Crorepati taxpayers club gets bigger, rises 5X to 2.2 lakh in AY24

NEW DELHI: India's crorepati taxpayers club has increased fivefold to 2.2 lakh taxpayers in Assessment Year (AY) 2024, up from 44,000 in AY 2014, signalling a significant shift in the country's income dynamics, says a report by SBI economic research report.

This growth is part of a broader trend, which showed a 74.2% decline in income disparity for earners up to Rs 5 lakh between FY14 and FY23.

Also the number of female taxpayers reached 15% of all taxpayers. The report attributes this shift to the government's progressive taxation regime and tax simplification efforts.


"The significant reduction in income disparity and increase in ITR filings demonstrate the government's efforts to reach the bottom of the pyramid," SBI's Group Chief Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh noted.

Lower income group (less than Rs 5.5 lakh) has registered a positive growth rate for all years in last decade except AY20 due to Covid pandemic, it added. Income tax returns filing rose to 8.6 crore in AY24 from 7.3 crore in AY22, with 6.89 crore filed on time.

Uttar Pradesh is the leader in increasing share in income tax file base, followed by Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan.

The report estimates 9 crore ITRs for AY25.

Direct tax contributions reached a 14-year high of 56.7% of total tax revenue in AY24, while the direct taxes to GDP ratio increased to 6.64%, the highest since 2000-01.