Business Desk 
Jul 14, 2025
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has recently added a new requirement in the income tax return form for Tax Year 2025, in which individuals must declare the Fair Market Value (FMV) of any immovable property that they have acquired, sold, or owned.
Business Recorder reported that the new clause regarding the FMV was inserted into the updated income tax return form that was issued earlier this month and noted that the requirement for FMV when the value of the property is already declared complicates the return process for tax filers and may result in confusion.
More importantly, the move noted concerns that the new page for fair market value may lead to unnecessary confusion for ordinary taxpayers, especially those who do not understand assessment methods for property valuation.
In addition, overseas Pakistanis continue to face problems in property transactions. The report also noted that people were not given any tax relief in the 2025-26 federal budget.
To be eligible for ordinary tax rates as filers, overseas Pakistanis will still have to obtain a gridded machine readability certificate issued by the relevant Commissioner of Inland Revenue, a process identified by the write-up to be slow, too much paperwork, and possibly corrupt.
Furthermore, fresh tax filers are still being treated as late filers for property taxes, facing higher rates despite compliance efforts.
