Income tax return deadline passed on 31 October: no FBR extension yet, tax bars seek 34 more days

Update, Sunday 1 November 2026, 6:45am PKT: fbr date extension 2026, where it stands. The Tax Year 2026 deadline of Saturday 31 October has passed, and the FBR had announced no further extension by Sunday morning. The 31 October date was set by FBR Circular No. 4 of 15 October under Section 214A of the Income Tax Ordinance, Business Recorder reported on Saturday.

• Tax bars want 34 more days: the Pakistan Tax Bar Association wrote to FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial asking for a further 34-day extension. Its case: the return form was notified on 2 September, 64 days after the tax year closed, and the two 15-day extensions so far cover only 30 of those days. The Lahore Tax Bar Association asked for the full 90-day filing period.
• FBR sources say no: the same report quoted FBR sources as saying there will be no further extension and that non-filers will face penalties. That is not yet an official statement either way.
• The Saturday argument: tax consultant Asif S. Kasbati told Business Recorder that because 31 October fell on a Saturday, Section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 moves the effective last day to Monday 2 November. That is his legal reading, not an FBR announcement; do not rely on it if you can file today.
• How many have filed: figures circulating on social media and cited by Business Recorder put returns at about 7.3 million by 29 October, against 6.8 million at the same point last year, with tax paid with returns at Rs 85 billion against Rs 88.5 billion. These are not yet confirmed FBR figures.

What to do now if you have not filed:

1. File on IRIS today: a late return is still accepted, and the sooner it goes in, the sooner you are back on the Active Taxpayers List. Our IRIS filing guide covers each screen.
2. Work out your tax first with the income tax calculator, and pay any balance by PSID before submitting.
3. Expect the ATL surcharge and possible Section 182 penalty for late filing (details in the earlier updates below).
4. Trust only an extension the FBR itself announces on fbr.gov.pk or its official accounts. Fake circulars went round before both earlier deadlines.

We will update this page the moment the FBR announces a decision on the tax bars' request.

Update, Friday 30 October 2026, 3:45pm PKT: one day left. The income tax return last date is tomorrow, Saturday 31 October 2026. The FBR has announced no further extension, so returns and wealth statements for Tax Year 2026 are due by midnight on Saturday. The deadline has already been moved twice (from 30 September to 15 October, then to 31 October), and several reports at the time described the 15 October move as the final one. Any new date counts only if the FBR announces it itself; fake extension circulars went round before both earlier deadlines.

ARY News reported on Friday, citing FBR sources, that returns filed this year will be cross-checked by an automated system, including AI-based comparison against the property and asset data the FBR holds, and that the board will act against misleading declarations under Section 182 of the Income Tax Ordinance. The same report said FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial has taken notice of advance tax notices sent to people whose only income is a salary, and that stopping such notices is under consideration. That proposal is not yet a decision.

What to do before midnight on Saturday:

1. Log in to IRIS today rather than tomorrow night, when the portal is at its busiest. Our IRIS filing guide walks through each screen.
2. Check your tax with the income tax calculator and match it against the tax deducted on your salary certificate and bank statements.
3. Reconcile the wealth statement: every property, car, bank balance and investment you held on 30 June 2026, and the change from last year.
4. Pay any tax due through a PSID before you submit, and keep the acknowledgement.
5. If you miss the date, you lose Active Taxpayer List status until you file with the Rs 25,000 surcharge (see the 7 October update below for the draft property undertaking), and late-filing penalties under Section 182 apply.

Update, Friday 16 October 2026, 6:45am PKT: 15 days left, deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. More than 6.815 million income tax returns have now been filed for Tax Year 2026, against just over 5.2 million at the same point last year, The Nation reported on Thursday evening. Over 4.5 million came from people outside the salaried class and over 2.2 million from salaried individuals. Under the scheme for small traders and shopkeepers, 1,473 traders have filed (137 of them new) and 2,875 shopkeepers have registered. The Nation did not give a cut-off date for the count.

Update, Thursday 15 October 2026, 10:45pm PKT: the income tax return last date is now Saturday 31 October 2026. The FBR extended the Tax Year 2026 deadline a second time on Thursday, the day it was due to expire, giving filers about two more weeks. Its notification said the extension was granted "in view of the requests received from various trade bodies and tax bar associations", Business Recorder reported. ProPakistani had first reported earlier in the evening that an extension was coming.

• New deadline: 31 October 2026, for returns and wealth statements for Tax Year 2026 (income from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026).
• Original deadline: 30 September 2026, first moved to 15 October.
• Who asked: the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry asked for another month, citing IRIS glitches and slow processing; the Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry pointed to the new return forms, extra disclosures and wealth statement reconciliation. The Pakistan Tax Advisers Association had asked for 15 November. The FBR gave less than any of them asked for.
• Why some experts expected more: the final return form was notified under SRO 1495(I)/2026 only on 2 September. Islamabad tax practitioner Fazal Faraz told Business Recorder the law allows three months after the final form, which would point to December.

What it means for you: 31 October is a Saturday, so do not plan on a last-day visit to a tax office. File in the next week while IRIS is quieter, work out your tax with the income tax calculator, and follow the IRIS filing guide. Only an extension the FBR itself announces counts; fake circulars went round before both earlier deadlines.

Update, Tuesday 13 October 2026, 4:30pm PKT: two days left, deadline still Thursday 15 October. The income tax return last date for Tax Year 2026 has not moved: returns and wealth statements are due by Thursday 15 October 2026. Tax advisers are pressing for more time. The Pakistan Tax Advisers Association, through its chairman Javed Iqbal Qazi, wrote to the FBR chairman on Monday asking for an extension to 15 November, citing a slow IRIS portal, load-shedding, new columns in the return forms and manual returns of low-income taxpayers not yet on IRIS, and saying practitioners had finished only 60 to 65% of their work, Business Recorder reported. A salt manufacturers' association made a similar request. The FBR has not responded, and any extension counts only when the FBR announces it itself; fake extension circulars went round before the last deadline.

What to do: file now rather than bet on an extension. Work out what you owe with our income tax calculator, follow the steps in our IRIS filing guide, and file early in the day, when IRIS is less busy. If you miss the date, the Rs 25,000 ATL surcharge and the draft property undertaking below apply.

Update, 7 October 2026, 10:30 am PKT: the deadline is still 15 October 2026, eight days away. The FBR has also published a draft rule that would let individuals who file late join the ATL without the Rs 25,000 surcharge if they sign an undertaking not to buy property for six months. Details: late filers may join ATL without the surcharge.

Update, 1 October 2026, 7:00 am PKT: final FBR figures show 5,767,384 returns were filed by the old 30 September date, 45% more than the 3,980,692 filed by the same day last year. The deadline is now 15 October 2026.

30 September 2026, 10:40 pm PKT: the income tax return last date for Tax Year 2026 is now 15 October 2026. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) extended the 30 September deadline on Wednesday night, a few hours before it was due to expire.

Income tax return last date 2026: what the FBR said

• Deadline set that night: 15 October 2026 (since moved to 31 October), for returns and wealth statements for Tax Year 2026 (income earned from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026).
• Legal basis: the FBR used its powers under Section 214A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, which lets it extend the filing date.
• Why: "in view of the requests from various trade bodies and tax bar associations". The Karachi Tax Bar Association and the FPCCI had both asked for more time, the FPCCI for 31 October. Filers and practitioners had complained of heavy traffic on the IRIS portal in the final days.
• Earlier the same day: the FBR had called a circular about an extension that was going around on social media fake. The extension that counts is the one the FBR itself announced on Wednesday night.

That gave filers 15 more days. On 15 October the FBR extended it again, to 31 October.

How many people have filed so far

By the original 30 September deadline, 5,767,384 returns had been filed for Tax Year 2026, against 3,980,692 by the same date last year: about 1.79 million more (+45%), according to FBR data reported by ProPakistani.

• Traders, shopkeepers and the self-employed (non-salaried individuals) filed 3.81 million returns, up 60%, and account for about 80% of the increase.
• Salaried people filed 1.9 million, up 22%.
• Companies filed only 7,953, down from 11,206, so many businesses are using the extra two weeks.
• Three years ago, at the end of September 2023, the count was 1.92 million: filings have roughly tripled since.

A day earlier, on 29 September, the count was 5.181 million (Dawn), which shows how many people left it to the last day and why IRIS slowed down.

What filing on time gets you

Filing by 31 October keeps you on the Active Taxpayers List (ATL), which the FBR updates every Monday. Being on the ATL means:

• lower withholding tax when you buy or register a car and when you buy or sell property;
• no withholding tax on cash withdrawals from your bank (check what a non-filer pays with the cash withdrawal tax calculator);
• lower tax on profit from National Savings and bank deposits;
• the right to adjust or claim a refund of tax already deducted from your salary, bills or bank profit.

A salaried person in Lahore, Karachi or Islamabad whose employer has deducted tax all year often owes little or nothing extra. The return puts that on record and is how you claim any excess back. Our guide to withholding tax rates for filers and non-filers shows the gap in rupees.

What to do before 31 October

1. Work out your tax for 2025-26 with the income tax calculator. Freelancers can use the freelancer tax calculator.
2. Collect your certificates: the salary tax certificate from your employer, bank profit and withholding certificates, and tax paid on your phone bill, electricity bill and vehicle token.
3. Log in to IRIS on the FBR website or use the Tax Asaan app. FBR facilitation centres and tax offices help walk-in filers.
4. Fill in the wealth statement with the return: bank balances, property, vehicles and gold.
5. Check your status after filing with our guide to NTN and ATL check online.
6. Do not leave it to the last three days. The same portal jam that forced this extension will come back around 29 to 31 October.

If you miss 31 October

A late return is still better than none, but it does not put you on the ATL for free. Under section 182A of the Income Tax Ordinance, a late filer is added to the ATL only after paying a surcharge of Rs 25,000 for an individual, Rs 50,000 for an association of persons and Rs 100,000 for a company. The Finance Act 2026 raised the company figure from Rs 20,000 and the association figure from Rs 10,000. A late filer also cannot carry forward that year's losses or receive a refund while off the list.

The Finance Act 2026 added an exception for individuals: no surcharge if you undertake not to buy property for six months. On 6 October the FBR published draft S.R.O. 1691(I)/2026 setting out how that works through a new Form ATL-U in IRIS; it is open for comments and not yet final. How the no-surcharge route works.

Earlier on this page

16 September 2026: the FBR had set 30 September 2026 as the deadline on 14 September. The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) asked for a one-month extension to 31 October, citing high operating costs. On 4 September the FBR also issued SRO 1495(I)/2026, adding Parts II-ZE to II-ZH to the Second Schedule of the Income Tax Ordinance, and practitioners asked for clarity on returns already being prepared.