Skip to content

Best credit cards for tax payments in October 2026

IndusInd Tiger leads 2 cards tied at the top (₹1,000, ₹ back on one ₹1,00,000 tax payment) and is worth ₹32,000 a year at ₹75,000 a month after the fee.

Verified 223 sources

The top 3

IndusInd Tiger credit card

IndusInd Tiger

IndusInd Bank

₹1,000 ₹ back on one ₹1,00,000 tax payment

Keep

Most back on every ₹100 of government / tax: ICICI Times Black, 2.00% .

The full ranking

70 cards, best first. Ranked by ₹ back on one ₹1,00,000 tax payment; the ₹ a year column follows the spend you pick.

₹ a year at your monthly spend
Tax and government: ranks 1 to 25
Card₹ back on one ₹1,00,000 tax payment₹ a yearFee
1. IndusInd TigerIndusInd Bank · 1.00% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹1,000 ₹7,100 ₹32,000 ₹78,200 ₹1,70,700 ₹2,74,100 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
2. IDFC FIRST Hello CashbackIDFC FIRST Bank · 1.00% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹1,000 ₹3,600 ₹9,000 ₹18,000 ₹18,000 ₹18,000 ₹1,000 fee
3. Standard Chartered UltimateStandard Chartered · 2.00% on a government or tax payment — the card's REDUCED government rate — 3 RP/₹150 on MCC 9399 ₹2,000 ₹4,400 ₹18,400 ₹41,800 ₹88,500 ₹1,50,900 ₹5,000 fee
4. IDFC FIRST WOW! BlackIDFC FIRST Bank · 0.67% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹668 ₹2,100 ₹5,200 ₹10,400 ₹20,800 ₹34,600 ₹750 fee
5. IndusInd LegendIndusInd Bank · 0.56% on a government or tax payment — the card's REDUCED government rate — 0.70 RP/₹100 vs 1 RP/₹100 weekday… ₹560 ₹2,600 ₹9,000 ₹15,500 ₹28,600 ₹46,100 ₹5,000 joining
6. IndusInd Pinnacle WorldIndusInd Bank · 0.56% on a government or tax payment — the card's REDUCED government rate — 0.70 RP/₹100 on government… ₹560 ₹2,600 ₹6,600 ₹13,100 ₹26,200 ₹43,700 ₹15,000 joining
7. IDFC FIRST WOW!IDFC FIRST Bank · 0.50% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹500 ₹1,600 ₹3,900 ₹7,800 ₹15,600 ₹26,000 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
8. IndusInd DuoIndusInd Bank · 0.50% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹500 ₹1,800 ₹4,500 ₹9,000 ₹18,000 ₹30,000 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
9. IDFC FIRST Quantum+IDFC FIRST Bank · 0.50% on a government or tax payment — the card's REDUCED government rate — ₹0.50 per ₹100 vs ₹1 per ₹100 in… ₹500 ₹3,600 ₹6,000 ₹6,000 ₹6,000 ₹6,000 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
10. IDFC FIRST HPCL Power+IDFC FIRST Bank · 0.50% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹500 ₹1,400 ₹3,300 ₹6,400 ₹12,400 ₹20,000 ₹499 fee
11. IDFC FIRST Diamond ReserveIDFC FIRST Bank · 0.50% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹500 −₹400 ₹10,300 ₹23,000 ₹48,500 ₹82,500 ₹3,000 fee
12. IndusInd Avios Visa InfiniteIndusInd Bank · 0.50% on a government or tax payment — the card's REDUCED government rate — 1 Avios/₹200 vs 3 Avios/₹200 on… ₹500 ₹4,700 ₹29,800 ₹59,600 ₹83,200 ₹1,14,600 ₹10,000 joining + ₹5,000/yr
13. IDFC FIRST AshvaIDFC FIRST Bank · 0.80% on a government or tax payment — the card's REDUCED government rate — 3 RP/₹150 vs the 5 RP/₹150 base · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app ₹800 ₹2,300 ₹17,500 ₹38,000 ₹78,800 ₹1,33,200 ₹2,999 fee
14. IDFC FIRST MayuraIDFC FIRST Bank · 1.00% on a government or tax payment — the card's REDUCED government rate — 3 RP/₹150 vs the 5 RP/₹150 base · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app ₹1,001 ₹600 ₹19,700 ₹48,900 ₹99,900 ₹1,67,900 ₹5,999 fee
15. IDFC FIRST SelectIDFC FIRST Bank · 0.38% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹375 ₹1,200 ₹2,900 ₹5,900 ₹11,800 ₹19,700 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
16. IDFC FIRST MillenniaIDFC FIRST Bank · 0.38% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹375 ₹1,200 ₹2,900 ₹5,900 ₹11,800 ₹19,700 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
17. IDFC FIRST ClassicIDFC FIRST Bank · 0.38% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹375 ₹1,200 ₹2,900 ₹5,900 ₹11,800 ₹19,700 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
18. IDFC FIRST WealthIDFC FIRST Bank · 0.38% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹375 ₹1,200 ₹2,900 ₹5,900 ₹11,800 ₹19,700 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
19. Kotak Zen SignatureKotak Mahindra Bank · 0.83% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹333 ₹4,700 ₹10,800 ₹17,800 ₹23,200 ₹23,200 ₹1,500 fee
20. IndiGo IDFC FIRST SecuredIDFC FIRST Bank · 0.25% on a government or tax payment — the card's REDUCED government rate — 0.5 points/₹100 vs the 3… ₹250 ₹2,900 ₹16,000 ₹34,500 ₹61,500 ₹97,500 ₹0 joining + ₹4,999/yr
21. BPCL SBI Card OCTANESBI Card · 0.25% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹250 ₹2,900 ₹4,300 ₹6,500 ₹10,800 ₹16,400 ₹1,499 fee
22. IndiGo IDFC FIRST Dual Credit CardIDFC FIRST Bank · 0.25% on a government or tax payment — the card's REDUCED government rate — 0.5 BluChips/₹100 ₹250 ₹4,700 ₹16,700 ₹33,400 ₹56,800 ₹88,000 ₹4,999 fee
23. CUB SalarySe Level UP VirtualCity Union Bank · 0.20% on a government or tax payment — the card's REDUCED government rate — 1 point/₹100 vs the 5 points/₹100… ₹200 ₹4,000 ₹13,200 ₹28,500 ₹59,100 ₹99,900 ₹0 fee, lifetime free
24. CUB SalarySe Level UPCity Union Bank · 0.20% on a government or tax payment — the card's REDUCED government rate — 1 point/₹100 vs the 5 points/₹100… ₹200 ₹4,000 ₹13,200 ₹28,500 ₹59,100 ₹99,900 ₹500 fee
25. Kotak NRI Royale SignatureKotak Mahindra Bank · 0.50% on a government or tax payment — the card's ordinary rate, no government accelerator published ₹200 ₹700 ₹3,200 ₹7,500 ₹15,900 ₹27,200 ₹1,000 fee
Ranks 26 to 70 45 cards
  1. Standard Chartered Rewards ₹167
  2. EazyDiner IndusInd Platinum ₹140
  3. ICICI Bank Platinum Chip Credit Card ₹100
  4. ICICI Bank HPCL Coral Credit Card ₹100
  5. Unity Bank BharatPe Credit Card ₹2,000
  6. IndusInd Bank Nexxt Credit Card ₹534
  7. Standard Chartered EaseMyTrip ₹500
  8. ICICI Bank Rubyx ₹250
  9. ICICI Bank Rubyx against FD ₹200
  10. ICICI Bank Emeralde ₹200
  11. Adani One ICICI Bank Platinum ₹500 · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app
  12. ICICI Bank Expressions ₹100
  13. ICICI Bank Coral ₹100
  14. ICICI Bank Coral against FD ₹100
  15. Titan SBI Card ₹1,500 · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app
  16. Axis Bank PRIMUS ₹5,000 · Invite only
  17. Standard Chartered Beyond ₹2,000 · Invite only
  18. DBS Vantage ₹2,000 · Invite only
  19. Amex Platinum Charge ₹1,250 · Issuing paused
  20. Flipkart Axis Bank Super Elite ₹1,000 · Issuing paused
  21. Amex Membership Rewards Card ₹1,000 · Issuing paused
  22. Amex Gold Charge ₹1,000 · Issuing paused
  23. Amex Platinum Travel ₹1,000 · Issuing paused
  24. Amex Platinum Reserve ₹1,000 · Issuing paused
  25. IndusInd PIONEER Private ₹700 · Invite only
  26. IndusInd Pioneer Legacy ₹560 · Invite only
  27. IndusInd Iconia Amex ₹523 · Closed to new applicants
  28. IndusInd Iconia Visa ₹523 · Closed to new applicants
  29. IB-VISA-Gold ₹500 · Not confirmed on sale
  30. IB-VISA-Platinum ₹500 · Not confirmed on sale
  31. IB-RuPay-Platinum ₹500 · Not confirmed on sale
  32. IB-RuPay-Select ₹500 · Not confirmed on sale
  33. Club Vistara IDFC FIRST ₹500 · Closed to new applicants
  34. Indus Solitaire ₹386 · Invite only
  35. Kotak Privy League Signature ₹375 · Closed to new applicants
  36. IndusInd Indulge ₹350 · Invite only
  37. RBL World Safari Plus ₹250 · Invite only
  38. OneCard Metal ₹200 · Issuing paused
  39. Poonawalla Fincorp IndusInd eLITE RuPay ₹200 · Closed to new applicants
  40. IndusInd Celesta ₹190 · Invite only
  41. IndusInd Crest ₹190 · Invite only
  42. IDFC FIRST Private ₹667 · Invite only · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app
  43. IDFC FIRST Gaj ₹667 · Invite only · Ranked lower: includes points worth full value only in one app
  44. Kotak Royale Signature ₹133 · Closed to new applicants
  45. Chennai Super Kings ICICI Bank ₹100 · Closed to new applicants
Earns nothing on a tax payment — or a bucket we will not price 292 cards

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero reward points · Annexure 1 covers 9211, 9222, 9311, 9399, 9402 and 9405 (22): Snapdeal BOBCARD , ICAI Exclusive BOBCARD , ICSI Diamond BOBCARD , CMA One BOBCARD , Varunah Premium BOBCARD , Varunah Plus BOBCARD , Varunah BOBCARD , Indian Army YODDHA BOBCARD , Assam Rifles SENTINEL BOBCARD , Coast Guard RAKSHAMAH BOBCARD , BOBCARD VIKRAM , PRAGATI BOBCARD (RRB) , BOBCARD Select , BOBCARD Easy , Nainital Bank RENAISSANCE BOBCARD , BOBCARD Swavlamban , UJJIVAN SFB Platinum BOBCARD , UJJIVAN SFB Elite BOBCARD , BOBCARD Easy (FD Backed) , BOBCARD Select (FD Backed) , BOBCARD Premier (FD Backed) , BOBCARD Prime .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No points · "Government Services" (MCC 9400, 1490, 2490, 2995, 7800, 9406, 9222, 9405, 9399, 9211, 9402, 9401, 9311, 9223) on… (16): RBL Bank Patanjali Swarn , RBL Signature Banking , RBL Aspire Banking , RBL Platinum Maxima Plus , RBL Platinum Edge , RBL Platinum Maxima , RBL Apex , IRCTC RBL Bank Credit Card , TVS Credit RBL Bank Gold , RBL Bank Blockbuster , RBL Platinum LifeEasy , TVS Credit RBL Bank , RBL World Plus , RBL World Prime , RBL World Max , RBL Bank Black .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero RP since 15-Oct-2024 · "Government Services" (MCC 9400, 1490, 2490, 2995, 7800, 9406, 9222, 9405, 9399, 9211, 9402, 9401…) (11): RBL Platinum Delight , RBL Platinum ShopGain , RBL Platinum Max , RBL Platinum Prime , RBL Shoprite , RBL Binge , RBL Platinum Choice , RBL Platinum Plus , RBL Platinum Advantage , RBL EasySaver , RBL MyFirst .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government spends earn nothing (5): Paytm HDFC Bank Digital , Paytm HDFC Bank Mobile , Kotak Cashback+ , Kotak Cashback+ Prime , Paytm HDFC Bank .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero RP since 1-Jan-2023 (4): HDFC Infinia Metal , HDFC Diners Club Black Metal , HDFC Regalia Gold , HDFC Diners Club Privilege .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Delight Points · the annexure names 9211 (court costs), 9222 (fines), 9311 (tax payments), 9399 (government services NEC)… (4): IDBI Bank LIC Eclat Select , IDBI Bank Euphoria World , IDBI Bank Royale Signature , IDBI Bank Winnings .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No Jewels on "Govt related transactions" (Edge / Edge+ T&C) (3): Edge CSB Bank RuPay Credit Card , Edge+ CSB Bank RuPay Credit Card , Edge+ CSB Bank Mastercard Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Via 'quasi-cash' 9222/9311/9402 AND 9399 (filed under utilities) · all govt/tax zero (3): SBI Card MILES PRIME , SBI Card MILES ELITE , SBI Card MILES .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · Annexure 1 covers 9211, 9222, 9311, 9399, 9402 and 9405 (3): BOBCARD Tiara , BOBCARD Premier , HPCL ENERGIE BOBCARD .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero reward points on government-services MCCs from 1 Jan 2024 (MITC) (3): Federal Bank Imperio , Federal Bank Signet , Federal RuPay Wave Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government services earn nothing (3): Fibe Axis Bank Credit Card , Axis Bank Freecharge Plus , Axis Bank SuperMoney RuPay .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points across the 14-code government list: 9034, 9211, 9222, 9223, 9311, 9399, 9402, 9405, 9700, 9701, 9702, 9751, 9754, 9950 (3): YES Bank BYOC (Rewards) , YES Bank Wellness Plus , YES First Preferred .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero RP and no milestone credit · "Government Services"… (3): RBL Movies and More , RBL Patanjali Vishisht , RBL Bank DMI Finance .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Named on the ineligible list as 'Government services' · zero cashback (3): Utkarsh Eternal Credit Card , Utkarsh Rhodium Credit Card , Utkarsh SmartGen Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Delight Points · the annexure names 9211, 9222, 9311, 9399 and 9405 · It does not name 9402 or 9223 (3): IDBI Bank Aspire Platinum , IDBI Bank Imperium Platinum , IDBI Bank LIC Lumine .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Government Payments | 9000–9999" · the entire government MCC space earns nothing, taxes included (3): CUB CSK Master Platinum , CUB SRH RuPay Platinum , CUB CSK Master World .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points and no milestone credit (MCC 9400, 1490, 2490, 2995, 7800, 9406, 9222, 9405, 9399, 9211, 9402, 9401, 9311, 9223) (3): RBL Bank Shoppers Stop Black , RBL Bank Shoppers Stop Platinum , RBL Bank Shoppers Stop Gold .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government in the MITC exclusion list (consumer retail cards) (3): Equitas Selfe Secured , Equitas PowerMiles Secured , Equitas Tiga .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Government services" · named in the post-merger list (3): Axis Bank Vistara Infinite Credit Card , Axis Bank Vistara Signature Credit Card , Axis Bank Vistara Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero · "government spends" in the product page's eligible-spend definition (2): Axis Miles & More World Select , Axis Miles & More World .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero NeuCoins · MCC 9399 and 9311 (2): Tata Neu Infinity SBI Card , Tata Neu Plus SBI Card .

2.00% on a government payment — but the ceiling on it is one bucket shared with other categories and the issuer publishes no split of it, so no rupee of it belongs to a tax payment alone and this card is named here at its rate rather than ranked on a ceiling it does not own — AU publishes no split of that ceiling, so no rupee of it belongs to a tax payment alone (2): AU CA Metal , AU CS .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — 0% cashback (2): HSBC Live+ , Flipkart SBI Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero reward points · between the "Tax Payment" row (9311), the "Education & Government" row (9399, 9222, 9402, 9211, 9405) and… (2): HSBC Platinum , HSBC RuPay Platinum .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero BluChips · in SBI's published exclusion list (2): IndiGo SBI Card ELITE , IndiGo SBI Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Government Services" in the card's published exclusion list (2): IndiGo Axis Bank Premium Credit Card , IndiGo Axis Bank Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero miles · named in the same MITC (2 Aug 2026) no-accrual line as insurance, utility and education (2): Emirates Skywards ICICI Bank Emeralde , Emirates Skywards ICICI Bank Sapphiro .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government spending in the published exclusion list (2): IndiGo Kotak Credit Card , IndiGo Kotak Premium Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Named beside rent in the same exclusion bullet (2): Tata Neu Plus HDFC Bank , IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government/tax excluded · RBL standard, community, unconfirmed (2): RBL Insignia Preferred Banking World Card , RBL Lumière .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero RP since 1-Apr-2024 (2): AU Zenith , AU Vetta .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9311 and 9399 (2): PhonePe SBI Card SELECT BLACK , PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No EDGE REWARD Points on government institutions (MCC 9222/9311/9399/9402) (2): Axis Bank My Wings , Axis Bank Platinum .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Government Institutions" earns no EDGE REWARD Points (2): Axis Bank Pride Platinum , Axis Bank Pride Signature .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · named outright in SBI's own earn line for this card (2): Landmark Rewards SBI Card SELECT , Landmark Rewards SBI Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero cashback (MCC 9211, 9222, 9223, 9311, 9399, 9402, 9405, 9950) (2): Swiggy Ornge HDFC Bank Credit Card , Swiggy BLCK HDFC Bank Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No cashback · "Government Services" (MCC 9400, 1490, 2490, 2995, 7800, 9406, 9222, 9405, 9399, 9211, 9402, 9401, 9311, 9223) (2): RBL Paisabazaar Duet , RBL Paisabazaar Duet Plus .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points on government payments (glossary MCC list) (2): YES PaisaSave , YES PaisaSave RuPay .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Government Payments | 9000–9999" · the entire government MCC space earns nothing (2): CUB SRH Master Platinum , CUB SRH Master World .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No Fuel Points · "Government Services" (MCC 9400, 1490, 2490, 2995, 7800, 9406, 9222, 9405, 9399, 9211, 9402, 9401, 9311, 9223)… (2): IndianOil RBL Bank Credit Card , IndianOil RBL Bank XTRA Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero CV Points · MCC 9399 and 9311, discontinued w.e.f · 15 Jul 2024 (2): Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME , Club Vistara SBI Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Same as Magnus (1): Axis Magnus for Burgundy .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — ICICI's own change notice carves them out of the 6 RP/₹200 rate effective 15-Jan-2026, and the MITC (2-Aug-2026) prints the same… (1): ICICI Emeralde Private Metal .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Govt · Institutions" in the official Excluded Merchant Categories list (Olympus T&C §4) (1): Axis Olympus .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No EDGE RP on government institutions (CardInsider) (1): Axis Burgundy Private .

6.00% on a government payment — but the ceiling on it is one bucket shared with other categories and the issuer publishes no split of it, so no rupee of it belongs to a tax payment alone and this card is named here at its rate rather than ranked on a ceiling it does not own — HSBC publishes no split of that ceiling, so none of it belongs to government alone and this site prices no government ₹ against it (1): HSBC Premier (Metal) .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — the rule zeroes the category · and it does not count: excluded from earn + fee waiver (1): Axis Magnus .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero miles · Annexure 1 MCCs 9211/9222/9311/9399/9402/9405 (official MITC) (1): BOBCARD Etihad Guest Premium .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Government Services" in the official rbl.bank.in exclusion list (1): RBL Nova .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Tax 9311 + Edu&Govt bucket 9399/9222/9402/9211/9405 · bail & bond 9223 also zero (1): HSBC TravelOne .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — MCC 8211/8220/8241/8244/8249/8299/9211/9222/9223/9311/9399/9402/9405/9950 earn nothing… (1): Kotak Air+ Prime .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Education & Government" in the published no-earn list (1): Kotak Air+ .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · counts toward milestones per CardInsider · medium confidence (1): Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Bank .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero miles · MCC 9311 (and 9399) in the T&C's exclusion table (1): KrisFlyer SBI Card APEX .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero (1): Axis Bank Reserve .

2.00% on a government payment — but the ceiling on it is one bucket shared with other categories and the issuer publishes no split of it, so no rupee of it belongs to a tax payment alone and this card is named here at its rate rather than ranked on a ceiling it does not own — ICICI publishes no split of that ceiling, so none of it belongs to government alone and this site prices no government ₹ against… (1): ICICI Times Black .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — MCC 9211/9222/9311/9399/9402/9405 · plus 8220 (colleges), which Horizon's T&C files under 'Govt · Institutions' (1): Axis Horizon .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero RP since 1-Apr-2025 (government + marketing/advertising added to exclusions) (1): YES Bank Marquee .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government services on the official no-coins list (1): Scapia (Federal Bank) .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Scapia Coins on "government services" (T&C 4.3) (1): Scapia (Axis Bank) .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government payments on the official no-RP exclusion list (1): ixigo AU .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — MCC 9211/9222/9311/9399/9402/9405 (1): BOBCARD Etihad Guest .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero NeuCoins on government/tax spends (community-reported, unconfirmed) (1): Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero cashback · HSBC's education-and-government list names 9399, 9311, 9222, 9402, 9405, 9211 and 9223, which is every code in… (1): HSBC RuPay Cashback .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government transactions in the published exclusion list (1): Equitas PowerMiles .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero RP on government payments (Selfe T&C exclusion sentence, read via search extract) (1): Equitas Selfe Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero earn · Annexure 1 MCCs 9211/9222/9311/9399/9402/9405 (official rewards T&C) (1): BOBCARD Eterna .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — 'Government services' named in the 20-Jun-2025 T&C exclusion list (1): Axis Bank SELECT .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Any Tax-related payments will not be eligible for Reward Points." Note this card is expressly carved OUT of ICICI's Feb-2024… (1): Amazon Pay ICICI Bank .

A government payment earns at a rate unpublished — the issuer states a cut and never its size — ICICI utility/government bucket on non-EPM cards → reduced earn · community mapping, unconfirmed (1): Adani One ICICI Bank Signature .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No Niyo Coins on government transactions, NPS included (rewards T&C) (1): Niyo Global SBM Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government excluded (YES added govt to exclusions Apr-2025) · community, unconfirmed (1): YES Bank RESERV .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Fees and taxes excluded (CardInsider exclusion list) (1): RBL iGlobe .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero SC Points · "Government Services" named in the SpiceClub earn exclusion list (1): SpiceJet Axis Bank Voyage Black .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Air Miles · official MCC table (9211, 9222, 9223, 9399, 9402, 9405, 9950) · EXCEPTION: tax payments (MCC 9311) DO earn miles (1): Kotak Solitaire .

The issuer's own documents disagree about what a government payment earns on this card — we won't rank a number we can't settle — CONFLICT: absent from the official T&C MCC table, but RBL's card page/aggregators (Paisabazaar/CardInsider) list government +… (1): RBL World Safari .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "government payments" · named in the Reward Points TnCs exclusion list (1): PhonePe HDFC Bank Ultimo .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government in the published no-earn list (1): Kotak Air .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "No Reward Points accrual on spends made on Rental and Government category payments" (1): Shoppers Stop Black HDFC Bank .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9399 and 9311, discontinued w.e.f · 1 Jun 2024 · SBI's list for that date names "SBI Card ELITE" (1): SBI Card ELITE .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government MCCs are on the published no-earn list (1): Axis Bank Privilege .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government spends do not count towards milestones since 1 June 2025 (1): Kotak White .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No per-swipe points · government/tax generally excluded from milestone spend (unconfirmed) (1): Kotak White Reserve .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero RP since 1-Apr-2024 bank-wide revision (1): AU Ananta .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "government payments" · named in the PhonePe programme's Reward Points exclusion list (1): PhonePe HDFC Bank Uno .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9399 and 9311, discontinued w.e.f · 1 Jun 2024, with "SBI Card PRIME" on SBI's list for that date (1): SBI Card PRIME .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero SC Points · government services named in the SpiceClub earn exclusion list (1): SpiceJet Axis Bank Voyage .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — MCC 8220/9211/9222/9311/9399/9402/9405 earn nothing · not named on either waiver-exclusion list (1): IndianOil Axis Bank Premium .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero miles · in SBI's published exclusion list (1): KrisFlyer SBI Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9399 and 9311, discontinued w.e.f · 1 Jun 2024, with "SBI Card Pulse" on SBI's list for that date (1): SBI Card PULSE .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Named verbatim · "Government services" (1): BOBCARD Uni GoldX .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero coins on "Government Services – Not Elsewhere Classified", tax payments and fines (1): YES Bank Zagg Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — ICICI utility/government bucket → zero · community mapping, unconfirmed (1): MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank .

5.00% on a government payment — but the ceiling on it is one bucket shared with other categories and the issuer publishes no split of it, so no rupee of it belongs to a tax payment alone and this card is named here at its rate rather than ranked on a ceiling it does not own — but the whole bucket is capped at 400 RP a statement cycle SHARED with utilities, groceries, telecom and departmental stores… (1): ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government excluded (Federal standard) · community, unconfirmed (1): Federal Bank Celesta .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Government Institutions" earn nothing and are excluded from the milestone count (1): Axis Bank My Zone .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Govt · Institutions" on the excluded-MCC table (1): Axis Bank REWARDS .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Government Services" is an excluded MCC category (1): Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points (1): Axis Bank NEO .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government/tax spends excluded from rewards (SBI Card standard exclusion list, community-reported, unconfirmed) (1): SBI AURUM .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Excluded by MCC (9211, 9222, 9223, 9311, 9399, 9402, 9405, 9950) in the product T&C (1): HDFC PIXEL Go .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero RP since 15 Jul 2024 per the card's own e-kit T&C (IRCTCPremiertnc.pdf, read 1-Aug-2026) (1): IRCTC SBI Card Premier .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Named beside rent in the same 1-Jan-2023 clause, and again in the CashBack table's "except Fuel, EMI, Wallet, Rent payments… (1): HDFC Bank Millennia .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Excluded from all three buckets by MCC: 9211, 9222, 9223, 9311, 9399, 9402, 9405 (1): HDFC Bank PIXEL Play .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Named beside rent in the same 1-Jan-2023 clause and in the earn table's footnote (1): HDFC Bank Freedom .

1.00% on a government payment — but the ceiling on it is one bucket shared with other categories and the issuer publishes no split of it, so no rupee of it belongs to a tax payment alone and this card is named here at its rate rather than ranked on a ceiling it does not own — IDFC publishes no split of that ceiling, so none of it belongs to government alone and this site prices no government ₹ against it (1): LIC IDFC FIRST Select .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9399 and 9311, discontinued w.e.f · 15 Jun 2024 (1): Reliance SBI Card PRIME .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · the product record names "Govt Spends" among the purchases excluded from the 2-point base (1): Landmark Rewards SBI Card PRIME .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Health Credits · §11.6(c), MCC 9399 and 9311 (1): Apollo SBI Card SELECT .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No CRED Reward Points on payments to government institutions, services or charges (the product page's exclusion line) (1): CRED IndusInd Bank RuPay Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero cashback on MCC 9222, 9311 and 9402 (1): CASHBACK SBI Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Govt · Institutions" earn nothing, and transportation and tolls are excluded alongside them (1): Axis Bank Cashback .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero monies on tax and government payments, MCC 9311/9399 (slice MITC) (1): slice UPI Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · government accrual discontinued on this card w.e.f · 15 Jul 2024 (1): IRCTC SBI Platinum Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points across the same 14-code list: 9034, 9211, 9222, 9223, 9311, 9399, 9402, 9405, 9700, 9701, 9702, 9751, 9754, 9950 (1): YES Bank ELITE+ .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Added to the exclusion list with effect from 1 June 2025 (1): Kotak UPI RuPay .

0.25% on a government payment — but the ceiling on it is one bucket shared with other categories and the issuer publishes no split of it, so no rupee of it belongs to a tax payment alone and this card is named here at its rate rather than ranked on a ceiling it does not own — ICICI publishes no split of that ceiling, so none of it belongs to government alone and this site prices no government ₹ against… (1): ICICI Sapphiro .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Govt · services" earns no EDGE REWARD Points (1): Axis Bank Kwik .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No EDGE REWARD Points on government institutions (1): Axis Bank My Zone Easy .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero RP · "Government Services" on the page's exclusion list (1): RBL BankBazaar SaveMax Pro .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero CashPoints · the same "Education and Govt Related Transactions" line (1): HDFC Bank UPI RuPay .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Fuel Points · "Government related transactions" in §2.1, "Govt · spends" in Table 1.1, and TAX is listed separately in §2.1… (1): IndianOil HDFC Bank Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No EDGE REWARDS · "Government Institutions" is named on Axis's exclusion list for this card (1): IndianOil Axis Bank Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9399 and 9311, under SBI's card-wide Shop-and-Smile exclusions (1): SimplySAVE SBI Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points since 1 Jan 2023 (1): HDFC Bank MoneyBack+ .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points on government payments (MCC 9399, 9311) from 1 Jun 2024 (1): SimplySAVE UPI SBI Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points from 15 Jun 2024 · MCC 9399 and 9311, named on this card by name (1): Reliance SBI Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · government transactions and tax payments are both named (1): Shoppers Stop HDFC Bank .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · government services are named in clause 12 (1): LIC Axis Bank Platinum .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Government services" named in the card's own exclusion list (1): YES Essence .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — the rule zeroes the category · and it does not count: Struck out of the ₹1,50,000 annual-fee-reversal threshold by the MITC's "Spend Threshold… (1): ICICI Bank NRI Coral .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — the rule zeroes the category · and it does not count: Struck out of the ₹6,00,000 annual-fee-reversal threshold by the MITC's "Spend Threshold… (1): ICICI Bank NRI Sapphiro .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No cashback on government payments or post office (MITC exclusions) (1): Utkarsh superCard .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Govt · Institutions", restated in June 2025 as "Government services" · zero points, and still inside the waiver count (1): Axis Bank Shoppers Stop Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government payments excluded · BOBCARD standard, community, unconfirmed (1): IRCTC BOBCARD .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero RP and no waiver credit · "Government Services"… (1): RBL Bank SalarySe UP .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero benefit · "Government Services" (MCC 9400, 1490, 2490, 2995, 7800, 9406, 9222, 9405, 9399, 9211, 9402, 9401, 9311, 9223) (1): RBL Cookies .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero CashPoints on government categories (Mega Saver page) (1): HDFC Bank UPI RuPay Mega Saver .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points across a 14-code list: 9034, 9211, 9222, 9223, 9311, 9399, 9402, 9405, 9700, 9701, 9702, 9751, 9754, 9950 (1): YES Bank SELECT .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Reward Points · the same range-wide "Education & Govt" block (1): AU Bank NOMO Credit Card .

0.25% on a government payment — but the ceiling on it is one bucket shared with other categories and the issuer publishes no split of it, so no rupee of it belongs to a tax payment alone and this card is named here at its rate rather than ranked on a ceiling it does not own — AU publishes no split of that ceiling, so none of it belongs to government alone and this site prices no government ₹ against it (1): AU Zenith+ .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Reward Points on government payments ("Education & Govt", AU's Laksya page) (1): AU Laksya Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9399 and 9311, discontinued on this card w.e.f · 1 Jun 2024 (1): SimplyCLICK SBI Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No cashback on government payments (product page) (1): AU SPONT Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero cashback · Annexure 1 covers 9211, 9222, 9311, 9399, 9402 and 9405 (1): BOBCARD Cashback .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Reward Points on government MCCs (product page) (1): AU Bank Traverse Credit Card (NRI) .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points w.e.f · 1 Jun 2025 · MCC 9222, 9223, 9311, 9399, 9402 and 9405 (1): Kotak League Platinum .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero cashback since 1-Apr-2024 · the same "Education & Govt" block AU removed on that date (1): AU Altura Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Reward Points on government payments ("Education & Govt", AU's Tejas page) (1): AU Tejas Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Reward Points on government payments (AU's Xcite Ultra page) (1): AU Xcite Ultra Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No cashback on government payments ("Education & Govt", AU's Xcite Ace page) (1): AU Xcite Ace Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Reward Points on government payments ("Education & Govt", AU's Xcite page) (1): AU Xcite Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No cashback on government transactions (CUB FAQ) (1): Dhi CUB Visa Signature .

0.60% on a government payment — but the ceiling on it is one bucket shared with other categories and the issuer publishes no split of it, so no rupee of it belongs to a tax payment alone and this card is named here at its rate rather than ranked on a ceiling it does not own — IDFC publishes no split between the six, so not one rupee of that ceiling is claimed for government alone and this site prices… (1): LIC IDFC FIRST Classic .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No EDGE REWARDS on government payments (1): IndianOil Easy Axis Bank .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Reward Points on government payments ("Education & Govt", AU's Prathama page) (1): AU Prathama Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — MCCs 8111, 9211, 9222, 9223, 9311, 9313, 9314, 9321, 9399, 9402, 9405, 9411 and 8398 all earn nothing · 8398 is listed twice by… (1): Suryoday SFB RuPay Platinum .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Reward Points on government payments since 1-Jun-2025 (811 page) (1): Kotak 811 Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — MCCs 8111, 9211, 9222, 9223, 9311, 9313, 9314, 9321, 9399, 9402, 9405, 9411 and 8398 earn nothing (1): Suryoday SFB RuPay Select .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Reward Points · the same "Education & Govt" block (1): AU Altura Plus Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No POPCoins on government payments (1): YES Bank POP-CLUB .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government services (MCC 9399) and tax payments (MCC 9311) are both named on the exclusion table (1): SBM MobiKwik First Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Govt Spends, Gambling, Games, Lottery" are all named in the exclusion prose (1): Paisabazaar Paisa Plus Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — "Government Payments | 9000–9999" · the entire government MCC space earns nothing, taxes included, which matters more here than… (1): CUB CSK RuPay Platinum .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero RP · "Government Services" (MCC 9400, 1490, 2490, 2995, 7800, 9406, 9222, 9405, 9399, 9211, 9402, 9401, 9311, 9223) on the… (1): RBL BankBazaar SaveMax .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero YES Rewardz Points (product-page exclusion list) (1): YES Bank FinBooster .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero RP on base and on 5X/10X (1): AU LIT Credit Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No KIWIS on government services, tax, court costs, postal and fines (Annexure-I) (1): PNB Kiwi .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government/tax excluded (community-reported, unconfirmed) (1): IndusInd Pioneer Heritage .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Government services on the Scapia no-coins list (1): Scapia (BOBCARD) .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9311 and 9399 · SBI's table mislabels this row "Gaming", but 9311 and 9399 are tax and government-services… (1): Paytm SBI Card SELECT .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9311 and 9399, filed under a row SBI's own table mislabels "Gaming" (1): Paytm SBI Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9399 and 9311, discontinued w.e.f · 1 Jun 2024, with "KVB SBI Signature Card" on SBI's list for that date (1): KVB SBI Signature Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9399 and 9311, discontinued w.e.f · 1 Jun 2024, with "KVB SBI Platinum Card" on SBI's list for that date (1): KVB SBI Platinum Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9399 and 9311, discontinued w.e.f · 1 Jun 2024, with "SIB SBI Platinum Card" on SBI's list for that date (1): South Indian Bank SBI Platinum Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Accrual on government transactions (MCC 9399 and 9311) was discontinued with effect from 1 June 2024 (1): Shaurya SBI Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points from 1 Jun 2024 · MCC 9399 and 9311, named on this card by name (1): SBI Card Unnati .

5.00% on a government payment — but the ceiling on it is one bucket shared with other categories and the issuer publishes no split of it, so no rupee of it belongs to a tax payment alone and this card is named here at its rate rather than ranked on a ceiling it does not own — HDFC's product page states one cap for the whole leg ("₹500 max, first year only") and publishes no split of that ceiling, so… (1): HDFC Bank Regalia First .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — MCCs 9222/9311/9399/9402 (pre-Jun-2025 list) · excluded from earn, tier and milestones since 20-Apr-2024 (1): Axis Atlas .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero Miles w.e.f · 15 Jan 2026 (and inside ICICI's utility bucket since 5 Feb 2024) (1): Emirates Skywards ICICI Bank Rubyx .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9399 and 9311, discontinued w.e.f · 15 Jul 2024 (1): Air India SBI Signature Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero points · MCC 9399 and 9311, discontinued for this card w.e.f · 15 Jul 2024 (1): Air India SBI Platinum Card .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero RP · the exception list covers only business variants (Business Regalia, BizBlack et al), not the consumer Regalia… (1): HDFC Regalia .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Named in the same 1-Jan-2023 clause as rent (1): HDFC Regalia Activ .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — Zero cashback · "Government related transactions" is on the exclusion list (1): Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card .

5.00% on a government payment — but the ceiling on it is one bucket shared with other categories and the issuer publishes no split of it, so no rupee of it belongs to a tax payment alone and this card is named here at its rate rather than ranked on a ceiling it does not own — HDFC's product page states one cap for the whole business-essentials leg ("₹250 monthly cap") and publishes no split of that… (1): Pine Labs HDFC Bank .

5.00% on a government payment — but the ceiling on it is one bucket shared with other categories and the issuer publishes no split of it, so no rupee of it belongs to a tax payment alone and this card is named here at its rate rather than ranked on a ceiling it does not own — HDFC's product page states one cap for the whole business-essentials leg ("capped at ₹250 per month") and publishes no split of… (1): Pine Labs HDFC Bank Pro .

Your income-tax challan earns nothing on this card — No Reward Points · MCC 9400, 1490, 2490, 2995, 7800, 9406, 9222, 9405, 9399, 9211, 9402, 9401, 9311 and 9223 (1): RBL Bank novio .

What changed

Changes to government / tax rewards, newest first 7 events

How we rank

THE COUNT FIRST, THEN THE RATE. A card whose published government rule zeroes the category is not ranked at ₹0 — a zero is a finding, not a position — so it is named below the table with its own rule, and 278 of the 362 whose government rule this site holds sit there. Of the rest: (1) THE RATE is first-tier earn × the card's published government treatment × its currency's house ₹/point — the same expression /spends, /cards/best/government and /wallet crown on — raised only where the card's own earn table publishes a government tier AND our own government rule states the same number; 0 ranked cards carry such a tier, and 12 had one refused for a tier ceiling we cannot convert. (2) THE BUCKET is the ceiling that actually decides this category, and it is not a tier ceiling: past a tier you still earn the ordinary rate, past a BUCKET you earn nothing at all — "Zen Points earn only on the first ₹40,000 of government spend a statement cycle". 12 ranked cards have a bucket that bites at ₹1,00,000, and 2 more stop earning at a card-wide monthly ceiling we hold in rupees; every one of those rows prints its own ceiling. A bucket the note ASSERTS in units nothing here converts — or one ceiling shared with other categories and never split, which is nobody's to spend — is refused rather than priced as uncapped: 12 cards are named at their rate instead of ranked, HSBC Premier's ₹1L-a-month bucket among them, and that one is shared with utilities and insurance besides. (3) THE REFERENCE IS ONE PAYMENT, NOT A MONTH OF THEM. Tax is lumpy — four advance-tax instalments, one self-assessment, a GST lump on a due date — so the ₹ on every row is what ONE ₹1,00,000 payment pays back, once, never multiplied by twelve. Every government ceiling in this data is written per statement cycle, which is why one payment in one cycle is the honest unit, and ₹1,00,000 sits at or above almost every one of them so the caps decide the ranking instead of decorating it. WHAT IS NOT IN THE NUMBER: the convenience fee. Paying tax by card levies a real charge on most government payment portals, and we hold NOT ONE figure for it — every "fee" in all 380 government rules in our fine-print records is a fee-WAIVER threshold, a different fact — so no row nets one and no row invents one. That waiver fact is on the rows that carry it: 2 ranked cards count your tax OUT of the spend that would have waived their annual fee. Nor is a dated bank offer added; /news/offers carries those with their end dates. 289 priced cards have no government rule here yet and appear on no part of this page.

The records behind this board — the card records this ranks and the government rules in our fine-print records — carry re-verification dates from 1 Jun 2026 to 26 Oct 2026; the ranking is recomputed from them on every build.

Every figure comes from each card's own published fee and earn rate. How we value cards.

Questions

Which credit card earns rewards on an income-tax, GST or government payment in India?

START WITH THE NEGATIVE, because it IS the answer: 278 of the 362 whose government rule we hold earn EXACTLY NOTHING on an advance-tax challan, a GST payment, a property-tax bill or a court fee — HDFC zeroed its whole line-up on 1 January 2023 and the market followed. They are named under the table with the clause that zeroes them. A further 12 cards DO earn on a tax payment and are still not ranked: their rule states a bucket — "capped", "up to", "inside the utility bucket" — in units nothing here converts into rupees of tax, or ONE ceiling shared with other categories that the issuer never split (HSBC Premier's is shared with utilities and insurance besides). They are named at their rate under the table. 2 cards tie at the top of the 70 we can price, of 82 that pay anything — IndusInd Tiger and IDFC FIRST Hello Cashback — with ₹1,000 back on a single ₹1,00,000 tax payment. IndusInd Tiger gets there on 1.00% on a government or tax payment, with no bucket ceiling published on the rule we hold. AND 2 OF THE RANKED CARDS COUNT YOUR TAX OUT OF ITS OWN FEE WAIVER — the rupees you paid the government do not move you toward the spend that would have waived the annual fee. Every row that carries one quotes it verbatim.

How many cards are in this government & tax ranking?

70 of the 990 Indian personal cards we track are ranked here. 292 are listed unranked with the computed reason — earns nothing on a tax payment — or a bucket we will not price — because a card we can't rank honestly gets named, not hidden. A further 339 are carried but not valued at all — 51 with no annual fee any issuer document states, 241 whose issuer has not published how the card earns, 47 with neither — because scoring an unknown as ₹0 is a claim, not a gap. Business and corporate cards are ranked apart from these: 70 priced ones sit on /cards/best/business, because pricing an MSME card against a personal wallet answers a question nobody asked.

How up to date is this list?

The records behind this board — the card records this ranks and the government rules in our fine-print records — carry re-verification dates from 1 Jun 2026 to 26 Oct 2026; the ranking is recomputed from them on every build. Nothing on this page is typed by hand: the podium, the table and the numbers in this answer are all recomputed from those records every time the site builds, so a devaluation moves the ranking the day we log it.

Which credit cards for income-tax and government payments in India have no annual fee?

14 of the 70 ranked here are lifetime free. The best on ₹ back on one ₹1,00,000 tax payment is IndusInd Tiger at ₹1,000. 2 cards are level at the top on ₹1,000, and not every one is lifetime free: IDFC FIRST Hello Cashback (₹1,000/yr) bills a fee this metric does not see.