NBR reveals 2.2 million zero tax returns as online filings hit 4 million

NBR releases first-ever gender-based income data as 2.2 million taxpayers fall below taxable limit

More than half of the 4 million taxpayers who filed their income tax returns online for the 2025-26 assessment year have submitted zero returns.

On Wednesday evening, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) revealed that, of the 4 million e-returns filed, approximately 2.2 million taxpayers declared incomes below the taxable limit.

This includes 1.43 million men and 765,197 women.

This is the first time the NBR has released detailed income-bracket data immediately following the filing period, a process that usually takes years to compile in annual reports.

Income Brackets and Demographics

The data shows a significant disparity in high-income earners.

While 29,080 men reported an annual income exceeding Tk 4 million, only 5,117 women fell into the same bracket.

Income Range	Male	Female
Income	1,610,750	478,566
Tk 0.5mn – Tk 1mn	534,954	193,837
Tk 1mn – Tk 2mn	164,983	47,532
Tk 2mn – Tk 4mn	54,212	11,455
Over Tk 4mn	29,080	5,117

Additionally, 187,754 men and 84,477 women reported income from house rents.

Due to high net wealth, 39,363 men and 11,065 women paid a wealth surcharge, the NBR said.

It noted that the total pool of online filers consisted of 2.86 million men and 1.13 million women.