India With More Than 1.2 Billion Population Has Filed Only Little More Than 40 Million Income Tax Returns in 2015-16

The report stated that as many as 82 lakh of them figured in the zero to less than Rs 2.5 lakh slab on which no tax is levied. As per CBDT data, cumulatively only 1,648 taxpayers reported salary income above Rs 5 crore in the AY 2015-16.

New Delhi, December 21: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Wednesday released income tax returns statistics for the assessment year (AY) 2015-16 which showed of the 1.2 billion citizens only 4.07 crore filed tax returns in assessment year (AY) 2015-16. The report stated that as many as 82 lakh of them figured in the zero to less than Rs 2.5 lakh slab on which no tax is levied. As per CBDT data, cumulatively only 1,648 taxpayers reported salary income above Rs 5 crore in the AY 2015-16.  “Apart from the number of taxpayers who filed the return of income as above, approximately 1.64 crore taxpayers paid taxes but did not file valid/ verified return for AY 2015-16”, the report stated.

As per details on the Income Tax Department website, the maximum number of 1.33 crore individuals was in the Rs 2.5-3.5 lakh income group which is the lowest tax bracket. It has to be noted that any income earned via monthly regular income from an employer or ex-employer paid in the given financial year is considered as ‘salary income’ for the taxpayer. The report showed that majority of the taxpayers totalling 2,46,66,672 reported zero income for that period.

Here’s the Full List of Income Tax Return Statistics Assessment Year 2015-16

(Source: Income Tax Department)

The income tax department released statistics for the assessment year 2015-16 (financial year April 2014 to March 2015) showing that 59,830 individuals with gross total income of over Rs 1 crore had a cumulative income of Rs 1.54 lakh crore. The report further informed that a total of 1,156 individuals had income between Rs 10 crore and Rs 25 crore. In all, 4.35 crore income tax returns, including those by individuals, were filed in AY 2015-16.