Are Retirees Required to File SPT? Here's the Explanation

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Workers often view retirement as a time of rest from various administrative matters, including the annual personal income tax reporting or the Annual Income Tax Notification Letter (SPT Tahunan PPh Orang Pribadi). This is because employees or workers no longer receive a fixed salary. As a result, this situation leads many workers to wonder whether they still need to report the Annual SPT if they retire in the future? Since 2025, the government has actually had an integrated tax administration system called the Coretax Administration System. Quoting the official website of the Directorate General of Taxes of the Ministry of Finance, it is explained that the reporting of the Annual SPT PPh Orang Pribadi for employee retirees is mandatory if the employee retiree obtains income exceeding the Non-Taxable Income Threshold (PTKP). This income can be seen on the Income Tax Article 21 Withholding Receipt provided by the pension fund institution. “If the Withholding Receipt shows that there is still Income Tax withheld, then the reporting obligation for SPT still applies to the retiree,” quoted Friday (27/3/2026). SPT reporting is also required when retirees obtain other income outside of pension fund income exceeding the PTKP. For example, income from trading businesses, fees or honoraria from providing services or expertise, income from property sales, or being appointed as a company director, etc. In cases where the withheld Income Tax is nil and the retiree has no other income outside the pension fund, the retiree can apply to become a Non-Effective Taxpayer or, in the Coretax era, an Inactive Taxpayer. “This application can be submitted through the Coretax taxpayer website or through the Integrated Service Point (TPT) at the registered Tax Office (KPP). Inactive status can change back to active when the taxpayer reports their Annual SPT PPh Orang Pribadi again,” it states. As an illustration, Mr J is a retiree from PT Bank X (Persero) Tbk who receives an Income Tax Article 21 Withholding Receipt from the Bank X Pension Fund with the amount of Article 21 Income Tax withheld being nil because it is below the PTKP. Mr J has been in inactive taxpayer status since March 2022. However, since April 2025, Mr J has obtained income from a boarding house business and honoraria as a practitioner lecturer from a private university with total income exceeding the PTKP. Due to this condition, Mr J is obliged to report the Annual SPT PPh Orang Pribadi again for the 2025 tax year no later than 31 March 2026 using Coretax.