Filing an income tax return in Pakistan is done on FBR's IRIS portal, and for Tax Year 2026 (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026) the sequence is the same for almost everyone: check whether you are required to file, gather your documents, open the 114(1) return form for Tax Year 2026, enter your income, verify the withholding tax already deducted from you, complete the Section 116 wealth statement so it reconciles to zero, and submit with your IRIS PIN. For Tax Year 2026, FBR has extended the filing deadline to 31 October 2026. This guide walks through each step, in order, with the mistakes that most often get returns stuck.
Who must file a return
Section 114 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 requires a return from, among others:
- A person whose taxable income exceeds the amount on which no tax is payable (for salary, income above Rs 600,000 in Tax Year 2026).
- A person carrying on a business or profession, including freelancers.
- A person who owns immovable property with a land area of 500 square yards or more, or a flat with a covered area of 2,000 square feet or more, in a municipal or cantonment area.
- A person who owns a motor vehicle with an engine capacity of 1,000 cc or more.
- A person holding a commercial or industrial electricity connection whose annual bill exceeds Rs 500,000.
- Any person who has obtained a National Tax Number or is otherwise required under the Ordinance.
Even where no tax is payable, filing is what places you on the Active Taxpayer List (ATL), and ATL status is what protects you from the higher non-filer withholding rates on banking transactions, vehicles and property.
Documents to gather before you start
Collect these first and the form takes a fraction of the time:
- CNIC: for an individual, your 13-digit CNIC is also your tax registration number and your IRIS username.
- IRIS login and PIN: your password and the 4-digit PIN you set on IRIS. If you have never registered, use the "Registration for Unregistered Person" option on the IRIS login page.
- Salary certificate: issued by your employer, showing gross salary, exempt allowances and the tax deducted under Section 149 for the period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.
- Bank statements: 12 months (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026) for every account you operated, plus the bank's certificate for tax deducted on profit on debt under Section 151.
- Withholding certificates: mobile phone tax (Section 236), vehicle token tax (Section 234), electricity bills (Section 235), property purchase or sale (Sections 236K and 236C), and cash withdrawal tax under Section 231AB if your bank deducted it. Our guide on cash withdrawal tax under Section 231AB explains that deduction in detail.
- Asset documents: property purchase deeds, vehicle registration, and your closing bank balances and cash in hand on 30 June 2026.
Step-by-step: filing on FBR IRIS
Step 1: Log in
Go to the FBR IRIS portal and log in with your CNIC and password. From the top menu, open Declaration.
Step 2: Open the correct return form
Select the 114(1) (Normal Return) form and choose Tax Year 2026, period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. Selecting the wrong tax year is the single most common filing error: a return filed in the wrong year does not count for this year's ATL.
Step 3: Enter your income
Enter each source under its own head, because each is taxed differently:
- Salary (Section 12): gross salary, allowances and benefits from your salary certificate. You can estimate the tax first on our salary tax calculator and compare it with what IRIS computes.
- Property income (Section 15): rent received from any property you let out.
- Business and freelance income (Section 18): turnover or receipts, minus allowable business expenses. Freelancers receiving foreign remittances should keep their Proceeds Realisation Certificates (PRCs) with their records.
- Capital gains (Sections 37 and 37A): gains on the sale of property, shares or mutual funds during the year.
- Other sources: profit on debt and any remaining income not covered above.
Check the rate being applied against the Tax Year 2026 slabs if a figure looks off.
Step 4: Verify your withholding tax credits
Open the adjustable tax / withholding section. IRIS pre-fills much of the tax deducted from you during the year, based on statements filed by your employer, banks and other withholding agents. Do not accept it blindly and do not type amounts from memory:
- Match every pre-filled entry against the certificate or statement you collected.
- If a deduction is missing in IRIS but you hold the certificate, enter it with the certificate as your evidence.
- If an entry appears that is not yours, remove it. Claiming someone else's withholding is a defect that surfaces in audit.
Step 5: Complete the Section 116 wealth statement
The wealth statement is a compulsory part of the return, not an optional annex:
- Declare your assets (property, vehicles, jewellery, bank balances, cash in hand) at their cost value, and your liabilities.
- Enter your personal expenses for the year: rent, utilities, education, travel and household expenses.
- Your opening wealth is last year's closing wealth. The statement must reconcile: the Unreconciled Amount must be exactly Rs 0 before you submit. A return filed with an unexplained gap is an open invitation to an FBR notice.
Step 6: Verify and submit
Click Calculate and read the computation IRIS produces: total income, tax chargeable, withholding already paid, and the balance payable or refundable. If tax is payable, generate the payment challan (PSID) and pay it first. Then enter your 4-digit PIN and click Submit. Save the submission acknowledgement and download a copy of the filed return from IRIS for your records.
After filing: check your ATL status
Filing by the due date places you on the ATL, which FBR updates on a weekly cycle. Check your status rather than assuming it:
- By SMS: type
ATLfollowed by a space and your 13-digit CNIC (without dashes) and send it to 9966. - Online: use the Active Taxpayer List verification on the FBR website.
If you file after the due date, your name is restored to the ATL only on payment of the surcharge under Section 182A. Under the Finance Act 2026, that surcharge for an individual is now Rs 25,000, not the old Rs 1,000, which is why filing within the deadline, currently extended to 31 October 2026 for Tax Year 2026, matters.
Common mistakes that create problems later
- Wrong tax year selected: the return does not count for the year you intended.
- Wealth statement left unreconciled: any non-zero variance is unexplained wealth on paper.
- Withholding claimed twice, or without certificates: both are picked up when FBR matches statements.
- Income periods mixed up: Tax Year 2026 covers 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 only. Salary or bank profit outside that window belongs to another year.
- Submitting without reading the computation: errors in the form become your liability once submitted, even if IRIS calculated from what you typed.
Frequently asked questions
My wealth statement is unreconciled by a small amount. Can I submit anyway?
Do not. A small variance usually means a missed bank account, a forgotten expense or an opening wealth figure that does not match last year's closing wealth. Find and fix the difference first; a return submitted with an unreconciled wealth statement is defective on its face and is the most common trigger for a notice.
Can I correct my return after submitting it?
Yes. A revised return can be filed under Section 114(6) within the period the law allows. If the revision increases your tax payable or reduces a claimed loss, additional conditions apply, so revise promptly and keep the reason and working with your records.
Prefer to have it done for you?
If IRIS feels risky, TrueFiler prepares your return through a guided process: your income and withholding are computed for you, the wealth statement is reconciled automatically, and a licensed tax practitioner files the return on IRIS and shares the acknowledgement with you. See the current rates on our pricing page, or ask a question first with TrueFiler Tax AI.
Last updated: 18 October 2026
Reviewed by a licensed tax practitioner
Disclaimer: This guide is general information about filing an income tax return in Pakistan for Tax Year 2026 and is not advice for a specific case. Deadlines and requirements are set by FBR and can change by notification; confirm the current position in the official sources below.
Official references: