Tax hacks: Why Sachin Tendulkar told tax officers he was an actor, not a cricketer

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar may be celebrated as the “Master Blaster” on the field, but off the field, he once made headlines for a completely different reason — proving that he was also an actor to save on taxes. Over a decade ago, Tendulkar found himself in a legal dispute with the Income Tax Department over how his foreign earnings from brand endorsements should be classified under the Income Tax Act. Advertisement

Sujit Bangar, Founder of TaxBuddy.com, recently revisited this intriguing case on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). “Sachin Tendulkar wasn’t a ‘cricketer.’ He claimed he was an actor — to save ₹58 lakh in taxes. The tax officer raised a demand on him. But here’s how the Master Blaster proved he was an actor, not a cricketer, and won the case,” Bangar wrote.