FBR extends deadline for filing income tax returns to Oct 31

Dawn reported that the Federal Board of Revenue has extended the deadline for filing income tax returns for tax year 2026 to October 31. The relief applies to taxpayers who were due to file by September 30 and had already received an extension to October 15. The FBR announced the change through a notification on its X account, issued under Section 214A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, and cited appeals from business groups and tax lawyers.

Trade bodies had earlier argued that delays in issuing return forms and heavy online traffic were hurting timely filing. The Karachi Tax Bar Association separately flagged slow draft notifications and recurring technical faults on the IRIS portal in a five-page letter. Before the latest change, the deadline had moved from September 30 to October 15.

According to official data seen by Dawn, 6.71 million returns had been filed until October 14, compared with 4.99 million in the same period last tax year, a rise of 34.38 per cent. Tax paid alongside those returns totalled Rs66.81 billion, up 14.61 per cent from Rs58.29 billion. Non-salaried individuals, including traders and professionals, filed 4.45 million returns, while salaried filers lodged 2.18 million, a 16.16 per cent increase.