Income Tax Return Filing in Bangladesh 2026-27: e-Return Step by Step, Filing Windows, Documents

In this guide: Who has to file a return for 2026-27 · The four filing windows — and what each one costs · Filing online: the e-return steps · Documents to gather before you start · Mistakes, late returns and penalties

The short answer

If you had taxable income in the year to 30 June 2026, were assessed in any of the last three years, or need a proof of submission of return (PSR) for any of the forty situations in s.264 of the Income Tax Act 2023, you must file a return for tax year 2026-27. You file it online at etaxnbr.gov.bd. The best time to file is before 30 September 2026, when the early-filing rebate is available; after 31 December 2026 the return costs you more, not less.

Who has to file a return for 2026-27

Section 166 of the Income Tax Act 2023 lists the people who must file. In practice the duty catches four groups:

• Anyone whose total income for the year exceeded the tax-free limit (Tk 4,00,000 for most individuals this year; higher limits for women, people over 65 and some other groups — see our rates guide).
• Anyone assessed to tax, or with taxable income, in any of the three preceding years, even if this year’s income is below the limit.
• Shareholder-directors and sponsors of companies, partners of firms, government employees, and salaried managerial and executive staff, regardless of income.
• Anyone who needs a PSR under s.264 — for a bank loan above Tk 20 lakh, a trade licence in a city corporation or municipality, registering land or a flat, renewing a professional membership, a term deposit or savings certificate above Tk 10 lakh, a car registration, a tender, an import L/C, a child’s admission to an English-medium school, and the rest of the forty-item list. We set the list out in full in our zero return guide.

A person who only holds a TIN but falls in none of these groups is not, strictly, obliged to file. In our experience that person usually is in one of the groups without realising it, and a nil return costs nothing. Non-resident individuals with no permanent establishment in Bangladesh were excused from filing by the Finance Act 2026.

The four filing windows — and what each one costs

The Finance Act 2026 replaced the fixed Tax Day with year-round filing. NBR announced the operative windows for individuals on 2 August 2026:

Two points matter in practice. First, the rebate is calculated on tax payable — the amount still due after tax deducted at source and advance tax. A salaried employee whose employer has already deducted the whole year’s tax gets little or no rebate, as the Daily Star reported in September 2026. Second, the Act removed NBR’s power to extend the deadline, so do not wait for the extension that came every year until 2025-26; there is no mechanism for one. The Act also redefined “Tax Day” (করদিবস) in s.2 as a national tax-awareness day rather than a deadline. For a return filed after 30 June 2027 the 2026 amendments provide, additional tax of 10% of tax payable or Tk 5,000 (whichever is higher) if filed voluntarily, and 15% or Tk 10,000 if the return is filed after a reassessment notice under s.212 (Finance Act 2026). A return filed on a Deputy Commissioner’s reassessment notice counts as a delayed return for this purpose. The Act also repealed NBR’s power to extend the filing date by a month.

Filing online: the e-return steps

Online filing is compulsory for ordinary individual taxpayers from this year. NBR’s order excuses people aged 65 and over, persons with disabilities holding a certificate, Bangladeshis living abroad, legal representatives of a deceased taxpayer, and foreign nationals working in Bangladesh; anyone else who cannot register online must obtain prior permission from the circle before filing on paper.

1. Register once. Go to etaxnbr.gov.bd, choose “I am not registered yet”, enter your 12-digit TIN and the mobile number registered biometrically against your own NID (dial *16001# with the last four digits of your NID to check which numbers are registered). Enter the OTP and set a password of at least eight characters with upper-case, lower-case, a digit and a special character.
2. Fill the return. The portal pre-fills your name, TIN and circle. Enter income under each head — salary, house property, agriculture, business, capital gains, financial assets (bank interest, FDR, savings certificates, dividends) and other income — then expenses, assets and liabilities.
3. Claim what you are entitled to. Tax deducted at source (your salary certificate and bank TDS certificates), advance tax paid, and the investment rebate — see our rebate guide for the 2026-27 limits.
4. Pay the balance. The portal takes bank transfer, debit or credit cards and bKash, Nagad, Rocket and other mobile wallets. If you pay by A-challan instead, the challan number must match exactly or the return will not accept it — see our A-challan guide.
5. Submit and download. The acknowledgement slip and the income tax certificate are generated immediately. Keep both; the acknowledgement is your PSR.

NBR’s call centre for the portal is 09643717171.

Documents to gather before you start

We ask every individual client for the following, for the period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026:

Wealth statements, lifestyle statements and the one-page return have their own thresholds; we cover them in the wealth statement guide.

Mistakes, late returns and penalties

A mistake after submission. The Act allows a return to be amended before assessment (s.180); the portal permits a corrected re-submission in most cases. Correct it as soon as you notice — an unexplained gap between two years’ figures is one of the commonest reasons a return is picked for audit.

Not filing at all. Section 266 lets the Deputy Commissioner impose a penalty of 10% of the tax on your last assessed income (minimum Tk 1,000) plus Tk 50 for each day of default, and delay interest runs on unpaid tax under s.174. Late filers also lose exemptions and reduced rates they would otherwise have had, and have no PSR for the forty services that need one. The s.266 figures above are the enacted ones (10% of the tax on the last assessed income, minimum Tk 1,000, plus Tk 50 for each day the failure continues).

First-time filers. NBR’s long-standing position is that a person who has never filed may submit their first return by 30 June after the income year without penalty, and the minimum tax for a new taxpayer is Tk 1,000. Returning Bangladeshis who come back after work or study abroad must file within 90 days of return (Finance Act 2026).