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New Delhi: The number of millionaire tax payers in the country has increased drastically. This is evidenced by the data of ITR returns filed for the financial year 2026. This year the number of taxpayers filing total ITR has increased by just 1 percent, while the number of income tax filers earning more than Rs 1 crore has increased by 22 percent. Another pleasant thing for the government exchequer is that even after increasing the income tax exemption limit, the number of tax payers in the country has increased by 50 percent in the last four years.
According to the Income Tax e-filing portal, more than 9 crore taxpayers have filed returns during FY26. In this, the number of taxpayers earning more than Rs 1 million has increased by 22 percent. The number of people earning more than Rs 1 crore in FY25 was 3,17,098, which increased to 3,85,749 in FY26. That means the number of people earning more than Rs 1 crore in a year increased by 21.6 percent. From April 2025 to December 31, 9 crore people filed returns, which is 1.22 percent more than last year's 8.92 crore. The number of filers earning up to Rs 5 lakh has declined by 24 percent, while the number of taxpayers earning more than Rs 5 lakh has increased. The highest increase has been seen in the category of 5 crore to Rs 10 crore.
| Income Category | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | shift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 5 lakh | 3,61,42,605 | 2,74,20,395 | -24.1 |
| 5 lakh – 10 lakh | 3,32,10,955 | 3,83,31,082 | 15.4 |
| 10 lakh – 50 lakh | 1,28,12,773 | 1,50,33,567 | 17.3 |
| 50 lakh – 1 crore | 6,28,300 | 7,62,719 | 21.4 |
| 1 crore – 5 crore | 2,90,815 | 3,51,804 | 21 |
| 5 crore – 10 crore | 16409 | 21278 | 29.7 |
| More than 10 crores | 9874 | 12670 | 28.3 |
Despite increasing the scope of income tax exemption, the number of tax payers in the country is constantly increasing. According to the report presented in Parliament, the number of people filing zero tax has increased by 15 percent in the last four years, while the number of tax payers has increased by more than 50 percent. In the year 2020-21, a total of 6.72 crore returns were filed, of which 4.84 crore were zero tax filers and the remaining 1.88 crore people paid tax. At the same time, in the financial year 2024-25, the number of tax payers increased to 2.82 crore, while the zero tax filers were 5.58 crore.
| Year | Total Return | Zero Filer | tax paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 6.72 crore | 4.84 crore | 1.88 crore |
| 2021-22 | 6.94 crore | 5.05 crore | 1.89 crore |
| 2022-23 | 7.51 crore | 5.32 crore | 2.19 crore |
| 2023-24 | 8.18 crore | 5.48 crore | 2.70 crore |
| 2024-25 | 8.40 crore | 5.58 crore | 2.82 crore |
In the last four years, the number of zero tax filers in Telangana has increased the most, which is 194 percent. Kerala is at number two, Odisha on the third, Tamil Nadu on the fourth and Karnataka on the fifth.
| State | 2020-21 | 2024-25 | increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telangana | 6 lakh | 17.6 lakh | +194% |
| Kerala | 5.9 lakh | 14.5 lakh | +144% |
| Odisha | 4.3 lakh | 9.7 lakh | +124% |
| Tamil Nadu | 13.7 lakh | 30.3 lakh | +121% |
| Karnataka | 12.5 lakh | 26.8 lakh | +115% |
Haryana is at the forefront of the number of tax payers, where there has been an increase of 80 percent. Gujarat is in second place, Bihar on the third, Chhattisgarh on the fourth and Telangana on the fifth.
| State | 2020-21 | 2024-25 | increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haryana | 6.03 lakh | 10.86 lakh | +80.0% |
| Gujarat | 11.03 lakh | 19.05 lakh | +72.7% |
| Bihar | 3.89 lakh | 6.34 lakh | +62.8% |
| Chhattisgarh | 1.87 lakh | 2.99 lakh | +59.9% |
| Telangana | 8.27 lakh | 13.00 lakhs | +57.3% |
Figures in Crores
