FBR e-Portal & Digital Notices: Your 2026 Guide to Online Tax Compliance

FBR's e-portal, IRIS (iris.fbr.gov.pk), is where you register for tax, file your income tax return and wealth statement, and generate PSIDs to pay tax. It is also where FBR sends you official notices. The notices matter most: FBR delivers them to your IRIS inbox and your registered email, and it treats them as delivered even if you never log in. This guide covers the IRIS tasks most individual taxpayers need, and what to do when a notice arrives.

What you can do on IRIS

IRIS is the single online window for most federal tax tasks:

• Registration: get a National Tax Number (NTN), or register for sales tax (STRN) if your business needs it.
• Income tax return and wealth statement: file the annual return for individuals, AOPs and companies.
• Sales tax returns and withholding tax statements: for registered businesses and withholding agents.
• Payments: generate a Payment Slip ID (PSID) for any tax you owe.
• Notices and correspondence: notices, orders and other official communication arrive in your IRIS inbox.
• Profile updates: change your address, contact details and business particulars.
• Refunds: apply for a refund and track it.

Registering and logging in

New taxpayers:

1. Go to iris.fbr.gov.pk and choose "Registration for Unregistered Person".
2. Enter your CNIC, mobile number and email address.
3. Enter the verification codes FBR sends to your mobile and email, then set your password.
4. Once registration is complete, your NTN is issued.

Existing taxpayers: log in with your CNIC/NTN and password. If you have forgotten the password, use "Forgot Password". You will need access to the mobile number and email registered with FBR.

Use a mobile number and email you actually check. FBR sends codes, alerts and notices to them. If they are out of date, you can miss a notice without knowing it exists. Update them through the Change of Particulars option in your IRIS account. Bigger changes, such as a new business activity, may need their own procedure.

Finding your way around the dashboard

After you log in, the dashboard has these main areas:

• Inbox: notices and messages from FBR. Check it regularly, at least once a week during filing season and whenever you are expecting a reply.
• Drafts: returns and forms you have started but not submitted.
• Outbox and Completed Tasks: what you have submitted, including your replies to notices.
• Declaration: where you start an income tax return or wealth statement.

Filing your income tax return

Most people use IRIS once a year, to file the return. The main steps are:

1. Open Declaration, choose the income tax return, and select the correct tax year. The return being filed in 2026 is for tax year 2026 (income from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026).
2. Check the pre-filled personal details.
3. Declare all income: salary, business or freelance income, rent, profit on savings, dividends, capital gains and anything else.
4. Enter the tax already deducted at source by your employer, bank and others. Check any pre-filled figures against your certificates.
5. Claim the deductions and credits you can prove, such as Zakat and approved donations. See our tax saving guide for what counts.
6. Let IRIS calculate the tax. If tax is payable, generate a PSID, pay it, and add the payment to the return.
7. Submit, then download or save the acknowledgement.

For due dates, what happens if you file late, and a documents checklist, see our return filing deadline guide.

The wealth statement

Individuals file a wealth statement alongside the return. In it, you declare everything you own and owe at the end of the tax year: property, vehicles, bank balances, investments, cash, and loans and other liabilities. It then reconciles your net assets with the previous year.

Your net assets should only increase by amounts your declared income and other inflows can explain, after your personal expenses. An increase you can't explain is one of the most common reasons FBR sends a notice. Our wealth statement reconciliation guide walks through the reconciliation line by line.

Paying tax with a PSID

When the return, or a notice or order, shows tax payable:

1. Generate a PSID in IRIS for the right tax type, tax year and amount.
2. Pay it through internet banking, a mobile banking app, an ATM, or over the counter at a bank branch.
3. Keep the payment receipt, and enter the payment details in your return before you submit it.

To check the amount before you pay, our income tax calculator works out salary tax on the current slabs.

Digital notices: why the inbox matters

FBR now sends most of its communication electronically, to your IRIS inbox and your registered email. A notice issued through IRIS carries the same legal weight as a paper notice. Common types include:

• Requests for information or clarification about a return you filed or a transaction FBR has data on
• Show-cause notices asking you to explain a discrepancy
• Audit notices telling you that your case has been selected for audit
• Demand notices for tax FBR says is outstanding
• Penalty and default surcharge notices
• Notices to appear before an officer, in person or through a representative

The response time starts when the notice is issued, not when you read it. The compliance date is printed on the notice. If you don't respond by then, FBR can make an ex-parte assessment based on the information it holds, impose penalties and default surcharge, and take recovery action against you.

FBR increasingly spots discrepancies by matching your return against data from NADRA, banks, utility companies, provincial excise departments and other third parties. A notice usually means one of those data sources doesn't match what you declared.

How to respond to a notice on IRIS

1. Open the notice in your inbox and read it in full. Note the tax year it concerns, the section it is issued under, what it asks for, and the compliance date.
2. Collect the evidence it asks for, such as bank statements, withholding tax certificates, sale deeds and invoices. Reconcile the figures before you reply.
3. Reply from within the notice in IRIS. Write a clear response to each point and attach the supporting documents.
4. Submit before the compliance date, then check that the reply shows in your Outbox or Completed Tasks. Keep a copy.
5. If you need more time, ask for it before the compliance date, not after.
6. Get help for anything serious. For audits, large demands or anything you don't understand, a tax adviser is worth paying for. Our guide to FBR notices and audits covers the common notice types in more detail.

Never ignore a notice because you think it is a mistake. If it is wrong, say so in your reply and attach the evidence.

Good habits for online compliance

• Check your IRIS inbox regularly, not just at filing time.
• Keep your registered mobile and email current.
• Keep digital copies of salary certificates, bank statements, withholding tax certificates and property documents throughout the year.
• File early in the season to avoid last-minute portal slowdowns.
• Save every acknowledgement, payment receipt and notice reply.

Frequently asked questions

How do I access the FBR e-portal?

Go to iris.fbr.gov.pk and log in with your CNIC/NTN and password. If you aren't registered yet, use "Registration for Unregistered Person".

I received a notice on IRIS. What should I do first?

Open it, note the compliance date and what it asks for, and gather your documents. Then reply through IRIS before the deadline. If you are unsure, speak to a tax adviser early rather than on the last day.

Will FBR also send the notice by post?

Don't count on it. Notices delivered to your IRIS inbox and registered email are treated as received, so check your inbox regularly.

How do I pay tax online?

Generate a PSID in IRIS, then pay it by internet banking, mobile banking, ATM or at a bank branch. Enter the payment in your return before you submit it.

Can I update my address or phone number?

Yes. Use the Change of Particulars option in your IRIS account.

This is general information. Rules and procedures change, so check FBR's current notifications or ask a tax adviser about your own case.