Quick answer

To file a salaried return on IRIS 2.0, log in at iris.fbr.gov.pk , open Submit your Income Tax Return , pick Tax Year 2026, and select Salary as your income source. Then work through the tabs in order: Employment → Salary , Tax Deduction , Tax Chargeable / Payments , Wealth Statement , Payment and Attachment , clicking Calculate in every section before you click Next. You can only submit once every mandatory field is filled and the Unreconciled Amount in the wealth reconciliation is exactly 0. The deadline for this return is 31 October 2026 .

This guide follows the Normal Income Tax Return user manual (version 1.1, 2026) published by FBR's IT company PRAL for the redesigned return. It also explains the two screens that confuse most salaried filers: the +Attribute button and the structured property requirement.

What changed in the 2026 return

The return was rebuilt this year around what FBR calls a "structured data input framework". Instead of one long form, IRIS now shows separate modules (Employment, Property, Tax Chargeable, Wealth Statement and so on), and only the modules for the income sources you select are displayed. Every figure goes into a predefined field rather than free text, which is why properties declared with incomplete addresses in earlier years now have to be "structured" before you can use them.

If you are new to filing, read our step-by-step guide to the salaried return first for the documents and concepts. This page is the screen-by-screen companion.

Before you start

Keep these open in another tab:

  • Salary certificate from your employer for July 2025 to June 2026, showing gross salary, allowances and tax deducted.
  • Your employer's registration number (NTN) and name, exactly as on the certificate.
  • Bank certificates showing profit earned and tax withheld on savings accounts.
  • Withholding tax receipts on mobile bills, vehicle tax, electricity bills and so on.
  • Property details with full addresses , if you own any property.
  • Last year's wealth statement , because this year's opening wealth must match last year's closing wealth.

Step 1: Start the return and choose your income sources

  1. Log in to IRIS, enter the CAPTCHA, and click Submit your Income Tax Return on the dashboard.
  2. Select the Tax Period (2026 for income from July 2025 to June 2026) and click Continue .
  3. On the Return Prerequisites screen, select every source of income you had: Salary, plus Property or Other Sources if you earned rent or bank profit.
  4. Answer Yes if you were a tax resident of Pakistan, then click Start Return Filing .

Choose your sources carefully. You can add or remove sources later with Add Income Sources , but FBR's manual warns that removing a source also removes its withholding tax information, and the only way to get that back is to delete the return from the home page and start again.

The Summary of Economic Transactions shows withholding tax already recorded against your CNIC. FBR notes this data keeps updating, so prepare the return from your own certificates, not only from what IRIS pre-fills.

Step 2: Employment → Salary

  1. Open Employment and select Salary .
  2. Click + Add Employer Details , enter the Employer Registration No. and Employer Name , and click Add . Repeat for each employer if you changed jobs during the year.
  3. Enter your figures under Total Income from Salary , using your salary certificate.
  4. Click Calculate , then Next .

Most salaried filers only use the Total Income column. The Subject to Final Tax column is for three special cases:

  • Arrears of salary that relate to earlier tax years, where you want the lower earlier-year rate under Section 12(7).
  • Profits in lieu of salary, including termination benefits that relate to an earlier year, under Section 12(6).
  • Transport monetization for government servants, which is taxed at a fixed rate.

Step 3: Tax Deduction and the +Attribute button

After the Salary tab, IRIS moves you to Tax Deduction for Employment/Salary and pre-fills it from what you entered.

The +Attribute button is where many people get stuck. You only need it if you put an amount in the Subject to Final Tax column for arrears or for prior-year benefits. IRIS then asks you to tell it which rate applies to that amount:

  1. Click +Attribute .
  2. In the pop-up, enter the Average Tax Rate , up to 2 decimal places.
  3. Click Add . The attribute appears on the screen.
  4. Fill any remaining fields, click Calculate , then Next .

The average tax rate is the tax charged for the year the arrears relate to, divided by that year's taxable income. For example, if your taxable income in that earlier year was Rs. 1,740,000 and the tax on it was Rs. 65,400, your average rate is 65,400 ÷ 1,740,000 = 3.76% . Our tax slabs guide has both years' slab tables if you need to work out the earlier year's tax.

If you have no arrears or prior-year benefits, you do not need to add an attribute at all.

Step 4: Property, and the "unstructured property" error

Skip this step if you have no rental income. If you do, open Property → Receipts/Deductions .

FBR's manual states that from Tax Year 2025 onwards, all property details must be entered in the structured format . In practice:

  1. Click + Property . A pop-up lists the properties you declared in previous returns.
  2. Properties highlighted in yellow were declared with incomplete addresses. Click the Edit icon on each, complete the Property Information , and click Update .
  3. Select the property and click Add , then enter the rent received and click Calculate .

Once you have calculated income from a property, IRIS locks its details, so complete the address before calculating. Properties declared in earlier returns cannot be deleted. If you sold or gifted one, update it by selecting the matching status, such as Sold or Gifted.

Earlier in the 2026 season, many filers were blocked by an error asking them to convert unstructured properties into structured properties before submitting. News reports say FBR removed that blocking error in an August 2026 system update. Structuring your properties as described above is still the requirement in FBR's own manual, and it is what keeps the wealth statement and property income linked.

Step 5: Tax Chargeable / Payments

This module works out your final liability:

  • Allowances, Reductions & Credit: claim credits such as contributions to an approved pension fund, where they apply.
  • Withholding Tax: click the relevant + Section button to add each category of tax deducted at source, such as on bank profit, mobile bills or vehicle tax, and enter the amounts from your certificates.
  • Computation: IRIS calculates the tax payable. Click Calculate to refresh it whenever you change something.

If your tax is not updating, the cause is almost always a section where you did not click Calculate . FBR's own FAQ says to click Calculate in every applicable section before moving on.

Step 6: Wealth Statement and the Unreconciled Amount

The wealth statement is mandatory for resident filers under Section 116. Under Personal Assets / Liabilities , declare property, vehicles, bank balances, cash, investments and any liabilities. Properties you have already structured in the Property tab are fetched automatically.

Reconciliation of Net Assets then checks that the change in your wealth matches your income minus your spending. The return cannot be submitted until the Unreconciled Amount is 0 . The usual causes of a mismatch are:

  • Personal expenses left out. Click + Expenses and add household, education, utility, travel and other personal expenses.
  • Inflows not recorded. Add foreign remittances, inheritance and gifts received with the + buttons, including the giver's CNIC where asked.
  • Outflows not recorded. Add gifts you made and other adjustments in outflows.
  • Opening wealth that does not match last year's closing wealth.

Step 7: Payment, attachments and submission

  1. Under Payment , check Unclaimed Payments for any tax you deposited yourself and claim it against this return.
  2. Under Attachment , click Add File to upload supporting documents in PDF format.
  3. Click Save , then Submit .

After a successful submission IRIS shows a confirmation message and the return appears in your account. A few days later, confirm you are on the Active Taxpayer List using our filer status check guide .

Why IRIS will not let you submit

FBR's manual lists four reasons a return will not submit. Work through them in this order:

  1. A mandatory field is empty in one of the modules.
  2. A validation error is still showing.
  3. You did not click Calculate in a section after changing it.
  4. The wealth statement Unreconciled Amount is not 0.

If you are still stuck, the FBR helpline is 051 111 772 772 and [email protected]. Do not leave it to the last day: the deadline is 31 October 2026, and missing it now costs a Rs. 25,000 ATL surcharge plus a late-filing penalty, as explained in our deadline guide .

If you would rather not fight IRIS at all, start your return with TaxFiler . Upload your salary slip, and a certified accountant prepares and files the return on IRIS for you.