Indian Shifting To Multi-Source Income Reveals Study Of ITR Filings

Mumbai: According to ClearTax’s ‘How India Filed in 2025’ report, Indian taxpayers are no longer solely dependent on salaries but are increasingly earning more from multiple sources including trade, investments, business income, marking a decided shift away from single-income careers.

The tax filing platform analyzed millions of income tax returns, offering insight into how Indians earn, invest and build wealth today.

The most striking transformation emerged in the composition of the declarations made this year. ITR-3 applications, which represent taxpayers with business and business income, increased by 45.4 percent, while ITR-2 applications, which cover capital gains and investment income, increased by 17 percent on an annual basis. Interestingly, millennials and Gen Zers were increasingly combining salaries with business income, capital gains, F&O trading, and even digital assets. The report said the country is witnessing the rise of what it calls “Mixed Indian” taxpayers who earn simultaneously from salary, business or professional activities and investments. The share of salaried taxpayers earning more than Rs 30 lakh per annum increased from 18.49 per cent in 2024 to 23.34 per cent in 2025, the study found.

This multi-income transformation was led by 25-35 year olds. Traditionally considered the backbone of India’s salaried workforce, they now account for 42.3 percent of all ITR-3 filings and account for the largest share of both new and returning business taxpayers. This group was the most financially active group; It was characterized by digital fluency, a higher appetite for risk and a growing preference for income diversification through markets and business activities.

Generation Z was also showing an equally remarkable change. The 18 percent annual growth of ITR-2 among taxpayers under 25 shows that first-time filing is no longer just salary or internship income but increasingly includes investments. Crypto, while still a niche space, has also adapted to this evolving financial profile. The data revealed that 76.63 percent of Virtual Digital Asset (VDA) filers are men, of whom nearly 40 percent are in the age group of 25-35, half of whom are ITR-3 traders, suggesting the emergence of crypto as an additional asset.

to an already diverse financial portfolio.