FBR reports over 17% rise in tax returns filings

• 3.6 million taxpayers filed returns with payments.
• Individual tax payments rose by nearly Rs9 billion.
• FBR credits outreach campaigns for growth.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has recorded a significant increase in income tax return filings for Tax Year 2025, marking a new milestone in voluntary compliance and taxpayer awareness.

As of October 31, 2025, a total of 5.9 million tax returns have been filed, compared to 5 million returns in the same period last year, showing an increase of 17.6%.

Of these, 3.6 million taxpayers filed returns with tax payments, reflecting an 18.6% rise in taxpayers who contributed revenue along with their returns, compared to the same period in 2024.

Moreover, individual taxpayers have paid nearly Rs9 billion more than last year, growing from Rs60 billion to Rs69 billion, representing a 15% increase in tax payments from individuals.

The FBR said it appreciates the growing cooperation of citizens and reiterated its commitment to facilitating honest taxpayers through simplified processes, digital tools, and responsive communication, ensuring that Pakistan’s tax system becomes fairer, transparent, and inclusive.

The rise in return filings is the outcome of a comprehensive outreach campaign jointly executed by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Information, and the FBR.

As part of these efforts, nationwide robocalls and WhatsApp messages were disseminated to remind citizens of their civic duty to file tax returns.

In addition, FBR sent a series of behaviorally informed messages to taxpayers using third-party data, beginning with congratulatory notes, followed by informational messages about rights and obligations, and finally cautionary reminders, with nearly 800,000 such nudges issued across the country.

Complementing these initiatives, targeted emails were also sent to around 70,000 taxpayers, highlighting indicative income levels of comparable peers to encourage accurate and timely filing.

These concerted efforts have received a positive response from citizens. The figures reported are as of 7pm today, and FBR expects the numbers to further improve by the close of the deadline at midnight as more returns continue to be filed across the country.

As per the directions of the prime minister, no blanket extension in the filing deadline has been granted. However, taxpayers facing genuine hardships may approach their respective field formations through FBR’s IRIS system for an extension in filing their returns.