The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has warned taxpayers about a fake circular being shared online about the income tax return deadline for Tax Year 2026 on Wednesday.
The FBR said it did not issue any circular to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns.
Taking to the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, FBR posted, “The circular circulating in the media regarding the extension of the date for submitting income tax returns for the tax year 2026 is fake.”
“No such circular has been issued by the FBR,” the post added.
Is FBR extending the income tax return deadline for Tax Year 2026?
The fake document is titled “Circular No. 4 of 2026-27 IR-Operations”. It is dated September 30, 2026.
The document claims that the deadline for filing Tax Year 2026 returns has been extended from September 30 to October 15, 2026.
The fake circular also refers to Section 214A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. It claims that the extension was approved after requests from trade bodies, taxpayers and tax bar associations.
However, the FBR has confirmed that the document is not genuine.
What is the FBR income tax return deadline?
FBR has set September 30, 2026, as the deadline for filing income tax returns for Tax Year 2026.
Taxpayers who miss the deadline will face significantly higher penalties from October 1.
The FBR has asked taxpayers and tax practitioners to check its official communication channels for any updates.
The board said people should not rely on unverified documents or messages shared on social media.
So far, the FBR has not announced any extension to the Tax Year 2026 filing deadline. Taxpayers who have not yet filed their returns should follow the existing deadline.
What penalty could late filers face?
According to FBR sources, the late-filer category will be discontinued from October 1.
This means that the taxpayers who fail to submit their returns by September 30 will be treated as non-filers and will be subject to the applicable penalties.
Individuals who fail to file their income tax returns could face a penalty of up to Rs25,000, compared with the existing penalty of Rs1,000.
For associations of persons (AOPs), the penalty will increase from Rs10,000 to Rs50,000, while companies could face a penalty of Rs100,000, up from Rs20,000.
| Individual | PKR1,000 | Up to PKR25,000 |
| AOP | PKR10,000 | PKR50,000 |
| Company | PKR20,000 | PKR100,000 |
The FBR has urged individuals, businesses and companies to complete their tax filing requirements before the September 30 deadline to avoid higher penalties and other consequences associated with non-filer status.
