Indians are increasingly moving beyond monthly salaries to build wealth through investments, businesses, freelancing, trading and cryptocurrency, with ClearTax data showing a sharp rise in taxpayers reporting multiple sources of income.
New Delhi, November 2 — A growing number of Indians are diversifying their income beyond traditional salaries, turning towards investments, freelancing, businesses, trading and cryptocurrency, according to a report by fintech platform ClearTax.
ClearTax’s Income Tax Return filing data for Assessment Year 2026-27 shows that tax returns involving more complex income sources are becoming increasingly common.
Non-ITR-1 filings accounted for 62% of all ClearTax filings in AY 2026-27, up from 53% in AY 2025-26 and 40% in AY 2024-25.
ITR-2 and ITR-3 filings, which cover income including capital gains and other sources, together accounted for 57.2% of filings, compared with 36.2% two years earlier.
The trend is even more visible among people filing their own tax returns.
In AY 2026-27, 47% of self-filers reported income from investments, business, freelancing or cryptocurrency, compared with only 9.5% in AY 2022-23.
The share of self-filers reporting two or more non-salary income sources also increased sharply from 3.5% to 24% during the same period.
ClearTax Founder and CEO Archit Gupta said taxpayers are increasingly reporting multiple income streams and more complex financial portfolios.
The shift ranges from young professionals investing in equity markets and taking up independent work to households diversifying their investments.
Young Indians are also entering the investment economy earlier.
Among self-filers under 25 years of age, 75% filed complex returns in AY 2026-27, up from 60% in the previous assessment year.
Within this age group, the share of ITR-3 filings increased from 28% to 44%, while ITR-1 filings declined from 41% to 25%.
The data also showed increased participation among women.
Around 30.5% of women filers reported capital gains, compared with 26.1% a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the share of women self-filers earning more than ₹50 lakh increased from 3.7% to 5.1%.
The numbers indicate a gradual shift from an economy where financial security was primarily linked to monthly salaries towards one where individuals increasingly use investments and independent income streams to build wealth.
