The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday, October 15, extended the deadline for filing income tax returns for tax year 2026 to October 31, 2026. The extension applies to persons required to file by September 30, 2026, whose deadline had already been moved to October 15 through Circular No. 3 of 2026-27. In its notification on X, the FBR said it acted under Section 214A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, and cited requests from trade bodies and tax bar associations. Anyone who has already filed does not need to do anything.

Why the date keeps moving

The new return forms came late. Tax expert Fazal Faraz pointed out that the draft form was issued through SRO 835(I)/2026 on May 7, while the final form was notified through SRO 1495(I)/2026 on September 2. That left 28 days between the final form and the original September 30 deadline. He and other experts argued that taxpayers should get three months from the final form. Profit by Pakistan Today reported that new return forms, additional disclosure requirements, wealth statement reconciliation and technical problems with the IRIS portal were the main obstacles.

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry president, Atif Ikram Sheikh, had formally asked for the deadline to be extended to October 31.

Filing numbers and the retailer deadline

Reports put filings at 6.9 million returns so far, with Rs. 72 billion in tax paid, against 5.2 million returns at the same point last year. Dawn noted that the September 30 statutory deadline has historically been extended two to three times, often to the end of October, so this year follows the usual pattern.

Retailers have a separate pressure point. Only 1,571 returns have been filed under the fixed-tax scheme for shopkeepers, bringing in around Rs. 140 million, and the government plans a nationwide crackdown once the October 31 deadline passes.