Before you start: what you need
Have these ready before you log in — the portal does not save a half-filled return for you to finish later:
- Your TIN and password. Your PIN is issued when you first activate your e-Services account (see the FAQ below).
- T-10 from your employer — your salary for the year and the APIT deducted.
- Interest certificates from your bank — interest before the 10% deduction, plus the AIT deducted.
- APIT figures from your payslips — what your employer actually deducted, month by month.
- For business or freelance income: your receipts and expense records for the year.
- For rent: rental agreements and receipts.
Filing for the first time? Register for a TIN on ird.gov.lk, then activate e-Services: on eservices.ird.gov.lk choose First Time User, enter your TIN and NIC, and the IRD sends a PIN by email or SMS.
Step 1 — Work out your figures first
Do the maths before you touch the portal. The free Tax Return Helper takes your income, reliefs and credits and gives you the tax (or refund), every schedule total, and the cage each figure goes into. Its second-look panel flags the common mismatches — APIT that does not match your salary, AIT that does not match your interest — before the IRD sees them.
Step 2 — Log in to the IRD e-Services portal
Go to eservices.ird.gov.lk (from ird.gov.lk, e-Services → Individual Taxpayer) and log in with your TIN and password. This is the IRD's RAMIS portal — the same place you registered.
Step 3 — Open the return
From the dashboard, open the return filing section and select Income Tax Return — Individual. Choose the Year of Assessment 2025/2026 — income from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 — and confirm your residential status.
Step 4 — Fill each schedule
Work through the schedules that apply to you, then type each total into the cage shown. The portal applies the Rs. 1,800,000 personal relief and computes the tax as you go:
| Schedule 1 — Employment income | Cage 10 |
| Schedule 2 — Business / freelance income | Cage 20 |
| Schedule 3 — Investment income (interest, rent, gains) | Cage 30 |
| Schedule 4 — Other income | Cage 40 |
| Schedule 5 — Reliefs (personal relief Rs. 1,800,000, rent 25%, solar up to Rs. 600,000, charity) | Cages 60–110 |
| Schedule 8 — Tax on taxable income | Cages 120–170 |
| Schedule 9 — Credits (APIT, AIT, instalments) | Cage 180 |
One common mistake:
Step 5 — Check, submit, keep the proof
Review every figure against your certificates, and check the portal's tax against your own working before you submit — they should match. Then submit, download the acknowledgement, and save the confirmation number. That acknowledgement is your proof you filed on time.
Step 6 — Pay any balance
The portal shows the balance to pay or the refund due. Pay online through the portal, by bank deposit, or by cheque payable to the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue — using your TIN and the assessment year as the reference. The balance is due by 30 September 2026; the return itself by 30 November 2026.
After you file
The acknowledgement is immediate. A refund, if one is due, takes months to arrive. Keep all your certificates and the acknowledgement for 5 years — the IRD can ask for them. If the IRD sends you an assessment you disagree with, you can object within 30 days. All the tax tools are on the Tax hub.