Income Tax · Filing Season Guide
Documents Checklist Before You Open IRIS: What to Collect for Tax Year 2026 (1st July 2025 to 30th June 2026)
Filing for Tax Year 2026 (1st July 2025 to 30th June 2026) opened on 27th July 2026, and closes on 30th September 2026 for individuals and Associations of Persons. Most of the pain in that window has nothing to do with the portal. It comes from opening the return with half a file.
Every filing season we get the same call in the last week of September. The client is logged into IRIS, the return is half filled, and the wealth statement will not reconcile because nobody knows what the closing bank balance was on 30th June, or where the property withholding challan went, or whether the car was bought in March or April. The return itself takes about forty minutes. Assembling the file behind it takes three days if you start from zero.
So this is not a guide to filling the form. It is a list of what should be sitting on your desk, in a folder, before you type your password.
One point worth making early, because it causes more confusion this year than usual. Tax Year 2026 is governed by the law as it stood for that year, which means the Finance Act 2025 amendments. The changes brought by the Finance Act 2026 in June this year apply from Tax Year 2027 (1st July 2026 to 30th June 2027) onward. If you have been reading about the new salaried slabs or the withdrawal of the surcharge, keep those aside. They are not the rates for the return you are filing now.
- The access check that comes before document collection
- Documents everyone needs, regardless of income type
- Income head by income head: salary, business, property, gains, and the rest
- Withholding and advance tax evidence
- Wealth statement and personal expenses papers
- Allowances and tax credits
- Extra papers for AOPs and companies
- The reconciliation checks to run before you submit
- Deadlines, penalties, and late filer status
- A condensed master checklist
1. Start with the access check, not the documents
There is no point assembling forty documents if your IRIS password expired eleven months ago and the mobile number on your registration belongs to a SIM you stopped using in 2023. Do this first, on any ordinary weekday, and it costs you fifteen minutes.
- IRIS credentials. Log in once, now, and confirm the password works. Password recovery sends a code to the mobile number and email address recorded in your registration, not to whatever number you use today.
- Registration particulars under section 181. Open your Form 181 profile and check the residential and business address, principal business activity, and the bank accounts declared. An undeclared business bank account is a small thing that becomes a large thing when a notice arrives.
- Last year’s filed return and wealth statement. Download the PDF of the Tax Year 2025 (1st July 2024 to 30th June 2025) return. Your closing wealth from last year becomes your opening wealth this year, and it must match to the rupee. Not approximately. Exactly.
- Active Taxpayer List status. Confirm whether you are currently on the ATL and whether any surcharge under section 182A was paid to get there. This affects nothing in the return itself but tells you where you stand.
- Authorization, if you use a consultant. If a tax practitioner files on your behalf, the authorization needs to be in place in the system before the filing week, not during it.
On the new return form. The FBR notified the draft electronic return for Tax Year 2026 through SRO 835(I)/2026 in May 2026, unusually early, and the redesign asks for far more source-level detail than earlier years. Salaried filers are asked for the employer’s registration number in the salary section. Taxpayers are shown an indicative summary of their economic transactions drawn from third-party data. That data is indicative only, and the responsibility for correct declaration stays with the taxpayer, but it does mean the gap between what you declare and what the FBR already holds is now visible on screen while you file. Documents are how you close that gap.
2. The universal file
Whatever your income looks like, these are non-negotiable.
| Document | Where it comes from | What it does in the return |
|---|---|---|
| CNIC (and NTN, if separate) | Own record | Identity; for individuals the CNIC is the NTN |
| Bank statements, 1st July 2025 to 30th June 2026 | Every bank, for every account, including dormant and joint accounts | Traces receipts, personal expenses, and the closing balance for the wealth statement |
| Annual withholding tax certificates from each bank | Bank branch or internet banking | Tax deducted on cash withdrawal, profit on debt, and banking transactions |
| Tax Year 2025 return and wealth statement | IRIS, Completed Tasks | Supplies opening wealth and last year’s declared asset descriptions |
| Advance tax challans (CPRs) paid during the year | IRIS payment history or your own records | Adjustment against final liability |
| Utility bills for the year, or at least the June bill | Electricity, gas, telephone, internet providers | Withholding evidence plus a realistic expense figure |
A word about bank statements. Ask for the full year in one PDF, and ask for the withholding certificate separately. They are different documents. The statement shows the transaction, the certificate shows the tax deducted with the section quoted, and the certificate is what you rely on if the deduction is later questioned.
3. Documents by income head
3.1 Salaried individuals
The salary certificate is the spine of the return. Ask your employer for the annual tax certificate covering 1st July 2025 to 30th June 2026, and make sure it shows the breakup, not just a single number.
- Salary certificate showing basic pay, allowances, bonus, and tax deducted under section 149
- Employer’s NTN and registered name, which the new form asks for directly
- Medical allowance detail, since the exemption is capped at ten percent of basic salary where no free medical treatment is provided
- Provident fund statement, showing employer contribution and interest credited
- Gratuity, leave encashment, or golden handshake documents if you left service during the year
- Details of any company car provided, and any loan from the employer, both of which are taxable perquisites
- Salary slips for the months around any increment or job change, so the annual figure can be tied back
If you changed jobs during the year, you need a certificate from both employers. This is the single most common gap we see. The second employer usually applied the slabs afresh on your salary with them alone, which means the combined annual income falls in a higher slab and there is tax payable at filing. Better to know that in August than on 29th September.
3.2 Business income, sole proprietors and professionals
The return asks for a profit and loss account and a balance sheet. Whether you keep formal books or a notebook, the following must exist in some form.
- Sales and purchase summaries for the year, tied to bank deposits where possible
- Opening stock at 1st July 2025 and closing stock at 30th June 2026, valued consistently
- Expense schedule with supporting vouchers: rent, salaries, utilities, freight, repairs, professional fees, financial charges
- Depreciation schedule showing written down value brought forward, additions during the year with invoices, and disposals
- Debtors and creditors listing as at 30th June 2026
- Sales tax returns for the year, if registered, since the FBR reads the two declarations against each other
- Proof of the mode of payment for large expenses, which matters more than most people realise
That last point deserves its own paragraph. Section 21 disallows expenditure where the payment was not routed properly. A single transaction under one account head exceeding Rs. 250,000 paid otherwise than through banking channels gets disallowed. Salary exceeding Rs. 32,000 per month paid in cash gets disallowed. There are further restrictions tied to digital payment modes and to purchases from persons outside the sales tax net. None of this is discovered at filing time in a useful way. It is discovered at audit, two years later, when the bank trail no longer exists. Keep the payment evidence with the invoice.
3.3 Income from property
- Tenancy agreements for each rented property, showing rent, tenure, and any advance received
- Rent receipts or the bank credit entries corresponding to rent
- Withholding tax certificate from the tenant, where the tenant is a withholding agent under section 155
- Property tax challan paid to the provincial excise department
- Bills for repairs, insurance, ground rent, and any loan taken for the property
- Where any advance or non-adjustable deposit was received, the date and amount
3.4 Capital gains
Listed securities. Get the annual capital gains certificate from NCCPL through your broker, and the broker’s account statement. The certificate gives gain, loss, and tax already collected, and it saves you from reconstructing trade by trade. Mutual fund investors need the redemption statement from the asset management company.
Immovable property. If you sold anything during the year, collect:
- Sale deed or registered transfer document, with the date of disposal
- Original purchase document, with the date and cost of acquisition, since the holding period drives the rate
- Section 236C withholding challan deducted at the time of sale
- Documentation relating to section 7E, where applicable, since a certificate or clearance is called for at the transfer stage
- Evidence of improvement cost, if you are claiming it
If you bought property, you need the purchase deed and the section 236K challan. The purchase is not income, but it is an asset addition in the wealth statement and an advance tax credit in the return, and both entries need the same document.
3.5 Profit on debt, dividends, and savings schemes
- Bank profit certificates showing gross profit credited and tax withheld under section 151
- National Savings certificates: profit statement and deduction certificate from the National Savings Centre
- Dividend warrants or the annual statement from the CDC, showing gross dividend and tax deducted under section 150
- Sukuk or bond income statements, if held
Keep in mind that the rate applicable to profit on debt for Tax Year 2026 was increased by the Finance Act 2025. If your bank deducted at the older rate on early-year profit, the reconciliation will show a shortfall.
3.6 Freelancers, IT exporters, and social media income
- Proceeds Realisation Certificates or bank credit advices for every foreign remittance received
- Exporters’ Special Foreign Currency Account statements, if maintained
- PSEB registration certificate, where the reduced rate under section 154A is being claimed
- Bank certificate showing tax deducted on export proceeds
- Platform statements from Upwork, Fiverr, YouTube, TikTok, or similar, reconciled to what actually landed in the bank
- Certificates for tax deducted under section 154B on payments received for digital and social media content, which banks began applying during this year
The reconciliation that matters here is between platform earnings and bank credits. They rarely match, because of platform fees, currency conversion, and timing. Declare the gross and show the deductions. Declaring only what hit the account is how a discrepancy notice starts.
3.7 Foreign income and foreign assets
- Foreign bank statements for the full year
- Foreign tax paid evidence, if you intend to claim credit
- Details of foreign property, shares, or business interests with acquisition cost and date
- Remittance encashment certificates for money brought into Pakistan
Two provisions to keep in view. A separate Foreign Income and Assets Statement under section 116A becomes mandatory where foreign assets cross the notified threshold of one hundred thousand US dollars, or foreign income crosses ten thousand US dollars. And under section 111(4), foreign remittances received through banking channels and encashed in rupees are protected from source enquiry up to Rs. 5 million in a tax year. That protection depends entirely on the encashment certificate. Without the paper, the remittance is just an unexplained credit.
3.8 Agricultural income
Agricultural income is outside the federal net but it still has to be declared, because it explains wealth. Collect the land record, the lease or share cropping arrangement, sale receipts for produce, and the provincial agricultural income tax challan if paid. A large agricultural figure with no supporting record is one of the more reliable ways to attract attention.
3.9 Pension and retirement receipts
Pension is generally exempt, but the Finance Act 2025 brought pension above a specified annual threshold within the tax net for persons below seventy years of age. If you are drawing a substantial pension, get the annual pension statement and check your age position. Also collect provident fund settlement documents, commuted pension orders, and gratuity payment letters.
4. Withholding and advance tax: the file that pays you back
This is the section where clients leave money behind. Tax was deducted from you all year, in places you were not thinking about tax, and each deduction is adjustable unless it falls under a final tax regime. Every entry needs a certificate or challan with the section quoted.
| Section | Deduction on | Get the certificate from |
|---|---|---|
| 148 | Imports | Clearing agent or the customs GD |
| 149 | Salary | Employer |
| 150 | Dividend | Company or CDC |
| 151 | Profit on debt, bank and savings schemes | Bank or National Savings Centre |
| 152 | Payments to non-residents | The payer |
| 153 | Supply of goods, services, contracts | Every customer who deducted |
| 155 | Rent of immovable property | Tenant |
| 231AB | Cash withdrawal from banks | Bank |
| 231B / 234 | Vehicle registration, transfer, token tax | Excise office or dealer invoice |
| 233 | Brokerage and commission | The principal |
| 235 | Electricity, commercial and industrial connections | Bills or the distribution company |
| 236 | Telephone and internet | Monthly bills or the operator |
| 236C / 236K | Sale and purchase of immovable property | Registrar, housing society, or developer |
| 236G / 236H | Sales to distributors, dealers, wholesalers, retailers | The manufacturer or distributor |
| 236A | Purchase at auction | Auctioning authority |
| 147 | Advance tax instalments paid by you | Your own CPRs |
Practical method: pull the withholding data available in your IRIS profile first, print it, then chase certificates only for what is missing or mismatched. Do not treat the portal data as complete. Deductors file their statements late, and small deductors sometimes do not file at all, which means the deduction happened but the credit is not visible. Your certificate is what supports the claim in that case.
5. Wealth statement papers
Every individual filing a return files a wealth statement under section 116. There is no threshold and no exemption for salaried persons. The statement has three moving parts, and each needs its own set of documents.
Assets, as at 30th June 2026
- Immovable property: allotment letters, registries, society transfer letters, with the cost of acquisition, not the market value
- Vehicles: registration books and purchase invoices, again at cost
- Bank balances: the balance on 30th June 2026 for every account, taken from the statement
- Cash in hand: your own honest figure, and it should be plausible
- Shares, mutual funds, prize bonds, savings certificates: holding statements at year end
- Gold and jewellery: weight and cost, described the same way as last year
- Business capital: closing capital from the balance sheet
- Advances, deposits, and receivables: loan agreements, plot instalment receipts, security deposits
- Insurance policies: paid up value or premium statement
- Household effects and personal items
- Assets held in the name of a spouse or minor children, where they are yours
Liabilities, as at 30th June 2026
- Bank loan statements showing outstanding principal
- Mortgage or house building finance statement
- Credit card outstanding on 30th June
- Loans from relatives or friends, with the mode of receipt evidenced
- Trade creditors, from the business balance sheet
Personal expenses
The expenses annexure is not optional and a blank one is a flag. The FBR knows you spent something. Assemble rough but defensible figures for rent, rates and taxes, vehicle running and maintenance, travel, electricity, gas, water, telephone and internet, education fees, medical, functions and gatherings, donations, club subscriptions, insurance premiums, and household staff. Exact rupees are not expected. A credible total is.
Gifts, inheritance, and transfers
Anything that moved into or out of your wealth without being income needs paper. Gift deeds, the banking instrument through which the gift moved, succession certificates, inheritance mutations, and family settlement documents. A gift received in cash, from a relative, without documentation, is the classic route to an addition under section 111. Keep the deed and keep the bank trail together.
The reconciliation rule. Opening wealth, plus income declared, plus exempt income and inflows, minus personal expenses, must equal closing wealth. If it does not, IRIS shows an unreconciled amount and you cannot submit cleanly. That figure is not a formatting problem. It is either an asset you forgot, an income you did not declare, or an expense you overstated. Find out which before you force the numbers.
6. Deductible allowances and tax credits
These reduce the bill, but only if the evidence exists. Collect:
- Zakat deduction certificate from the bank, for the deductible allowance under section 60
- Workers Welfare Fund and Workers Profit Participation Fund payment evidence, under section 60A and 60B
- Tuition fee receipts, where the education expense allowance under section 60D is claimed and taxable income is below the statutory ceiling of Rs. 1.5 million
- Donation receipts for charitable contributions under section 61, with the institution’s approval status, since the credit depends on the recipient being an approved entity
- Approved pension fund contribution certificate for the credit under section 63
Check the current position before claiming. Several credits that practitioners still remember, including those for housing loan profit and life insurance premium, were withdrawn some years ago and no longer apply.
7. If you are filing for an AOP or a company
Everything above still applies to the entity, plus:
- Audited or draft financial statements for the year ended 30th June 2026
- Partnership deed, or the memorandum and articles for a company, along with the SECP incorporation certificate
- Trial balance and general ledger, for tie-out
- Fixed asset register with additions, disposals, and depreciation working
- Partners’ or directors’ current account statements, with drawings
- Details of related party transactions
- Sales tax returns and monthly withholding statements filed under section 165 for the whole year
- Minimum tax and turnover working, plus any brought forward losses or minimum tax carried forward
- SECP annual return and Form A or Form 29 filings, since the FBR and SECP records should not contradict each other
For AOPs, remember to have each member’s share worked out, because members then report their share in their own returns.
8. Ten checks to run before you press submit
- Opening wealth this year equals closing wealth last year, exactly.
- Every bank account you hold appears in the wealth statement, including the dormant one.
- Every withholding certificate you hold has been entered as an adjustment, and every adjustment claimed has a certificate behind it.
- Salary declared matches the employer certificate, and both employers are included if you changed jobs.
- Assets are recorded at cost, and described the same way they were described last year.
- Personal expenses are filled in and look credible against your declared income.
- Property bought or sold during the year appears in three places: the asset schedule, the advance tax adjustment, and the capital gain computation where applicable.
- Foreign remittances have encashment certificates on file.
- Any large cash gift or loan has a deed and a banking trail.
- The reconciliation shows nil, without any figure having been plugged to get there.
9. Deadlines and what missing them costs
| Item | Position for Tax Year 2026 |
|---|---|
| Tax year covered | 1st July 2025 to 30th June 2026 |
| Filing opened | 27th July 2026 |
| Due date, individuals and AOPs | 30th September 2026 |
| Due date, companies with 30th June year end | 31st December 2026 |
| Late filing penalty, section 182 | Computed per day of default with statutory minimums, and capped by reference to tax payable |
| Surcharge for ATL inclusion after due date, section 182A | Rs. 1,000 for individuals, Rs. 10,000 for AOPs, Rs. 20,000 for companies |
| Extension | Applied for before the due date under section 119, granted at the Commissioner’s discretion |
| Revision | Permitted under section 114(6), with a limited window in which revision is possible without prior approval |
The penalty is the smaller problem. The larger one is the late filer category, which sits between filer and non-filer and carries higher withholding rates on property transactions. A person who files on 5th October pays more on a plot purchase in November than the person who filed on 25th September. And with the eligibility conditions the law now attaches to significant economic transactions, your filed return and declared wealth are increasingly the licence for what you are permitted to buy next year. That is the real reason to file properly rather than quickly.
10. The condensed checklist
If you print one thing from this page, print this.
| Category | Collect |
|---|---|
| Access | CNIC, IRIS login, registered mobile and email, last year’s return and wealth statement |
| Banking | Full year statements for every account, annual withholding certificates, closing balances at 30th June 2026 |
| Salary | Annual tax certificate from each employer with NTN, provident fund statement, perquisite details |
| Business | Sales and purchases, stock at both ends, expense vouchers with payment mode, depreciation schedule, debtors and creditors |
| Property | Tenancy agreements, rent receipts, property tax challan, purchase and sale deeds, 236C and 236K challans |
| Investments | NCCPL capital gains certificate, broker and CDC statements, mutual fund statements, savings certificate profit statements |
| Foreign | PRCs, encashment certificates, foreign bank statements, foreign asset details |
| Withholding | Every certificate under sections 148 to 236, plus your own advance tax CPRs |
| Wealth | Asset documents at cost, liability statements, personal expense figures, gift and inheritance papers |
| Credits | Zakat certificate, donation receipts, pension fund certificate, tuition fee receipts |
Two months of the filing window are still open. IRIS is quick in August and unbearable in the last week of September, and the difference between a clean return and a defensive one is almost entirely decided before you log in.
Need help with your Tax Year 2026 return?
H.S. Advocate & Co. handles income tax and sales tax filings, wealth statement reconciliation, and representation before the FBR for individuals, sole proprietors, AOPs, and companies. We hold Authorized Representative status before the FBR and SECP.
Office No. 72, 5th Floor, Rajpoot Heights, Begum Road, Mozang, Lahore
Phone: 0344-4444703 · Web: hsadvocate.com
This article is general information on the position for Tax Year 2026 (1st July 2025 to 30th June 2026) and is not advice on any particular case. Rates, thresholds, and procedural requirements change with each Finance Act and with FBR notifications issued during the year. Confirm the current position before acting, or contact the firm for advice on your own facts.