Which Indian Temple Earns The Most And Pays The Highest Tax Bill? News24 –

From the newly consecrated Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple to the gold-laden vaults of Shri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram and the pilgrim-packed hills of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, India’s temples are more than just spiritual centers. They can now be regarded as economic powerhouses of the country. Religious sites in India amass staggering wealth, fueled by billions in donations, offerings, and tourism. How much do they earn and which temple hands over the fattest tax check to the Indian government? Here are the details..

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi- Ayodhya

Reports suggest that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has paid about Rs 400 crore in taxes to the government over the past five years. This was revealed by the Trust Secretary Champat Rai said on Sunday. This huge tax payment signifies the surge in religious tourism in India. The amount was paid between February 5, 2020 and February 5, 2025. Of this, Rs 270 crore was paid as goods and services tax (GST), while the remaining Rs 130 crore was paid under various other tax categories, Champat Rai said. Ayodhya has witnessed a tenfold increase in devotees and tourists, transforming it into a major religious tourism hub. This had generated employment opportunities for locals. During the Maha Kumbh 1.26 crore devotees visited Ayodhya.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD)

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which is considered to be India’s richest temple trust is reported to pay less than 1.5 percent goods and services (GST) in FY25, according to a moneycontrol report. The temple’s annual income is Rs 4,774 crore. In the case of TTD, of Rs 4,800 crore earnings, over a third came from Hundi collections. The tax liability, in terms of GST, has been around Rs 130 crore in five years since FY21.

Vaishno Devi- Jammu

Vaishno Devi in Jammu’s Katra, another rich temple, earned Rs 683 crore in FY24, of which Rs 255 crore came from offerings, which are tax-free and another Rs 133.3 crore from interest.

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple – Thiruvananthapuram

In November 2024, the iconic Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram—renowned as one of India’s wealthiest shrines—found itself in the spotlight for an unexpected reason. Authorities issued a notice over pending tax payments, a sum that seemed almost negligible compared to the temple’s vast wealth. Media reports suggest that the outstanding tax demand was just ₹1.57 crore over seven years, a stark contrast to the temple’s estimated earnings of ₹700 crore in 2014 alone.

Temple Earnings

Detailed financial accounts of temples are not publicly available. However, a Moneycontrol report reveals that India’s two largest temple trusts have doubled their wealth over the past seven years.

According to official data, the Tirupati Trust’s budget surged from ₹2,678 crore in FY17 to ₹5,145 crore in FY25. Similarly, the Vaishno Devi Trust’s income rose from ₹380 crore in FY17 to ₹683 crore in FY24.

GST Payment

As temple revenues have grown, so has their GST contribution. Take Tirupati, for example—its tax payments have steadily risen over the years. In FY17, the temple paid ₹14.7 crore in GST, which increased to ₹15.58 crore in FY22, then ₹32.15 crore in FY23, and ₹32.95 crore in FY24, according to details shared in Parliament.

For Sree Padmanabhaswamy, the GST liability has been fixed at Rs 1.57 crore for seven years since 2017.

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust Secretary Champat Rai also said that, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has incurred a total expenditure of ₹2,150 crore till date in the ongoing construction work of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in the last five years after the Trust was constituted on February 5, 2020.