ITR refunds 2025: Do people who work for a living get their refunds faster than people who file for business?

This year, many taxpayers want to know who gets their income tax refunds faster: people who work for a salary or people who run their own business?  Refunds for the Assessment Year 2025–26 have been taking longer than usual, and this has made people more curious about whether one group is being processed faster than the other.

HIGH FILINGS, BUT REFUNDS TAKE LONGER

The deadline for filing an ITR for AY 2025–26 was September 16. As of November 27, the Income Tax Department's website says that more than 7.5 crore returns had been filed.  It also told people who haven't already to check their returns within 30 days.

Even though a lot of people filed their taxes, a lot of them are still waiting for refunds.  According to official numbers, refunds this financial year are down by almost 18%, for a total of about Rs 2.42 lakh crore.  At the same time, the amount of direct taxes collected has gone up by about 7% each year.  This means that collections are going up, but refunds are coming out much more slowly.

Why refunds are taking longer this year

The department has said that the slower pace is because they are looking more closely at refund claims.  More attention is being paid to refunds and returns that are high-value, flagged by the system, or have strange or too many deductions.

Do people who pay taxes on their salaries really get refunds faster?

Many people think that people who work for a salary get their refunds faster, but the truth is more complicated.  The speed of a refund depends on how accurate the return is, how clearly income and deductions are reported, and whether the system finds anything that needs to be looked at.

Taxpayers who get paid a salary usually get their refunds faster because their income is easy to understand and mostly comes from Form 16. Because there are fewer moving parts, mismatches happen less often, and the system can handle these returns quickly.

Business taxpayers, on the other hand, have a wider range of income sources.  Their returns could include business costs, depreciation, loan interest, capital gains, and a number of claims for deductions.  These complications make it more likely that you'll be flagged for review, which can slow down refunds.

But business taxpayers can get refunds just as quickly as people who work for a salary if their accounts are well-kept and their disclosures are clear.

Timing and accuracy are the most important things.

In this cycle, it's clear that what really matters is how early the return was filed, how simple or complicated the income structure is, and whether the return raises any red flags.

People who filed their taxes early, especially those who did so before the busy season, have had their returns processed more quickly.  Income that comes from one simple source moves quickly through the system. Returns that involve capital gains, losses, or big deductions take longer because they need more checks.  Quickly answering any questions on the portal also helps things move along.

So, who gets their money back faster: people who work for a living or people who run businesses?  There isn't a set winner.  Taxpayers who get paid may seem to get their refunds faster because their returns are easier to process, not because the system gives them priority.  Business taxpayers can also get their refunds on time if they file their taxes early, with accurate and well-documented information.

In the end, how quickly you get your refund in 2025 depends a lot more on when you file, how accurate it is, and how clear it is than on whether you work for a living or own a business.