Tax paid with returns declines despite 45% rise in number of filers

• 7,953 companies filed returns till Sept 30: FBR.
• Total tax paid with returns stands at Rs77.3bn.
• Tax paid with returns by individuals rises by 11%.
  

ISLAMABAD: Despite a 45% increase in tax return filers, tax payments submitted with income tax returns fell 7% to Rs77.3 billion by September 30, 2026, compared with Rs83.3 billion during the same period last year, The News reported on Friday.

According to the data compiled by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), as many as 7,953 companies filed their returns till September 30, 2026 against 11,206 by this date last year, and the tax paid with them fell from Rs49 billion to Rs39.1 billion. 

“Total tax paid with returns up to September stands at Rs77.3 billion, about 7% below last year’s Rs83.3 billion, despite a surge in filers,” said the sources.

The number of income tax return filers has risen by nearly 45% in a year, with traders, professionals and other non-salaried individuals accounting for four-fifths of the increase.

The total number of returns received stands at 5,767,384 that have been filed by the night of September 30, against 3,980,692 on the same date last year. 

That is an addition of about 1.79 million returns so far in the ongoing fiscal year. However, the biggest challenge for the tax machinery is that there were 40% of filers showed nil or null income in their returns. It is yet to be ascertained how many returns have been showing nil income in the current fiscal year.

About 39% of the returns filed this year are nil returns, the same share as last year. Other indicators have moved up. Returns declaring income above the taxable threshold rose by 37%, from 1.82 million to nearly 2.5 million. Among non-salaried individuals, the rise was 47%, and among salaried individuals, 32%. Payment filers, those whose returns show tax paid, rose by 38% to 3.35 million. Among non-salaried individuals, they rose by about 50% to 1.75 million. Five years ago, returns above the threshold numbered 900,000 and payment filers 1.29 million.

Tax paid with returns by individuals rose by 11% to Rs34.5 billion, and by associations of persons by 16% to Rs3.7 billion.

At the end of September 2022, some 1.86 million returns had been filed. A year later, the figure was 1.92 million, barely changed. It then climbed to 3.72 million in 2024, 3.98 million in 2025 and 5.77 million this year. The returns filed by this date have tripled in three years.

The salaried class, whose tax is deducted at source, has long complained that it carries the burden while others escape. This year, the growth has come mainly from outside that class. Returns filed by non-salaried individuals rose by 60%, from 2.38 million to 3.81 million. The addition of 1.43 million filers makes up four-fifths of the total increase.

Five years ago, non-salaried returns stood at 965,000 and made up roughly half of all returns. They now account for two out of every three. Salaried returns rose by 22% to 1.9 million. 

Returns from associations of persons, which include partnerships, rose by 33% to 53,756. Bringing people into the net is the easier half of the task. 

The harder half is ensuring that what they declare is accurate. With nearly four in ten returns showing no tax payable, and with 1.95 million nil returns from non-salaried individuals alone, much will depend on how effectively the tax authority tests declarations against the data it now holds. 

Officials say risk-based audit, using the same data that identified the new filers, is the next step.