Pakistan’s FBR extends the Tax Year 2026 income tax return deadline to 15 October 2026

Pakistan’s FBR extends the Tax Year 2026 income tax return deadline to 15 October 2026

30 September 2026 — Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has given taxpayers two more weeks to file their income tax returns for Tax Year 2026. Circular No. 3 of 2026-27, issued in Islamabad on 30 September 2026 by the Inland Revenue Operations wing, says the date of filing "for the persons who are required to file their returns by September 30th, 2026 is hereby extended up to October 15th, 2026".

What the circular says

The FBR used its power under Section 214A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, which lets the Board extend the date for filing a return. The circular gives one reason: "requests from various trade bodies and tax bar associations". It is a single paragraph. It names no other deadline and applies only to persons whose return was due by 30 September 2026. Taxpayers with a different due date, such as companies whose due date falls later in the year, are not affected by it.

Pakistani business press reported the extension the same evening, linking it to slow running of the FBR’s IRIS filing portal in the last days before the deadline. The circular itself does not mention the portal.

Who this affects

• Salaried individuals, sole proprietors and other filers due by 30 September who had not yet filed for Tax Year 2026 now have until 15 October 2026.
• Tax practitioners and accounting firms filing for many clients get two more weeks, but the same crowding at the portal is likely to move to the new date.
• Finance teams using payroll or accounting software to prepare annual statements should check that their vendor’s exports for Tax Year 2026 are final. Most local tools produce data that is uploaded into IRIS, not filed directly.

What the extension does not do

The circular extends the date for filing the return. It says nothing about the payment of tax, so do not read it as extending any payment date. Sales tax and federal excise returns follow their own notices and are not covered by it. Filing within the extended date also keeps a filer on course for the Active Taxpayers List, on which many withholding rates depend.

What to do

• File by 15 October 2026. Do not wait for a further extension: none has been announced.
• If you are a practitioner, re-plan your client queue around the new date and file early to avoid last-day portal slowdowns.
• Keep a copy of the circular (C.No.6(1)S(IR-Operations)) with your records, in case a late-filing notice is issued in error.
• Check that tax already payable with the return has been paid. The circular extends the filing date only.

Sources

• Federal Board of Revenue: Circular No. 3 of 2026-27 (Income Tax), Extension in Date of Filing of Income Tax Returns for Tax Year 2026 — 30 September 2026