New Delhi. The number of millionaire income tax payers in the country has increased five times in the last ten years. While only 44,078 people declared their income of Rs 1 crore or more in assessment year (AY) 2013-14, this number has increased to around 2.3 lakh in assessment year 2023-24 (FY 2022-23). This increase points to higher income and better tax compliance. According to the latest data of the Income Tax Department, the number of people filing individual income tax returns has also increased from 3.3 crore to 7.5 crore in the last ten years.
The share of salaried people among those declaring income of more than Rs 1 crore in 2023-24 was 52%. This share was 49.2% in assessment year 2022-23 and 51 percent in assessment year 2013-14. However, the number of salaried people in the Rs 5 crore income group has decreased, while the number of businessmen and professionals has increased. For example, none of the 23 people who declared income above Rs 500 crore were salaried, while 19 of the 262 people in the Rs 100-500 crore income bracket were salaried.
These figures are proof of rising income
Only one person declared income of more than Rs 500 crore in assessment year 2013-14, while there were two people in the income bracket of Rs 100-500 crore. However, the number of individuals with income above Rs 25 crore has declined from 1,812 to 1,798 compared to the previous assessment year. The same trend was seen in the salaried class, where the number of salaried individuals with income above Rs 10 crore declined from 1,656 to 1,577.
Another indication of the rise in income levels is that the income group of Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 9.5 lakh filed 52% of income tax returns in AY2023-24, compared to 54.6% of the income group of Rs 1.5-3.5 lakh in AY2013-14. Returns were filed. Additionally, the Rs 5.5-9.5 lakh income bracket now accounts for 23% of total gross income, up from 18% in AY2013-14. Whereas, Rs 10-15 lakh income group is the second largest contributor with 12% share, while Rs 25-50 lakh income group contributes 10%.
