Salaried individuals contributed Rs266 billion in income tax during the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year 2025-26, accounting for nearly one-tenth of total income tax collections across the country, according to provisional figures compiled by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Data for the July–December period shows that income tax paid by salaried persons in both the public and private sectors exceeded collections from the real estate sector by more than two times. The Rs266 billion contribution was Rs23 billion, or 9%, higher than the corresponding period last year and excludes book adjustments, compared to Rs243 billion collected in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Sources said that after including book adjustments, income tax payments by salaried individuals had already crossed Rs300 billion by the end of the first half. The figures also do not include tax paid by certain contractual employees under Section 153-B of the Income Tax Ordinance.
Overall, the FBR collected Rs3.03 trillion in income taxes during the first six months of the fiscal year, with salaried individuals contributing nearly 10% of the total. Non-corporate employees paid the highest amount at Rs117 billion, reflecting a 14% increase from last year, while corporate sector employees contributed Rs82 billion, up 13%.
Provincial government employees paid Rs39 billion in income tax, marking a 7% decline compared to a year earlier, while federal government employees contributed Rs27 billion, an increase of 8%.
In contrast, tax contributions from traders and certain other sectors remained limited. Several enforcement measures aimed at broadening the tax base, including restrictions on economic transactions by ineligible persons, were either diluted or rolled back during the period.
Income tax collections from the real estate sector totalled Rs126 billion in the first half, up 17% year-on-year. Withholding tax on plot sales rose sharply by two-thirds to Rs87 billion, while collections on plot purchases declined 29% to Rs39 billion, following changes in tax rates announced in the budget.
The FBR also revised property valuation rates in the Islamabad Capital Territory last month, with increases of up to 900% in some sectors, before deferring their implementation until the end of January.
Meanwhile, a new tax on high-income pensioners, introduced in the current budget for pensions exceeding Rs10 million annually, generated minimal revenue, with annual collections expected to remain below Rs1 billion.
