62pc of TIN holders skip tax return filing

Nearly 62 per cent of registered Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) holders in Bangladesh did not submit their income tax returns in the 2025�"26 fiscal year, despite the government extending the filing deadline several times until March. Even so, income tax collection increased compared with the previous year.

According to data from the National Board of Revenue (NBR), around 13 million people are registered for a TIN. However, only 4.955 million taxpayers submitted their income tax returns. As a result, just 38 per cent of TIN holders filed returns, while about 62 per cent did not.

The filing rate is among the lowest recorded in the past decade, excluding the exceptional years during the post-Covid-19 recovery period.

In the 2024�"25 fiscal year, Bangladesh had around 12.8 million TIN holders, of whom about 4.5 million submitted tax returns. 

Although the number of TIN holders increased in the latest fiscal year, the filing rate showed little improvement.

Despite the weak filing rate, income tax collection rose by 13.02 per cent in 2025�"26. The NBR collected Tk 146,000 crore in income tax, up from Tk 129,000 crore in the previous fiscal year.

An NBR member said many people obtain a TIN because it is required for various services, including opening bank accounts, purchasing savings certificates and registering land. In many cases, submitting an income tax return is also mandatory for these services. However, many TIN holders earn below the tax-free income threshold and therefore believe they are not required to file returns. The official also acknowledged weaknesses in the enforcement of tax filing rules.

The data also show that corporate tax return filing remains low. Of around 160,000 corporate TIN holders, only about 42,000 companies submitted tax returns, compared with 39,659 in the previous fiscal year.

Overall NBR revenue collection also increased. The board collected Tk 415,473 crore in 2025�"26, up from Tk 370,875 crore a year earlier, registering a growth of 12.3 per cent. However, revenue collection fell about Tk 88,000 crore short of the revised target of Tk 503,000 crore.

Revenue from import and export duties reached Tk 112,119 crore, marking an 11.9 per cent increase over the previous fiscal year.

Value Added Tax (VAT), the country's largest source of tax revenue, generated Tk 157,734 crore in 2025�"26, compared with Tk 141,576 crore in the previous fiscal year, reflecting a growth of 11.8 per cent.

The government has set an NBR revenue target of Tk 604,000 crore for the 2026�"27 fiscal year. To meet that target, the board will need to achieve revenue growth of more than 45 per cent.