What you need for your tax file.

Every individual filing in Sri Lanka needs a TIN. If you’ve ever paid PAYE/APIT through your employer, you almost certainly have one — check an old payslip or your APIT certificate. If you don’t have one, register through the IRD e-Services portal or visit your nearest IRD regional office.

Sri Lanka’s tax year doesn’t follow the calendar year. When IRD says “Y/A 2025/26,” they mean everything that happened between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. The return is due by 30 November 2026. File late and the penalty is Rs. 50,000 plus Rs. 10,000 per additional month.

Your employer should have deducted APIT (Advance Personal Income Tax) every month and given you an annual certificate. The T10 is the single most important document for salaried filers — the IRD has matching records, so the number must agree.

One-off payments on retirement, termination, or migration are taxed differently from monthly salary. Each payout needs its own paper trail — payer, gross amount, date received, and any tax already withheld.

Government pensions (Department of Pensions, W&OP) are exempt from income tax but still need to be declared. Private and foreign pensions are taxable — check the certificate carefully.

Banks deduct WHT (typically 10%) on most interest payments and issue a certificate for the year. Collect one from every bank and account you held — including ones you closed mid-year.

Each company pays dividends net of WHT (currently 15%) and issues a dividend voucher. Your CSE broker can provide a consolidated statement covering every company in your CDS account.

If you ran a business, freelanced, or earned professional fees (doctor, lawyer, architect, consultant), you’ll need accounts — a profit and loss statement, and a balance sheet if the business is large enough to warrant one.

Rent from any property you own — residential or commercial. You can deduct 25% of gross rent as a notional expense (no receipts needed) or claim actual repairs (with receipts) — you pick one method per property.

CGT is 10% of the gain, due within 1 month of disposal. Listed CSE shares are exempt but still need to be reported. Bring details for every disposal — even gifts and inheritances need to be declared.

Sri Lankan tax residents are taxed on worldwide income, though some categories of foreign remittance are exempt or concessionary. Bring everything and let the rules sort it out.

If you received money during the year and it doesn’t fit any other box — royalties, lottery winnings, casual fees, gifts above Rs. 50,000, online platform payouts — note it down. Better to mention it and let your accountant decide.

Most people use a rough estimate of total value. If you have valuation certificates from a jeweller, use those. The number should be consistent year on year unless you genuinely bought or sold something significant.

Every resident individual gets Rs. 1,800,000 deducted from assessable income before tax is calculated. You don’t claim it — it’s automatic. (Trustees, executors, and liquidators don’t get it.)

Donations to approved charities are deductible up to one-third of taxable income or Rs. 75,000, whichever is lower. Donations to the government can have a higher cap.

Some health, life-insurance, and education-related expenditure qualifies under specific rules that change frequently. Bring premium receipts and tuition statements if you have them — your accountant or our software can tell you what’s claimable for the current year.

If you earned anything outside of your main job — even occasionally, even paid in cash, even via PayPal or international platforms — it’s income. Better to declare it than to have a bank deposit pattern that doesn’t match your declared income.

Interest on a joint FD, rent from a property in your spouse’s name, money sent home by family — who declares what depends on legal ownership, source, and intent. Make a list of joint or family-related amounts so your accountant can split them correctly.

Different rules apply depending on whether the money is a gift, a loan, employment income, or business income. Your bank has records of every inward remittance — the IRD can request these.

If you filed last year, this year’s opening assets must match last year’s closing assets. Any unused tax credits or losses carry forward. Pull up the PDF — it’ll save you an hour of guesswork.