FBR further extends tax return filing deadline to October 31

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday further extended the deadline for filing income tax returns for Tax Year 2026 to October 31, 2026, providing taxpayers additional two weeks to submit their returns.

The FBR had previously extended the deadline from September 30 to October 15.

“This extension is being granted in view of the requests received from various trade bodies and tax bar associations,” the FBR notification read.

The latest extension gives individuals, businesses and companies additional time to fulfill their tax obligations and file their returns.

Businesses and trade bodies had urged the FBR to extend the deadline, citing difficulties faced by taxpayers in completing their returns within the prescribed time. They had called for additional time to facilitate compliance and enable taxpayers to fulfil their filing requirements.

Some tax experts had said that the FBR was bound to extend the date for filing of income tax returns up to December 2026 irrespective of number of returns received till October 15, following late notification of final return on September 2, 2026.

Fazal Faraz, a tax expert from Islamabad-Rawalpindi, had told Business Recorder that the draft Income Tax Return for Tax Year 2026 was circulated through SRO 835(I)/2026 dated May 7, 2026, under section 237(3) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. The final return form was notified vide SRO 1495(I)/2026 dated September 2, 2026. Thus, three months period needed to be given to the taxpayers for filing of return as per law.

Karachi’s Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) president Sheikh Umer Rehan had also urged the government and the FBR to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns by another month, citing persistent technical glitches and slow processing on the FBR’s online IRIS portal.

President Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry (HCSTSI) Nadeem Ahmed Siddiqui, senior vice president Muhammad Fahad Mian, and Vice President Irfan Arbiani had jointly urged Finance minister Aurangzeb and FBR chairman to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns.

In their joint statement, the three office-bearers had stated that despite the earlier extension, taxpayers, particularly traders, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and tax consultants, had continued to face difficulties due to the introduction of new return forms, additional disclosure requirements, wealth statement reconciliation, and technical issues with the IRIS portal.

The IRIS portal (Integrated Revenue Information System) is Pakistan’s official digital tax management system operated by the FBR.