FBR Opens Tax Year 2026 Return Filing — Salaried Filers Now Need Employer NTN Details
FBR quietly flipped the switch on Tax Year 2026 return filing this week, and if you're a salaried employee who's filed the same way for years, the form waiting for you on IRIS looks a little different this time.
Filing window is open
The Federal Board of Revenue confirmed that Tax Year 2026 returns — covering income earned between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026 — became available for submission on the IRIS portal starting Monday, July 27, 2026. The announcement covers individuals, salaried employees, businesses, companies, and every other category of registered taxpayer. FBR reiterated its usual line about filing "honestly" and keeping declarations "complete and correct," which is standard boilerplate but worth taking seriously given how much more granular this year's form actually is.
The real change: employer-by-employer disclosure
In previous years, a salaried person could enter one combined salary figure and move on. That's gone for Tax Year 2026. The new return requires:
- A separate "Add Employer" entry for every employer you worked for during the year, not just your current one
- Each employer's NTN or registration number attached to the salary and deduction figures reported against them
- Source-wise and entity-wise breakdowns instead of the old lump-sum approach, matching what your employers already report to FBR through withholding statements
If you switched jobs mid-year, this means pulling salary certificates and NTN details from every employer, not just your latest one — plan for extra time before the September rush.
Profile update may block you first
Several filers logging in this week are hitting a notice that their IRIS profile hasn't been updated since July 2025, and the system won't let the Tax Year 2026 return proceed until that profile update is completed. If you haven't touched IRIS since last season, expect this extra step before you even reach the return form.
Deadline is still the usual one
FBR has not issued a separate notification changing the statutory deadline: individuals and Associations of Persons remain due by September 30, 2026, with companies typically running to December 31, unless FBR announces an extension closer to the date — something it has done in recent years but shouldn't be counted on. Missing the deadline still means a Section 182 penalty and a drop off the Active Taxpayers List, which pushes up the withholding tax you pay on banking, property, and vehicle transactions until you're compliant again.
The takeaway
The portal opening isn't the story — the shift to entity-level disclosure is. If your salary history this year involved more than one employer, start gathering NTN numbers and salary certificates now rather than in September, and double-check your details against FBR's own IRIS guidance before you submit.
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