Pakistan extends deadline for filing taxes by 15 days

Pakistan extended the deadline for filing income tax returns for the previous financial year, despite repeatedly stating that it would not do so.

In a late-night announcement, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said the deadline for filing Income Tax Returns for the Tax Year 2025 has been extended from September 30 to October 15.

The FBR stated that it extended the deadline at the request of various trade bodies, tax bar associations, and the public.

The last-minute decision is expected to provide much-needed relief to taxpayers facing last-minute hurdles.

Interestingly, a few hours before extending the deadline on Tuesday, FBR cautioned citizens to file their tax returns before 12am as it categorically ruled out any extension in the deadline.

In a post on X, the revenue body said anyone missing the deadline would be treated as a late filer under the law. The authority also clarified that non-filers would face penalties in line with existing legal provisions.

The FBR had emphasized that taxpayers could conveniently submit their returns using the newly introduced simplified income tax return form. However, several users replied to the FBR’s post on X with screenshots of its Iris portal, which, according to the users, had crashed due to the heavy load of people trying to file their returns.

According to sources, the total number of income tax returns filed has surpassed 4 million as of September 30. The number of returns filed during the first three months of FY 2024-25 was 3.7 million.

Overall, the returns filed during the last fiscal year were 7.6 million.

Sources said that the FBR has informed the IMF that it expects 10 million returns during the ongoing fiscal year, and the FBR is expected to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns.

FBR misses revenue collection target

In a related development, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) fell short of its quarterly revenue collection target by around PKR 200 billion, according to sources.

The revenue body has provisionally collected PKR 2,885 billion during the first quarter (July–September) of the fiscal year 2025–26, lower than its assigned target of PKR 3,083 billion by PKR 198 billion, according to sources.

The revenue body collected PKR 1,230 billion in September, against a monthly target of PKR 1,368 billion, resulting in a shortfall of PKR 138 billion for the month.

The shortfall was communicated to the visiting International Monetary Fund delegation during the ongoing review meetings.