Tax kitty swells: Direct tax mop-up nears halfway mark of FY27 target, rises 13%

India's net direct tax collections rose 12.96% year-on-year to ₹12.12 lakh crore as of September 17 of the current fiscal, according to provisional data released by CBDT.

Net direct tax collections stood at ₹12,12,410.71 crore as on September 17, 2026, compared with ₹10,73,272.17 crore in the corresponding period last year, the data showed.

Gross direct tax collections before refunds increased 15.19% to ₹14,32,437.43 crore, from ₹12,43,582.45 crore a year earlier.

However, refunds during the period jumped 29.19% to ₹2,20,026.72 crore, against ₹1,70,310.28 crore in the year-ago period.

Corporate tax collections on a gross basis increased to ₹6,94,537.81 crore as of September 17, from ₹5,95,739.30 crore a year earlier.

Non-corporate tax collections, which include taxes paid by individuals, Hindu Undivided Families, firms and other entities, rose to ₹6,97,668.14 crore from ₹6,21,240.29 crore.

Securities Transaction Tax (STT) collections also increased to ₹40,214.36 crore from ₹26,305.72 crore in the year-ago period.

Advance tax collections rose 16.18% to ₹5,21,940.72 crore as of September 17, 2026, from ₹4,49,256.41 crore in the corresponding period of 2025.

Corporate advance tax collections grew 18.09% to ₹4,16,083.59 crore, while non-corporate advance tax collections increased 9.24% to ₹1,05,856.69 crore.

EY India, Tax Partner, Jayesh Sanghvi, said the data indicates that the tax buoyancy is broad-based with non-corporate tax now accounting for 48.7% of the gross pie versus corporate tax's 48.5%.

"Nominal GDP for June quarter of FY27 grew 10.3%, and the FY27 Budget assumes full-year nominal growth of 10%. Against that baseline, gross direct tax buoyancy runs at roughly 1.47, and net buoyancy at 1.26, a meaningful reversal from FY2025-26," Sanghvi said.

Grant Thornton Bharat, Partner - Tax, Richa Sawhney, said direct tax collections continue to signal healthy underlying economic activity and the strength of the tax base. The steady growth in advance tax payments remains a positive indicator of taxpayer confidence, business performance and expectations of sustained income growth.

The government has budgeted to collect ₹26.97 lakh crore from direct taxes in the current financial year, a 15% growth over ₹23.40 lakh crore collected in FY26.