Nearly 12m file tax returns solely for property, vehicle transactions

Business Recorder reported on November 5 that close to 12 million people registered with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) as income tax filers to complete a single transaction involving property or vehicles. FBR sources said roughly 7.5 million taxpayers continue to submit returns regularly, while the rest entered the system for one-off transactions.

The report said the tax authority sends notices by email to registered filers who stop submitting returns, with non-compliance often becoming apparent when they next access the IRIS portal for a transaction. FBR sources said the filing framework might need to exclude people without taxable income. They also recalled that Finance Act 2025 introduced limits on economic transactions, but political constraints weakened that approach. The sources said removing the filing requirement for these one-time transactions could also end return filings by spouses and dependent children in such cases.