Pakistan’s federal revenue authority has increased withholding tax rates on digital content creators not on the Active Taxpayers List, signalling a tougher stance to formalise the booming online influencer sector.
Pakistan’s tax authorities have tightened the rules for social media earners, doubling the withholding tax on income paid to digital content creators and influencers who are not on the Active Taxpayers List. According to the updated Withholding Tax Card 2026, which took effect on July 1, 2026, non-ATL creators will face a 10% deduction on platform revenue, while those who are registered active taxpayers will be charged 5%. The change, introduced under Section 154B of the Income Tax Ordinance through the Finance Act 2026, means non-filers will now pay twice the rate applied to compliant taxpayers.
The move builds on a wider framework unveiled earlier this year as the Federal Board of Revenue moved to bring Pakistan’s fast-growing creator economy into the formal tax net. In April 2026, the authority issued statutory regulatory orders that classified resident and non-resident social media creators with 50,000 or more subscribers or users as businesses for tax purposes, requiring quarterly advance tax payments and disclosure of digital income in annual returns, according to TaxToday and PKRevenue. Those rules also covered YouTubers, influencers, online advertisers and entertainers, signalling a broader effort to regulate monetised online work.
In June, the FBR further separated earnings from global social media platforms from the reduced tax treatment that had previously applied to IT and software exports. Profit by Pakistan Today reported that the authority shifted such income into a minimum tax regime, with banks deducting 5% at source. Under the framework described by LinkedIn post summaries from Startup Pakistan and by PKRevenue, that deduction is treated as the minimum tax for resident creators, while non-resident creators without a permanent establishment in Pakistan face a final withholding charge.
The updated card also sets new withholding tax rates for money sent abroad through credit, debit or prepaid cards under Section 236Y. ATL taxpayers will be charged 0.5%, while non-ATL persons will pay 1%. Taken together, the changes show a clear policy push to widen the tax base for digital income and to increase pressure on creators who have not registered as active taxpayers.
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