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Filer status

How to Check Whether You Are on the Active Taxpayer List

Send ATL followed by a space and your 13-digit CNIC to 9966, or use FBR's online status page. An association or company sends its 7-digit NTN instead, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir uses AJKATL. The list is rebuilt daily and a person filing by the due date is included immediately, which is a change from the weekly update FBR's own page still describes.

We do this for clients:NTN Registration in PakistanIncome Tax Return Filing in Pakistan

Where these figures come from

Statutory basis
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, as amended by the Finance Act 2026, for tax year 2027 (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027).
Last checked against the statute
by BarrioVibe, which files income tax returns through FBR IRIS.

These figures are an estimate computed from the rates above, not tax advice for your situation. Your return depends on facts a form cannot see, so treat the number as a starting point and speak to us before you file on it.

The official routes

All of these are FBR's own. The syntax differs by taxpayer type, which is where most failed checks come from.

  • SMS for an individual: ATL, a space, then your 13-digit CNIC with no dashes, to 9966
  • SMS for an association or company: ATL, a space, then the 7-digit NTN, to 9966
  • SMS in Azad Jammu and Kashmir: AJKATL rather than ATL, with a CNIC or an 11-digit NTN
  • Online: FBR's Active Taxpayer List status page, and its separate taxpayer profile inquiry
  • The full list: FBR publishes the whole Active Taxpayer List for download, which is what you want if you are checking many people at once

What the answer actually tells you

The list records who has filed a return for the relevant tax year. That is all it records. It is not a statement that your tax affairs are in order, that you owe nothing, or that a past year was filed correctly.

It matters because being on it changes the rate withheld on property, vehicles, banking and dividends. Somebody checking your status before a transaction is checking which column of the rate table applies to you, not forming a view about you.

Registered, filed, and listed are three different states

This is the reason most "why am I not showing" questions arise. Registration under section 181 gives you a National Tax Number. Filing a return under section 114 is a separate act. The Active Taxpayer List is built from who has filed.

So a person who registered years ago and never filed holds an NTN and is not on the list. A person who filed last year but not this one may drop off. And a person holding only a CNIC has neither, even though section 181(4) makes that CNIC their National Tax Number for when they do register.

If the check says you are not on it

Work through these in order. Most cases resolve at the second step.

  1. 1

    Check you sent the right thing

    Thirteen digits without dashes for an individual, seven for an association or company, and AJKATL rather than ATL if you are in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

  2. 2

    Check whether you actually filed

    In IRIS, the return and the wealth statement should both be in Completed Task rather than Draft. A return left in Draft was never filed, and this is the single most common cause.

  3. 3

    Check which year you filed for

    The list is built from the last completed tax year. Filing for an earlier year does not put you on the current list.

  4. 4

    If you filed late, pay the surcharge

    Under section 182A inclusion after the due date requires a surcharge of Rs 25,000 for an individual, Rs 50,000 for an association and Rs 100,000 for a company, unless you give the Commissioner an undertaking not to acquire property for six months.

What the status is worth on a transaction

If you are checking before buying property, this shows the difference the answer makes in rupees. A filer pays a flat 1.25% and a non-filer pays a banded rate rising to 18.5%.

Property Purchase Tax

Questions

The questionspeople ask

  • How do I check my filer status by CNIC?

    Send ATL, a space, and your 13-digit CNIC without dashes to 9966. You can also use FBR's online Active Taxpayer List status page. An association of persons or a company sends its 7-digit NTN instead of a CNIC.

  • How often is the Active Taxpayer List updated?

    Daily. FBR moved to daily updates in October 2024 and stated that a taxpayer filing by the due date is included immediately. FBR's own ATL page still says every Monday, which is out of date, and the older practice of shifting the list annually each March has also gone.

  • I filed my return but I am not on the Active Taxpayer List. Why?

    Most often because the return is still sitting in the Draft folder in IRIS rather than in Completed Task, which means it was never actually filed. Other causes are filing for an earlier tax year than the one the current list is built from, or filing late without paying the section 182A surcharge.

  • What is the SMS format to check ATL status in Pakistan?

    ATL, a space, then your 13-digit CNIC with no dashes, sent to 9966. For an association or company it is ATL, a space, then the 7-digit NTN. In Azad Jammu and Kashmir the keyword is AJKATL rather than ATL.

  • Does having an NTN mean I am on the Active Taxpayer List?

    No. Registration and filing are separate. An NTN means you are registered with FBR; the list records who has filed a return. A person who registered and never filed holds an NTN and is not on the list.

  • Can I check someone else's filer status?

    Yes. The Active Taxpayer List is public and you need only their CNIC or NTN. Checking a counterparty before a property transaction or a large contract is ordinary practice, and FBR publishes the full list for download if you are verifying many people.

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Rather have someone handle it?

We file returns through IRIS every day. If the answer above raises a question about your own case, that is the conversation to have before the deadline rather than after it.

Talk to us