ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has received a record 5.9 million tax returns for the tax year 2025 compared to 5 million returns filed in the same period last year, showing an increase of 17.6 per cent.

The returns received until Oct 31, which is the last date for the filing of tax returns for the tax year 2025.

An official announcement of the FBR said that, as per the directions of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, 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.

Out of the filed returns, 3.6m taxpayers filed returns with tax payments, reflecting an 18.6pc 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 Rs60bn to Rs69bn this year, representing a 15pc increase in tax payments from individuals.

Individual tax payments up 15 per cent to Rs69 billion

This recorded a significant increase in income tax return filings for tax year 2025, marking a new milestone in voluntary compliance and taxpayer awareness.

The FBR appreciates the growing cooperation of citizens and reiterates 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. 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 behaviourally 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 the indicative income levels of comparable peers to encourage accurate and timely filing.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2025