FBR Active Taxpayers List September 2026: How to Check Your Status, the Filing Deadline, and Why It Matters for Withholding Tax
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is set to publish the second-quarter Active Taxpayers List (ATL) for FY 2026-27 on 1 September 2026, with the corresponding filing deadline of 30 September 2026 for taxpayers who want to remain on the list. Being on the ATL cuts the withholding tax you pay on bank profit, vehicle registration, property purchase, and dozens of other transactions by 50 to 75%. Here is how to check your status, how to file if you are not on the list, and the practical impact on common transactions.
The ATL is published quarterly by the FBR and is the primary compliance signal for the income tax system. A taxpayer who has filed an income tax return for at least one of the last two tax years, paid any tax due, and has no pending audit or prosecution is included in the ATL. The September 2026 publication is the second list of FY 2026-27 and is the reference list for the October to December 2026 quarter.
How the ATL is calculated
For the September 2026 publication, the FBR uses the following logic. A taxpayer is included on the ATL if they have filed an income tax return for tax year 2024, tax year 2025, or both, and have paid the tax due. Tax year 2024 returns were originally due on 30 September 2024, with extensions through 31 December 2024. Tax year 2025 returns were due on 30 September 2025, with the standard extension to 31 December 2025. A taxpayer who has filed for tax year 2025 is automatically on the September 2026 ATL, even if they have not yet filed for tax year 2026.
How to check your ATL status
There are three ways to check whether you are on the September 2026 ATL.
- FBR IRIS portal: log in to iris.fbr.gov.pk with your NTN or CNIC and password. The dashboard shows your ATL status, the date you were added to the list, and the next quarterly publication date.
- FBR ATL search portal: visit fbr.gov.pk/atl and enter the NTN or CNIC. The portal returns the current ATL status without requiring a login.
- SMS to 9966: send your 13-digit CNIC to 9966. The system will reply with the ATL status (active or not active) and the date the status was last updated.
How to file if you are not on the ATL
If you are not on the September 2026 ATL, the fastest path back onto the list is to file the income tax return for tax year 2025 (or the latest year for which you have not yet filed). The filing process is online through IRIS, and the steps are:
- Log in to IRIS using your NTN/CNIC and password. New users can register using their CNIC and mobile number.
- Open the return form for the relevant tax year (2025 in most cases).
- Enter salary, business, rental, capital gains, foreign income, and any other source of income.
- Compute the tax due using the auto-calculated slab and the relief for filers.
- Pay the tax through the 1Bill payment gateway, any of the partner banks, or the JazzCash/EasyPaisa mobile wallets linked to the FBR system.
- Submit the return, generate the acknowledgement receipt, and download the signed PDF.
If you are a salaried employee whose only income is salary, the return is straightforward and can be filed in 20 to 40 minutes using the auto-filler. If you have business income, rental income, or capital gains, the return takes longer and you may want to use a tax practitioner.
What being on the ATL saves you
| Transaction | Non-filer rate | Filer (ATL) rate | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank profit (interest) | 30% advance tax | 15% advance tax | 50% |
| Vehicle registration 1,000-2,000 cc | Rs 200,000 | Rs 50,000 | 75% |
| Vehicle registration above 2,000 cc | Rs 400,000 | Rs 200,000 | 50% |
| Property purchase (filer) | 3% CVT | 1.5% CVT | 50% |
| Property sale (filer) | 10% CGT | 5% CGT | 50% |
| Cash withdrawal above Rs 50,000 | 0.6% | 0.2% | 67% |
| Foreign remittance above USD 5,000 | 2% | 1% | 50% |
| Mobile phone registration PTA duty | Higher tier | Lower tier | 20-40% |
The filer-versus-non-filer penalty structure means that for many common transactions, being on the ATL cuts the withholding tax by half. For a household that has a car, a savings account, and makes an occasional property or share transaction, the annual saving from being on the ATL is typically Rs 50,000 to Rs 200,000.
What changed in 2026
Three changes to the ATL framework in 2026 are worth knowing. First, the FBR has tightened the ATL inclusion rules: a taxpayer with a pending audit or prosecution is excluded from the list even if they have filed a return, which is a new exclusion criterion that did not exist in 2024. Second, the FBR has enabled a real-time ATL lookup for the banking sector, so the filer-versus-non-filer rate is now applied at the point of the bank transaction, not at the end of the year. Third, the FBR has expanded the ATL publication to a public-facing dashboard at fbr.gov.pk/atl, which shows the number of active taxpayers, the geographic distribution, and the growth rate over the last eight quarters.
What to watch in the December 2026 publication
The December 2026 ATL publication (which becomes the reference list for the January to March 2027 quarter) is the next important date. To be on the December list, the taxpayer must have filed a return for tax year 2025 and paid the tax due. The standard deadline for tax year 2025 returns was 30 September 2025, with the standard extension to 31 December 2025. A taxpayer who files by 31 December 2026 will be on the December 2026 publication; a taxpayer who files later will be on the March 2027 publication.
Being on the ATL is the single highest-return financial action for any Pakistani with a bank account, a car, or a property transaction in the pipeline. The half-rate of withholding tax alone is worth more than the cost of filing in 95% of cases.
โ Tax practitioner, Karachi
Quick answers
When is the next ATL publication?
1 December 2026 for the third-quarter list of FY 2026-27.
What is the deadline to be on the December 2026 ATL?
File the income tax return for tax year 2025 by 31 December 2026 and pay any tax due.
Can I check my ATL status without an NTN?
Yes. The 9966 SMS service and the public-facing ATL search portal at fbr.gov.pk/atl both work with a CNIC.
What if I disagree with my ATL status?
File a complaint through the FBR complaint portal at fbr.gov.pk/complaints, or visit the nearest Regional Tax Office (RTO) with your CNIC, the return acknowledgement receipt, and the tax payment challan.
