Indians are no longer dependent on their salary alone, with the growing importance of other income sources such as business, trading and investments, as reflected in the sharp surge in filing to ITR-2
and ITR-3 among taxpayers, according to ClearTax’s annual filing report for 2025 – ‘How India Filed in 2025’.
ITR-3 filings, representing taxpayers with business and trading income, surged by 45.4%, while ITR-2 filings covering capital gains and investment income rose 17% year-on-year, the ClearTax’s data for the financial year 2024-25 showed.
This reflects the changing mindset of salaried employees in India who are no longer dependent on one single-income source, but looking to expand their income sources in a broadway.
The major driver of this mindset change is the age group between 25-35 as they now account for 42.3% of all ITR-3 filings and form the largest share of both new and returning trading taxpayers, as seen in the date.
Among taxpayers under 25 years, ITR-2 growth of 18% year-on-year suggests first-time filing is no longer just salary or internship income, but increasingly includes investments too. These trends indicate that Gen Z is entering the formal tax system with early exposure to markets, investing and wealth creation, marking a generational change in how young Indians begin their financial journey, the ClearTax data showed.
Rising Inclination For Virtual Digital Asset
ClearTax data shows that 76.63% of Virtual Digital Asset (VDA) filers are men, nearly 40% fall within the 25–35 age bracket, half of which are ITR-3 traders. This suggests that crypto is emerging as an additional asset, added to an already diverse financial portfolio.
Hurdle Remains In High-Earning Bracket For Female
Not everything is rosy. ClearTax data shows that female participation fell sharply from 26.8% (ages 30–35) to 19.5% in the 40–50 high-earning bracket, which is considered a mid-career challenge for half of the population and a major hurdle for long-term wealth implications.
The report also points to a clear peak-earning phase in India’s salaried economy: 38.1% of salaried filers in the 40–50 age group earn above Rs 30 lakh annually, making it India’s prime earning decade.
