When is the 2025/26 income tax return due in Sri Lanka?

On or before 30 November 2026, filed through the IRD e-Filing Portal. It covers income from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. Tax was payable earlier than the return: in four quarterly instalments due on 15 August 2025, 15 November 2025, 15 February 2026, 15 May 2026, and a final payment due on 30 September 2026.

Do I have to file a tax return if I am an employee?

The IRD's 2025/26 guideline on APIT (section 11) says employees must file a return where they have employment income as well as other sources of income, or where the Commissioner General has served a notice asking for one. For a non-resident employee who is not a Sri Lankan citizen, the tax deducted is final. If you are unsure whether you need to file, ask the IRD (call centre 1944).

What reliefs can I claim on my 2025/26 return?

Three, according to the 2025/26 Tax Chart and return guide: personal relief of LKR 1,800,000 (not set against gains from selling investment assets), rent relief of 25% of rental income from an investment property, and up to LKR 600,000 for grid-connected solar panels fixed at your premises, limited to what you spent on them or repaid to a bank on a loan for them. Qualifying payments such as approved donations are claimed separately in Schedule 5.

How are APIT and AIT already paid counted in the return?

As tax credits in Schedule 9. APIT your employers deducted (shown on the T-10 certificates they give you), advance income tax or withholding tax deducted from interest, rent or service fees, and any instalments you paid are all subtracted from the tax on your taxable income. If the credits are larger than the tax, the difference is a refund you can claim in the return.

Can I file my Sri Lankan tax return on paper?

Only in limited cases. Electronic filing has been mandatory for individuals since the 2023/24 year of assessment. From 1 April 2025, senior citizens may choose to file manually, and others need the Commissioner General's approval. Electronic filers whose only income is employment and interest can use the shorter Simplified Return.

What is the penalty for filing a Sri Lankan tax return late?

The 2025/26 return guide sets the late filing penalty at the greater of 5% of the tax owing plus 1% for each month the return is late, or LKR 50,000 plus LKR 10,000 for each month after 30 November 2026. Tax not paid by its due date carries a penalty of 20% of the unpaid amount and interest of 1.5% a month, and a missed instalment carries a 10% penalty.

Why are dividends and capital gains left out of the estimate?

They are taxed separately. Dividends from resident companies carry a final 15% withholding tax and are declared in Schedule 6, so they do not add to your taxable income. Gains on selling investment assets are taxed at 10% outside the progressive bands, and terminal benefits such as gratuity have their own concessionary rates.

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Calculator

Income tax return calculator 2025/26

Estimate what your Sri Lankan return for the 2025/26 year of assessment will show: tax on your income for 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, less the APIT, advance income tax and instalments already paid. The return is due on 30 November 2026.

Built on the Inland Revenue Department's 2025/26 return guide and Tax Chart, and checked against the guide's two worked examples. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

By Dr. Dulan DiasLast reviewed against IRD publications on 25 October 2026

Your income, 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026

Annual figures in rupees. Leave anything that does not apply blank.

Income

Employment income

LKR

Salary, allowances, bonuses and benefits from Sri Lankan employers, as on your T-10 certificates.

Foreign-currency income

LKR

Pay from a foreign employer, fees for services used abroad or other foreign income, received in foreign currency through a bank, in rupees. Taxed at no more than 15%.

Business income

LKR

Local business or professional profit after allowable expenses.

Interest

LKR

Gross interest, before the 10% withholding tax.

Rent from an investment property

LKR

Gross rent. 25% rent relief is applied for you.

Other income

LKR

Anything else taxed at the normal rates.

Reliefs

Personal relief of LKR 1,800,000 is applied automatically for a resident.

Spent on solar panels

LKR

Grid-connected panels at your premises, or loan repayments to a bank for them. Relief is capped at LKR 600,000.

Tax already paid for 2025/26

APIT deducted by employers

LKR

The total on your T-10 certificates.

AIT / WHT deducted

LKR

Advance income tax deducted from interest (10%), rent (10%) or service fees (5%).

Instalments and final payment

LKR

Quarterly instalments and the final payment for 2025/26, plus any tax you paid yourself under APIT Table 08.

Foreign tax paid on foreign income

LKR

Credited only up to the Sri Lankan tax on that income, and never refunded.

An estimate for a resident individual, not tax advice. It does not cover qualifying payments such as approved donations, business losses brought forward, gains on investment assets (taxed at 10%), dividends (final 15% withholding), terminal benefits, income taxed at 45%, or non-residents. Your e-filed return is calculated by the IRD system from your schedules.

How the estimate is worked out

Assessable income. Everything you received in the year from employment, business, investments and other sources. For a resident that includes foreign-source income: the guide says foreign income remitted to Sri Lanka through a licensed bank in foreign currency is liable to income tax from 1 April 2025.
Reliefs. LKR 1,800,000 personal relief, 25% of rent from an investment property, and up to LKR 600,000 for solar panels. Reliefs cannot take taxable income below zero.
Tax. Local income is taxed at 6% on the first LKR 1,000,000, then 18%, 24% and 30% on each LKR 500,000 and 36% on the balance. Foreign-currency income goes on top of it and no slice is taxed above 15%.
Credits. APIT, AIT/WHT, instalments and foreign tax (up to the Sri Lankan tax on that income) come off. What is left is the balance to pay, or a refund if the credits are larger.

Worked examples from the IRD's 2025/26 guide

Both illustrations in the guide, run through this calculator. The figures match the guide's to the rupee.

Example 01: salary and interest

A salary of LKR 240,000 a month, LKR 140,000 of interest with 10% withheld, and LKR 74,400 of APIT deducted during the year.

IRD return guide 2025/26, Example 01
Employment income (240,000 × 12)	2,880,000
Interest income	140,000
Assessable income	3,020,000
Personal relief	−1,800,000
Taxable income	1,220,000
1,000,000 × 6% + 220,000 × 18%	99,600
APIT	−74,400
WHT on interest	−14,000
Balance tax payable	11,200

Example 02: local and foreign fees

LKR 9,000,000 of lecturing fees from abroad (20% tax withheld in the other country) and LKR 5,000,000 from a local institute (5% AIT), with LKR 400,000 paid in instalments.

IRD return guide 2025/26, Example 02
Foreign lecturing fees	9,000,000
Local lecturing fees	5,000,000
Assessable income	14,000,000
Personal relief	−1,800,000
Taxable income	12,200,000
Local: 3,200,000 at 6% to 36%	672,000
Foreign: 9,000,000 × 15%	1,350,000
Foreign tax credit (capped at 1,350,000)	−1,350,000
AIT on local fees	−250,000
Instalments	−400,000
Balance payable	22,000

The foreign income gets no 6% band of its own: the relief and the lower bands were used by the local income, so the whole LKR 9,000,000 is taxed at the 15% maximum. The foreign tax paid (LKR 1,800,000) is credited only up to that LKR 1,350,000.

2025/26 dates and payment codes

Payment	Due on or before	Payment code
1st instalment	15 August 2025	25261
2nd instalment	15 November 2025	25262
3rd instalment	15 February 2026	25263
4th instalment	15 May 2026	25264
Final payment	30 September 2026	25260
Return of income	30 November 2026	e-Filing Portal

Your monthly salary tax is in the salary and PAYE calculator; pay from a foreign employer is in the Table 08 calculator.

Sources

Every rate and rule on this page comes from the documents below, checked on 25 October 2026. Where they and this page differ, they are right.

Guide to fill the Return of Income, Schedules & Statement of Assets and Liabilities for Individual, Year of Assessment 2025/2026 (Asmt_IIT_004)Inland Revenue Department of Sri Lanka
Return of Income Tax, Individual, Year of Assessment 2025/2026 (Asmt_IIT_001)Inland Revenue Department of Sri Lanka
Tax Chart, Year of Assessment 2025/2026Inland Revenue Department of Sri Lanka
Guideline for employers on deducting Advance Personal Income Tax (APIT) from employment income, SEC/2025/E/01Inland Revenue Department of Sri Lanka, 25 March 2025

Questions about the 2025/26 return

When is the 2025/26 income tax return due in Sri Lanka?: On or before 30 November 2026, filed through the IRD e-Filing Portal. It covers income from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. Tax was payable earlier than the return: in four quarterly instalments due on 15 August 2025, 15 November 2025, 15 February 2026, 15 May 2026, and a final payment due on 30 September 2026.
Do I have to file a tax return if I am an employee?: The IRD's 2025/26 guideline on APIT (section 11) says employees must file a return where they have employment income as well as other sources of income, or where the Commissioner General has served a notice asking for one. For a non-resident employee who is not a Sri Lankan citizen, the tax deducted is final. If you are unsure whether you need to file, ask the IRD (call centre 1944).
What reliefs can I claim on my 2025/26 return?: Three, according to the 2025/26 Tax Chart and return guide: personal relief of LKR 1,800,000 (not set against gains from selling investment assets), rent relief of 25% of rental income from an investment property, and up to LKR 600,000 for grid-connected solar panels fixed at your premises, limited to what you spent on them or repaid to a bank on a loan for them. Qualifying payments such as approved donations are claimed separately in Schedule 5.
How are APIT and AIT already paid counted in the return?: As tax credits in Schedule 9. APIT your employers deducted (shown on the T-10 certificates they give you), advance income tax or withholding tax deducted from interest, rent or service fees, and any instalments you paid are all subtracted from the tax on your taxable income. If the credits are larger than the tax, the difference is a refund you can claim in the return.
Can I file my Sri Lankan tax return on paper?: Only in limited cases. Electronic filing has been mandatory for individuals since the 2023/24 year of assessment. From 1 April 2025, senior citizens may choose to file manually, and others need the Commissioner General's approval. Electronic filers whose only income is employment and interest can use the shorter Simplified Return.
What is the penalty for filing a Sri Lankan tax return late?: The 2025/26 return guide sets the late filing penalty at the greater of 5% of the tax owing plus 1% for each month the return is late, or LKR 50,000 plus LKR 10,000 for each month after 30 November 2026. Tax not paid by its due date carries a penalty of 20% of the unpaid amount and interest of 1.5% a month, and a missed instalment carries a 10% penalty.
Why are dividends and capital gains left out of the estimate?: They are taxed separately. Dividends from resident companies carry a final 15% withholding tax and are declared in Schedule 6, so they do not add to your taxable income. Gains on selling investment assets are taxed at 10% outside the progressive bands, and terminal benefits such as gratuity have their own concessionary rates.