccf14..db08f9dbc 100644
--- a/pkg/cloudprovider/provider/vsphere/helper.go
+++ b/pkg/cloudprovider/provider/vsphere/helper.go
@@ -465,7 +465,12 @@ func attachTags(ctx context.Context, config *Config, vm *object.VirtualMachine)
 	tagManager := tags.NewManager(restAPISession.Client)
 	klog.V(3).Info("Attaching tags")
 	for _, tag := range config.Tags {
-		if err := tagManager.AttachTag(ctx, tag.ID, vm.Reference()); err != nil {
+		tagID, err := determineTagID(ctx, tagManager, tag)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		if err := tagManager.AttachTag(ctx, tagID, vm.Reference()); err != nil {
 			klog.V(3).Infof("Failed to attach tag %v. The tag was successfully deleted", tag)
 			return fmt.Errorf("failed to attach tag to VM: %v %w", tag.Name, err)
 		}
@@ -487,7 +492,12 @@ func detachTags(ctx context.Context, config *Config, vm *object.VirtualMachine)
 	}
 	klog.V(3).Info("Deleting tags")
 	for _, tag := range attachedTags {
-		err := tagManager.DetachTag(ctx, tag.ID, vm.Reference())
+		tagID, err := determineTagID(ctx, tagManager, tag)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		err = tagManager.DetachTag(ctx, tagID, vm.Reference())
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("failed to delete tag: %v %w", tag, err)
 		}
@@ -495,3 +505,15 @@ func detachTags(ctx context.Context, config *Config, vm *object.VirtualMachine)
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+func determineTagID(ctx context.Context, tagManager *tags.Manager, tag tags.Tag) (string, error) {
+	if tag.ID != "" {
+		return tag.ID, nil
+	}
+
+	apiTag, err := tagManager.GetTagForCategory(ctx, tag.Name, tag.CategoryID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to retrieve tag: %v %w", tag.Name, err)
+	}
+	return apiTag.ID, nil
+}
diff --git a/pkg/cloudprovider/provider/vsphere/provider.go b/pkg/cloudprovider/provider/vsphere/provider.go
index a7e47acae..481a2e519 100644
--- a/pkg/cloudprovider/provider/vsphere/provider.go
+++ b/pkg/cloudprovider/provider/vsphere/provider.go
@@ -226,11 +226,8 @@ func (p *provider) Validate(ctx context.Context, spec clusterv1alpha1.MachineSpe
 		tagManager := tags.NewManager(restAPISession.Client)
 		klog.V(3).Info("Found tags")
 		for _, tag := range config.Tags {
-			if tag.ID == "" {
-				return fmt.Errorf("one of the tags id is empty")
-			}
-			if tag.Name == "" {
-				return fmt.Errorf("one of the tags name is empty")
+			if tag.ID == "" && tag.Name == "" {
+				return fmt.Errorf("either tag id or name must be specified")
 			}
 			if tag.CategoryID == "" {
 				return fmt.Errorf("one of the tags category is empty")
diff --git a/pkg/cloudprovider/provider/vsphere/types/types.go b/pkg/cloudprovider/provider/vsphere/types/types.go
index b584cb37d..62331ee76 100644
--- a/pkg/cloudprovider/provider/vsphere/types/types.go
+++ b/pkg/cloudprovider/provider/vsphere/types/types.go
@@ -50,8 +50,8 @@ type RawConfig struct {
 // Tag represents vsphere tag.
 type Tag struct {
 	Description string `json:"description,omitempty"`
-	ID          string `json:"id"`
-	Name        string `json:"name"`
+	ID          string `json:"id,omitempty"`
+	Name        string `json:"name,omitempty"`
 	CategoryID  string `json:"categoryID"`
 }