Only 4 Categories of People Are Exempt from Filing Tax Returns: Are You Included?
Every year, Indonesian citizens are required to report their taxes. However, certain groups of society are exempt from filing their Income Tax Notification Letter (SPT), according to Minister of Finance Regulation No. 81 of 2024 on Tax Provisions in the Implementation of the Core Tax Administration System.
“The criteria for certain Income Taxpayers who are excluded from the obligation to report the Notification Letter as referred to in Article 180 paragraph (2) are stipulated by the Director General of Taxes,” as quoted from Article 465 letter s of PMK 81/2024, cited on Saturday (28/3/2026).
This was previously regulated in PMK-147/PMK.03/2017 and Director General of Taxes Regulation No. PER-04/PJ/2020. Taxpayers falling into the Non-Effective (NE) category are not required to file annual SPT.
Individuals in these categories will also not receive warning letters even if they do not file SPT. Here are the four NE groups:
Taxpayers (WP) whose income has dropped below the Non-Taxable Income (PTKP)
Entrepreneurs who have ceased business activities
Workers who are no longer employed and have no income
Retirees who no longer have income
In the Coretax era, the term NE has been replaced with Inactive Taxpayer. Inactive taxpayers are not required to file SPT starting from the tax year they are designated as inactive.
The following are the criteria for taxpayers that can be designated as inactive, quoted from the DJP website:
For individual taxpayers:
Ceasing business or freelance work and no longer meeting objective requirements due to stopping business/freelance work.
Having no income or income below non-taxable income.
Indonesian citizens intending to become foreign tax subjects but not yet meeting foreign tax subject (SPLN) requirements.
Married women who choose to combine their tax obligations with their husband’s.
Indonesian citizens who are residents no longer meeting subjective and objective requirements because they have become SPLN.
Other criteria stipulated by the Director General of Taxes.
For corporate taxpayers:
Not meeting subjective and objective requirements, but NPWP has not been deleted.
Meeting certain criteria stipulated by the Director General of Taxes.
For government agency taxpayers:
Not meeting requirements as tax withholders and/or collectors but NPWP has not been deleted.
Meeting certain criteria stipulated by the Director General of Taxes.
Application steps:
Log in to the taxpayer account on Coretax DJP.
Access the menu My Portal > Status Change > Designation of Inactive Taxpayer.
Complete the application form fields and upload supporting documents. For example, for a wife choosing to join her husband’s NPWP, upload the husband’s ID card, wife’s ID card, and family card.
Read and check the statement section.
Click the Send button to submit the application.
After the application is sent, the application status can be monitored through My Portal > My Cases. Ensure that in the “Case Flow” tab it states: “Case is being processed. No actions can be taken at this time.”
The processing time for this application is a maximum of five working days after the complete application is received.