The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) issued a new tax formula for YouTubers and influencers on Thursday, April 1, 2026. The board now strictly mandates non-resident individuals earning money through social media in Pakistan to pay quarterly withholding tax. Furthermore, these creators must file a special income tax return.
The FBR issued SRO.545(i)/2026 to enforce these regulations. Therefore, any non-resident person making money by interacting with Pakistani social media users must comply. This applies specifically when the earnings constitute Pakistan-source income.
New User Thresholds
These new rules operate under section 99C of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. They outline a special procedure to compute the income of non-resident creators earning from remunerative content.
The FBR established a strict threshold to qualify a creator’s activity as “Systemic and Continuous Soliciting of Business Activities or Engaging in Interaction through Digital Means”. A creator meets this criterion if they exceed 50,000 users during a tax year. Alternatively, interacting with 12,250 users in a single quarter also triggers this tax obligation.
Tax Calculation Formula for YouTubers & Influencers
Under this special procedure, every applicable person must pay advance income tax. The authorities calculate this tax for one quarter using the prescribed rule-19M and rule-19N formulas. Subsequently, the FBR makes this amount payable or recoverable.
Additionally, the FBR specified exactly how it will calculate minimum income. The board defined “Revenue per mille” as the revenue generated per 1,000 views on a shared YouTube video. Currently, the FBR has set this rate at Rs. 195. However, this figure remains subject to revision from time to time.
Compliance & Revenue Recovery
Creators must declare this income in a special section of their Income Tax Return for every tax year. The FBR explicitly leaves no room for underreporting.
If a taxpayer declares an income lower than the exact amount calculated under rule-19M and rule-19N, the relevant commissioner will intervene. Consequently, the commissioner will rectify this error or omission directly in the return. Finally, the FBR will proceed to recover the due amount from the taxpayer exactly as outlined by the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
