Filer, Late Filer & Non-Filer in Pakistan – Complete Details 2026
filer, late filer, and non-filer are commonly used worlds when you talk about the tax in Pakistan. Understanding the difference between a them is important for taxpayers earning by salary, business, rental, capital gain, Foreign income or agricultural income and investing income in buying
property, Stock market, certificates, mutual funds. As the tax authority called Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) day by day monitoring the documentation and digitization in
recent years, tax filing status now directly affects the financial life of public and taxpayers — from Buying or selling property, investing in bank certificates, to vehicle registration.
In this comprehensive blog, everything is explained from start to finish: definitions, registration steps, benefits, penalties, practical tips and legal implications for the year 2026 and upcomming years.
How to define Filer, Late-Filer and Non-Filer
Filer
A filer is a;
- Register with FBR as individual person, an association of persons (AOP) / Pertnership firm, or company
- Submitted his income tax return for the relevant year before the deadline (30th September of every year and can be extended by FBR)
- His name should appear in active taxpayers list issued by FBR.
Late Filer
A late filer is (new term introduces by FBR) same as filer but have following differences;
- Submitted his income tax return for the relevant year after the deadline (30th September of every year or the date extended by FBR).
- Payment of surcharge for ATL under section 182(A) Rs 1,000/-
- Meet the 1 and 3 Clause if the filer mentioned above
Non-Filer
is a person who is;
- Not Registered with FBR.
- Have not submitted the income tax return for the recent year.
- His name is not appearing in Active Taxpayer List (ATL)
How to be a filer or late Filer?
Becoming a filer or late filer is now a difficult process in Pakistan. With
online and advancement in the tax filing system, any person can be a filer online
anytime by himself or with the help of a trusted lawyer or consultant.
Only the following three steps are involved in becoming a
filer:
- Get
registered with FBR through the IRIS portal.
- File
an income tax return u/s 114(1) of the income tax ordinance 2001. for the recent tax year.
- Paying the Surcharge for ATL u/s 182(A) Rs. 1,000/- in case you submitted the income tax return after the due date. in this case he will secure the status as late filer.
if we talk about the Following Years;
Right Time To Be Filer:
The right time to be filer or filing income tax return is the time allowed by FBR to file their income tax return, which starts from start of July and ends at 30th of September (Deadline). FBR can extend the deadline due to some genuine issues and problems in FBR Iris Portal. Taxpayer can secure the filer status if he will file tax return in this period. If he will fail to file income tax return he will secure late-filer status also has to pay surcharge for ATL Rs. 1,000/- and will face the more tax on buying and selling property.
1. Registration with FBR
Registration on the IRIS portal is very simple nowadays. But
before starting the registration procedure, you need the following :
i. CNIC
ii. Residential address
iii. Mobile number registered on your CNIC and active at the time of
registration for verification through OTP
iv. Email address active at the time of registration for verification through
OTP
For residential address you can use any address where you can receive the courier send by FBR regarding notices.
If you have all these things available, then start the
procedure by visiting the FBR IRIS portal at https://iris.fbr.gov.pk
or directly at the registration page https://iris.fbr.gov.pk/NewRegistration.
Fill in information as per your CNIC. It’s
an easy process, like creating a profile on a social media account, which
everyone is familiar with.
After registration, you can log in to the IRIS portal
through your login ID (your CNIC number) and password (which you set during
registration).
2. Filing Income Tax Return
An income tax return is filed by every taxpayer, in which they fill their
annual income for complete year and wealth details, such as assets in their
name for example, bank balances, Land and Buildings, vehicles, gold, animals, equipments,
certificates or any other assets.
Filing income tax return is the most important step because submitting
it properly can save you from FBR notices, audits, and penalties. If you have good
knowledge about taxes and filing and submittion, you can do it yourself. But if
not, then hire a trusted layer or tax consultant.
For filing an income tax return:
• Go to the “Declaration” option on the top menu bar.
• Then select the option from the left: Returns / Statements (Original).
• On the right side, Find Normal Return (Ind/AOP/Coy) and select it.
• Then fill in the values in the tax return as per your documents. You can take
help from our videos on the YouTube channel.
3. Payment
of ATL Challan
After you have submitted the income tax return for the
relevant year (currently 2026), you will create a PSID (challan) for the ATL
surcharge under section 182.
To create it, you just have to:
• Go to e-payment from your login.
• Select Income Tax from the left side, then select Misc under
Income Tax.
• Select the Tax Payment section on the right side > 182(A) –
Surcharge for ATL.
• Select the tax year (currently 2026).
• Enter the amount Rs. 1,000.
• at the top click submit
Your PSID will be created, and you can pay this through
EasyPaisa, JazzCash, or any other banking application easily. You can also take
help from the video on the right side of the blog.
Benefits of tax Filer
Being a tax filer offers major financial advantages:
- reduces tax tax on cash withdrawals or banking transactions.
- Lower advance tax u/s 236c and 236k on sale or purchase of property.
- Lower
tax on vehicle registration and annual tokken tax
- Easier
bank loan approvals.
- Better
credibility for foreign visa applications.
- Legal protection and financial transparency.
Disadvantages of Late Filer
• Payment of Surcharge for ATL Rs. 1,000/-.
• Higher tax on the sale or purchase of property u/s 236C and 236K as compared to a filer.
Still, late filer is better than a non-filer; they are treated as a filer in all other cases except property purchase or sell.
Consequences of Being a Non-Filer
Non-filers face higher taxes in withholding and advance taxes:
• Higher advance tax on cash withdrawals and bank
profits.
• Higher tax on sale or purchase of property.
• Higher tax on vehicle registration.
• Limited banking benefits.
• Higher tax on prize bonds and other investments.
