ITR filing: Maharashtra, Gujarat among top 5 states with nearly 50% total income tax returns filed, reveals SBI Report

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and West Bengal are the top 5 states, constituting 48 percent of the total income tax returns filed in AY23.  A research report by the State Bank of India has assessed the emerging trends from the recently-closed ITR filing process. The report revealed that a significant number of taxpayers have left the lower-income strata and migrated upwards.

Overall, there have been 64 lakh more ITRs filed in AY23 over AY22, with the maximum increase registered in Maharashtra followed by Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, and Rajasthan, the report said. 

In terms of growth, smaller states of Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland have registered more than a 20% increase in ITR filed during the last 9 years, the report added.

The SBI report further said that the weighted mean income of ₹4.4 lakh in AY14, based on ITR filings, has now increased to ₹13 lakh. It is further expected to increase to ₹49.7 lakh in 2047, with a significant portion of taxpayers migrating from lower income group to the upper-income group.

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In its research titled, "Deciphering Emerging Trends in ITR Filing: The Ascent of the New Middle Class in circular migration," the SBI Report examined how an efficient tax system is incubating a healthy, upwardly mobile “Middle Income Class": Threshold Middle-Class Income set to touch ₹50 lakhs in 2047.

The last date for filing tax returns for income earned in the previous fiscal by individuals and those who do not need to get their accounts audited was July 31.

Earlier, the income tax department had said that a record 6.77 crore income tax returns for the assessment year 2023-24 were filed till July 31, including 53.67 lakh first-time filers.

"The total number of ITRs for AY 2023-24 filed till 31st July 2023 are more than 6.77 crore, which is 16.1 per cent more than the total ITRs for AY 2022-23 (5.83 crore) filed till 31st July 2022," the income tax department said in a statement.