What happened

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has extended the final date for submitting income tax returns for the 2026 tax year to October 31, 2026, according to Dawn. The extension applies to taxpayers who were originally required to file by September 30, 2026, and whose deadline was previously moved to October 15, 2026. The FBR announced the decision in a notification shared on its X account, invoking authority under Section 214A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

Why it matters

The FBR granted the additional time following multiple requests from trade groups and tax bar associations. Dawn reported that taxpayers experienced significant difficulties in meeting earlier deadlines due to heavy web traffic, delayed release of tax forms, and recurring technical problems on the IRIS submission portal.

  • Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Atif Ikram Sheikh requested the government to extend the cutoff date to October 31 to accommodate businesses and individual filers.
  • The Karachi Tax Bar Association submitted a five-page letter to the Member Inland Revenue (operations), detailing technical errors on the IRIS system and delays in issuing draft notifications that hindered tax filings.

Key facts

Official figures published by Dawn reflect a substantial increase in tax return filings and collections compared to the previous year:

  • By October 14, total return submissions reached 6.71 million, up 34.38 percent from the 4.99 million filed during the same period last tax year. By September 30, filings had reached 5.76 million compared to 3.98 million in the prior period.
  • Total tax collected alongside returns stood at Rs66.81 billion by October 14, a 14.61 percent increase from Rs58.29 billion collected in the corresponding period last year.
  • Submissions from non-salaried individuals—such as shopkeepers, traders, self-employed workers, and professionals—grew by 46.35 percent, rising from 3.04 million to 4.45 million.
  • Filings by salaried individuals increased by 16.16 percent, moving from 1.88 million to 2.18 million.
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Source: Dawn - Home · Published October 15, 2026 · Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash