Direct tax mop-up misses FY26 target; Collections rise 5%

New Delhi: India’s net direct tax collections recorded a moderate uptick in FY26 though the mop-up fell short of the revised estimates by ₹81,000 crore, data from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) showed on Monday.

Net direct tax collections rose 5.12% year-on-year to ₹23.40 lakh crore in 2025-26 against ₹22.26 lakh crore in the previous fiscal.

The Centre has revised down the target to ₹24.21 lakh crore for the fiscal year 2025-26.

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The shortfall was largely on account of lower-than-expected realisations from both corporate and personal income taxes. Net corporate tax collections stood at ₹10.99 lakh crore, marginally below the revised estimate of ₹11.09 lakh crore.

Personal income tax collections, including securities transaction tax (STT), came in at about ₹12.41 lakh crore, compared with the revised target of ₹13.12 lakh crore.While the officials said the numbers reflect the resilience of Indian economy, they expect some moderation in tax buoyancy during the current year.

“There will be some impact, but it is too early to speculate and a clear picture will emerge by June when the corporates file Advance tax for the first quarter,” a senior official said.

Gross direct tax collections grew 4.03% to around ₹28.12 lakh crore during the fiscal.

The refunds issued declined 1.09% year-on-year to ₹4.71 lakh crore.

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“The collections were expected to be impacted by the rate reductions on personal income tax in the Budget,” said Jayesh Sanghvi, Tax Partner EY India.

“The corporate tax collections augur well despite disruptions from global conflicts and supply chains,” Sanghvi said.