Income tax return for freelancers
Tax Return Filing for Freelancers and IT Exporters
If you are paid from abroad through a Pakistani bank, tax is already being deducted from your earnings. Filing your return is what makes that tax count, and it puts you on the Active Taxpayer List. We handle both.
Last date: the return for tax year 2026 is normally due by 30 September 2026. Filed after that, an individual pays a Rs 25,000 surcharge under the Finance Act 2026 to get onto the Active Taxpayer List.
How freelance income is taxed
When payment for IT or IT-enabled services arrives from abroad through a Pakistani bank, the bank deducts tax at source. For most freelancers that deduction can be the whole tax on that income, but only if you file your return for the year. If you do not file, it is simply tax taken, and you stay a non-filer.
Registering with the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) as a freelancer lowers the rate of that deduction. PSEB registration needs an NTN, and renewing it needs your returns to be filed, so registration and filing go together.
Money that comes through a platform or a service such as Payoneer or Wise and then lands in your Pakistani account leaves a clear trail in your bank statements. We match those receipts to your return, so what you declare agrees with what your bank has recorded.
New to this? Our guide to becoming a filer in Pakistan covers the whole process.
What we take care of
NTN registration
If you are not registered yet, we register you on IRIS first. For individuals, your CNIC number becomes your NTN.
Foreign receipts declared correctly
We use your bank statements and your bank’s tax deduction certificates, so your export income and the tax already taken are declared in the right place.
A wealth statement that adds up
Freelancers’ savings often grow quickly. Your wealth statement has to reconcile with your income, and we make sure it does.
Straight advice on PSEB
If you are not registered with PSEB, we explain what it involves and how it lowers the tax taken from your payments.
What freelancers usually need
Not all of it applies to everyone. After the call we send you a short list of only what applies to you.
- Your CNIC
- Bank statements for every account for the tax year, showing your foreign receipts
- Tax deduction certificates from your bank for those receipts
- Your PSEB certificate, if you are registered
- Statements from Upwork, Fiverr, Payoneer or Wise, if you have them
- Details of property and vehicles you own
- Last year’s return, if you have filed before
Questions people ask
Do freelancers in Pakistan need to file a tax return?
If you want the tax already deducted from your foreign payments to count as your tax on that income, yes. Filing is also what puts you on the Active Taxpayer List. Without a return you are treated as a non-filer on banking, vehicle and property transactions.
My bank already deducts tax on my payments. Is that enough?
Not on its own. The deduction pays tax on those receipts, but it only counts as your final tax on that income once you file your return for the year. Until then you are also not on the Active Taxpayer List.
Should I register with PSEB?
For most full-time freelancers it is worth it, because PSEB registration lowers the rate your bank deducts on IT export receipts. It needs an NTN, and renewal needs filed returns, so we usually sort out registration and filing first.
Aam sawalat
Freelancer filer kaise bane?
Pehle IRIS par registration (NTN), phir income tax return aur wealth statement file karni hoti hai. Hum dono kaam aap ke liye karte hain.
Bank pehle hi tax kaat leta hai, phir return kyun?
Bank ka kata hua tax aap ki is aamdani ka final tax tab hi banta hai jab aap return file karte hain. Return ke baghair aap non-filer hi rehte hain.
Kya PSEB registration zaroori hai?
Zaroori nahi, lekin PSEB registration se bank ka kata jane wala tax kam ho jata hai. Is ke liye NTN chahiye hota hai.
More on income tax filing
Start your return
Tell us a little about yourself and we will call you at a time that suits you. We prepare the return, you approve it, and we file it on IRIS and send you the acknowledgement.