Young Indian taxpayers no longer rely only on salaries:76% of taxpayers aged below 25 have more than one income source

Young people in India no longer rely only on salaried jobs, according to research. Some 76% of taxpayers aged below 25 have more than one source of income compared with just 14% four years ago, according to an analysis by tax-filing platform ClearTax. This sharp rise reflects changing earning habits and a stronger focus on wealth creation among young taxpayers. ClearTax founder Archit Gupta said young taxpayers are earning not only from salaries but also through share trading, capital gains, freelancing and their own businesses. The trend is not limited to Gen Z. Across all taxpayers, the share reporting capital gains has increased from 9% to 39%. According to data available as of 20 July, the proportion of taxpayers reporting business income has risen from 4% to 26%, while those declaring a gross income of more than ₹20 lakh have increased from 22% to 32%. 5.44 crore ITRs filed so far for AY 2026-27 A total of 5.44 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) have been filed so far for the Assessment Year 2026-27. Of these, 5.06 crore returns have been verified, and 2.33 crore have already been processed. First-time taxpayers relying only on salary fall below 50% For the first time, the number of taxpayers depending only on salary has dropped below 50%. In the Assessment Year 2026-27, only 42% of taxpayers reported salary as their only source of income, compared with 82% in 2022-23. Having more than one source of income has now become common. The same trend is visible among older taxpayers. Around 53% of senior taxpayers now have multiple income sources, up from 28% four years ago. Among senior citizens, the share reporting capital gains has increased from 15% to 42%. The number of taxpayers declaring a gross income of more than ₹20 lakh has also increased from 22% to 32%, with income from investments and businesses playing a key role. Salaried individuals’ ITR deadline not extended For the first time, the Income Tax Department is collecting returns in two phases. The deadline for general taxpayers, including salaried individuals, remained 31 July 2026 and was not extended. Taxpayers with income from other sources can file their ITRs until 31 August 2026, while the last date for taxpayers requiring an audit is 31 October.