How to Register for Income Tax in Pakistan 2026: FBR IRIS & NTN Guide
Learn how an individual can register with FBR through IRIS in Pakistan, including CNIC as NTN, registration requirements, verification, account setup and what to do after registration.
By Khyrat Hussain · Updated 26 September 2026
If you want to file an income tax return in Pakistan for the first time, one of the first steps is to register yourself with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
For an individual, FBR provides online registration through its IRIS portal. After registration, you can use IRIS to access your taxpayer account and subsequently file your income tax return. FBR describes registration as the first step in the return-filing process. Federal Board of Revenue
This guide explains the current IRIS 2.0 registration process for individuals, including salaried persons.
Important: Registering with FBR is not the same as filing an income tax return. Registration creates/enables your taxpayer account. Your applicable income tax return must still be filed separately.
1.What Does FBR Income Tax Registration Mean?
A person becomes registered for income tax when e-enrolled with FBR through IRIS.
FBR states that e-enrollment provides the taxpayer with an NTN or Registration Number and the credentials needed to access IRIS. Federal Board of Revenue
IRIS is FBR's online income-tax system.
1.1.Is Your CNIC Your NTN?
For an individual Pakistani taxpayer, the 13-digit CNIC is used as the NTN/Registration Number after registration.
Companies and Associations of Persons (AOPs), by contrast, use the seven-digit NTN assigned to them. Federal Board of Revenue
For example:
CNIC: 35202-XXXXXXX-X
After registration, the individual's CNIC serves as the Registration Number/NTN.
Having a CNIC alone, however, does not mean that you have completed FBR registration.
2.Who Can Register Online?
This guide is for individual taxpayers, such as:
- government employees;
- private-sector employees;
- freelancers;
- individual business owners;
- persons earning property income; and
- other individuals who need to register for income tax.
FBR currently states that its online registration facility is available to individuals, while AOPs and companies follow different registration arrangements. Federal Board of Revenue
Therefore, this guide should not be treated as an AOP or company registration tutorial.
3.What Do You Need Before Starting?
Before opening the registration form, keep your information and documents ready.
FBR lists the following information among the requirements for an individual:
- CNIC/NICOP/passport number;
- mobile phone number;
- active email address;
- nationality;
- residential address;
- accounting period;
- employer's name and NTN in the case of salary income;
- business particulars where there is business income; and
- property address where there is property income. Federal Board of Revenue
For online registration, FBR also specifies a mobile SIM registered against the individual's own CNIC, a personal email address and certain supporting documents. Business-related documents are additionally required where the individual has a business. Federal Board of Revenue
3.1.If you are a salaried person
Keep at least these details ready:
CNIC — your valid CNIC information.
Mobile number — use the number/SIM meeting FBR's registration requirements.
Personal email address — use an email account you control.
Residential address — enter your actual residential details.
Employer details — FBR lists the employer's name and NTN among the information required where the individual has salary income.
4.How to Register with FBR Through IRIS 2.0
The current registration interface has five main stages:
Basic information → Address → Contact information → Password → Confirmation. IRIS
We will follow the same order.
4.1.Step 1: Open the Official IRIS Portal
Open FBR's official IRIS registration page:
FBR IRIS 2.0 — New Registration
Because you will enter sensitive information, check the website address before continuing.
The official domain should be:
iris.fbr.gov.pk
Do not enter your CNIC, password or verification codes on an unknown website.
4.2.Step 2: Enter Your Basic Information
The first stage is Basic information.
IRIS currently asks for:
- CNIC;
- whether your CNIC has lifetime validity;
- CNIC expiry date, where applicable; and
- full name as per CNIC. IRIS
4.2.1.Enter your CNIC
Enter your own CNIC accurately.
Do not use another person's CNIC to create a taxpayer account.
4.2.2.Lifetime validity
IRIS asks:
“Does your CNIC have lifetime validity?”
Choose Yes or No according to your actual CNIC.
If your CNIC has an expiry date, enter the applicable date requested by IRIS.
4.2.3.Full name
Enter your name exactly according to your CNIC/NADRA record.
Once the required information is accepted, proceed to the next step.
4.3.Step 3: Enter Your Address
The next stage is Address.
For a salaried individual, the IRIS screen itself instructs the applicant to provide residential-address details. For a person earning income from a business, the applicable business-address information is requested.
Address Type
House / Flat / Block No.
Street No.
Area / Sector
There may be further fields below the visible portion of the screenshot, so the article should tell readers to complete all required address fields shown by IRIS, rather than implying that these four fields are the entire form.
FBR independently lists residential address among the information required before individual e-enrollment. Federal Board of Revenue
If you have business income, provide the appropriate business information applicable to your circumstances rather than pretending to be salary-only.
4.4.Step 4: Enter Your Contact Information and Verify It
The next stage is Contact information.
FBR's online-registration requirements specify a mobile phone/SIM registered against the individual's CNIC and a personal email address. Federal Board of Revenue
Use contact information that belongs to you and that you expect to retain.
This is important because your mobile number and email are also used in account-verification and recovery processes.
After the contact information is entered, IRIS may require verification codes.
Mobile Verification Code
and
Email Verification Code
with six boxes for each code.
It also displays a time limit for the OTP.
4.4.1.Protect your verification codes
Never publish, forward or share an active verification code with an unknown person.
A person who is helping you understand registration does not need to know your FBR password or active OTP merely to explain the process.
Your screenshot already masks the mobile number and email address, which is exactly how we should publish it.
4.5.Step 5: Create Your Password and PIN
After successful contact verification, IRIS moves to the Password stage.
This is another area where our original article needs updating because your real screenshot shows that IRIS asks not only for a password but also a PIN.
The screenshot shows the password requirements presented by IRIS, including a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, a number, a special character and a minimum length.
Follow the current requirements displayed by IRIS itself, because password policies can change.
You will also be asked to confirm your password.
4.5.1.Your PIN is important too
The screenshot confirms a separate PIN field.
Create it carefully and keep it private along with your password.
Do not store your IRIS password and PIN in a public note, shared WhatsApp message or screenshot.
4.6.Step 6: Review the Confirmation Stage
The final stage displayed in IRIS 2.0 is:
Confirmation
Your screenshots do not include the final confirmation screen, and that is perfectly fine.
Do not create an artificial screenshot for this step.
Instead, tell the reader to carefully review the information displayed by IRIS before completing registration.
Check particularly:
- CNIC;
- name;
- address;
- mobile number;
- email address; and
- other information you supplied.
If IRIS identifies an error or requires additional verification, follow the instructions displayed on the official portal.
4.7.Step 7: Complete Your Registration
After successfully completing the registration and verification process, your taxpayer registration can be established in IRIS.
For an individual Pakistani taxpayer, the 13-digit CNIC is used as the NTN/Registration Number. Federal Board of Revenue
Keep your login credentials securely.
5.How Do You Log Into IRIS After Registration?
Return to the official IRIS portal.
You will see fields for:
CNIC/NTN
and
Password
as shown in Figure 1.
For an individual Pakistani taxpayer, use the applicable CNIC/Registration Number and your password to access IRIS.
FBR confirms that after registration a first-time filer can log into IRIS and proceed to file the Income Tax Return.
6.What If You Are Already Registered?
Do not try to create another taxpayer registration merely because you cannot remember your password.
The current IRIS login page provides:
Forgot Password / Account Recovery
and FBR provides mechanisms for recovering access.
FBR states that its Forgot Password process sends codes to the taxpayer's registered email address and mobile number before allowing the password to be reset. Federal Board of Revenue
The current IRIS 2.0 account-recovery interface also distinguishes between users who still have access to their registered email/mobile and users who need account recovery because they no longer have access to one of those registered contacts.
7.Registration Does Not Mean Your Income Tax Return Has Been Filed
This is perhaps the most important point in this guide.
FBR registration ≠ Income Tax Return filing.
FBR itself describes registration as the first step for a first-time income-tax filer. After registration, the taxpayer logs into IRIS and files the return. Federal Board of Revenue
The process is therefore:
Register with FBR
↓
Get access to IRIS
↓
Prepare your tax information
↓
File the applicable Income Tax Return
↓
Complete the applicable Wealth Statement/other filing requirements
Our next HisaabKit guide will cover that process separately for a salaried person.
8.Does Registration Automatically Make You a “Filer”?
Do not confuse FBR registration, return filing, and Active Taxpayer List status.
Registration establishes your taxpayer identity/account.
Filing is the separate process of submitting the applicable income-tax return.
ATL status is governed by FBR's applicable Active Taxpayer List rules.
Therefore, someone should not assume:
“I have registered my CNIC with FBR, so my annual return has also been filed.”
It has not.
9.Registration, NTN and Income Tax Return — What's the Difference?
Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
FBR Registration | Registering/e-enrolling yourself as a taxpayer |
NTN / Registration Number | For an individual Pakistani, the 13-digit CNIC is used as the NTN/Registration Number after registration |
IRIS | FBR's online tax portal |
Income Tax Return | The applicable annual return filed separately through IRIS |
ATL | Active Taxpayer List status under FBR's applicable rules |
FBR confirms the CNIC-as-registration-number treatment for individuals.
10.What If You Are a Salaried Employee?
The same individual-registration process is relevant to salaried taxpayers.
Before registration, FBR says an individual with salary income should have the name and NTN of the employer available. Federal Board of Revenue
Do not guess the employer's NTN.
Use reliable employer/payroll documentation or obtain the correct information from the relevant employer/accounts office where needed.
After registration, the next major task is not another registration step—it is preparing and filing your income-tax return for the relevant tax year.
11.What If You Also Have Business Income?
Your registration information should reflect your real circumstances.
For an individual with business income, FBR lists information including:
- business name;
- business address; and
- principal business activity. Federal Board of Revenue
FBR's online-registration guidance also identifies business-premises documentation among the documents applicable where the individual has a business. Federal Board of Revenue
So a person who earns both salary and business income should not blindly follow a salary-only example where IRIS asks for information relevant to the business.
12.What If You Have Property Income?
FBR includes the address of the property among the information to have available where an individual has property income. Federal Board of Revenue
Again, complete the registration according to your actual sources of income.
13.Common FBR Registration Mistakes
13.1.Using the wrong CNIC details
Enter the information according to your actual CNIC. The current IRIS screen explicitly asks for the full name as per CNIC. IRIS
13.2.Using somebody else's mobile number
FBR's online-registration guidance specifies a SIM registered against the individual's own CNIC. Federal Board of Revenue
13.3.Using an email you do not control
Your email is important for verification and account recovery. Use a personal email address that you can continue accessing.
13.4.Sharing OTPs
Your OTP is part of account verification. Keep it private.
13.5.Forgetting the PIN
The current IRIS 2.0 registration interface shown in your screenshot includes a PIN in addition to the password. Store both securely.
13.6.Registering twice because you forgot your password
Use Forgot Password / Account Recovery rather than trying to create another identity.
13.7.Thinking registration means your return is filed
It does not. Filing comes after registration.
14.What Should You Do After Registration?
Once your IRIS registration is complete, start preparing for your income-tax return.
A salaried taxpayer should ordinarily gather relevant records such as:
- annual salary details;
- employer tax certificate/statement where available;
- tax deducted from salary;
- information about other income;
- bank information relevant to the return;
- assets and liabilities relevant to the Wealth Statement;
- personal/household expenditure information; and
- other applicable tax deductions/payments.
You can use HisaabKit's Salary Tax Calculator to independently estimate salary tax before working through your return.
However, HisaabKit does not file the return for you. The official submission takes place through FBR IRIS.
15.Final Checklist
Before starting, keep your:
CNIC ✓
Own mobile/SIM ✓
Personal email ✓
Residential address ✓
Employer information if salaried ✓
Business information if applicable ✓
Property information if applicable ✓
Then follow the current IRIS sequence:
Basic information → Address → Contact information/verification → Password & PIN → Confirmation.
Once registration is complete, the next step is to prepare and file your actual Income Tax Return.
