More than 4 million taxpayers have submitted their income tax returns online for the 2025–26 tax year so far, reflecting a sharp rise in the use of the electronic filing system, according to the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

In a press release issued on Wednesday, the revenue authority said that nearly 5 million taxpayers have registered in the e-return system since August 4, 2025. Of them, over 4 million have already filed their returns online.

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Under a special order, online submission of income tax returns has been made mandatory this year for all individual taxpayers, except senior citizens aged 65 and above, physically challenged or specially-abled individuals, Bangladeshi taxpayers residing abroad, legal representatives filing on behalf of deceased taxpayers, and foreign nationals working in Bangladesh.

The NBR data show a steady rise in monthly e-return submissions. In August 2025, some 251,784 taxpayers filed online, followed by 301,302 in September and 454,076 in October. The number surged to 1,040,472 in November and remained high in December with 978,198 submissions.

In January 2026, 655,363 taxpayers filed their returns electronically, while 294,987 did so in February. In the first four days of March alone, 36,700 returns were submitted online.

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By comparison, 1,399,655 taxpayers had filed e-returns within the stipulated time last year, indicating a significant year-on-year increase in digital compliance.

Of the total e-returns submitted so far, 2,866,618 were filed by male taxpayers and 1,136,003 by female taxpayers.

Among them, 1,610,750 men and 478,566 women reported income from salaries. Income from house rent was declared by 187,754 male taxpayers and 84,477 female taxpayers.

A substantial number of taxpayers reported income below the taxable threshold, including 1,435,630 men and 765,197 women.

In the income bracket between Tk 500,000 and Tk 1 million, 534,954 male and 193,837 female taxpayers filed returns. For incomes between Tk 1 million and Tk 2 million, the figures were 164,983 men and 47,532 women.

Meanwhile, 54,212 male and 11,455 female taxpayers declared income between Tk 2 million and Tk 4 million. Income exceeding Tk 4 million was reported by 29,080 men and 5,117 women.

Due to asset levels attracting surcharge, 39,363 male taxpayers and 11,065 female taxpayers paid surcharge along with their returns.

Although online filing is not mandatory for Bangladeshi taxpayers residing abroad, the NBR said they can apply by sending their passport number, national identity number and email address to the designated NBR email. Upon verification, an OTP and registration link are sent to the applicant’s email, enabling them to file returns online from overseas.

Authorised representatives are also allowed to submit e-returns on behalf of taxpayers this year.

The NBR highlighted that taxpayers can complete the entire process without uploading supporting documents.

By entering accurate details of income, expenditure, assets and liabilities in the system, they can file returns and pay taxes from home using debit or credit cards, internet banking or mobile financial services such as bKash and Nagad.

The system instantly generates an acknowledgement slip and income tax certificate after submission.

Taxpayers can also file revised returns through the e-return system within 180 days of submission.

So far, more than 56,000 revised returns have been filed for the 2025–26 tax year.

To assist taxpayers, the NBR has set up a call centre where queries related to e-returns are addressed over the phone.

In addition, written complaints or queries can be submitted through the eTax service option on the official website.

E-return help desks have also been established in all tax zones across the country during office hours.

The revenue authority said SMS notifications have already been sent to individual taxpayers requesting them to submit their e-returns to avoid penalties.

The NBR urged all individual taxpayers to use the e-return system and file their income tax returns for the 2025–26 tax year by March 31, 2026.