FBR extends deadline for filing income tax returns to Oct 15

The Federal Board of Revenue on Wednesday pushed back the filing date for 2026 income tax returns for persons required to file by Sept 30, moving it to Oct 15. The announcement came hours before the original deadline was due to lapse, and it followed requests from several trade bodies and tax bar associations. Earlier, the FBR had refuted a separate notification claiming an extension and called it fake, according to Dawn.

Trade bodies and professionals had pointed to delays in issuing return forms and heavy traffic on the online system as obstacles to timely filing. The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry had asked for an Oct 31 deadline, while the Karachi Tax Bar Association's five-page letter flagged delayed draft notifications and IRIS portal glitches. Filings reached 5.181m in TY26 by Sept 29, compared with 3.553 million in TY25, a rise of 45.8 per cent.

Dawn also noted that extensions have been granted two or three times in the past, frequently running into late October. However, the Finance Act 2026-27 sharply raised late-filing charges: rejoining the active taxpayers list now costs companies Rs100,000 instead of Rs20,000, associations of persons Rs50,000 instead of Rs10,000, and individuals Rs25,000 instead of Rs1,000.