The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is introducing a dedicated tax framework to regulate earnings from social media, signaling that income from platforms like YouTube and other monetized digital channels will now come under official scrutiny. Officials confirmed that social media accounts in Pakistan with 50,000 or more subscribers will be classified as businesses and required to pay taxes on their earnings.
Through draft amendments issued under S.R.O. 546(I)/2026 and S.R.O. 545(I)/2026, the FBR has outlined a special taxation procedure for individuals earning from monetized social media content. These rules apply to both resident and non-resident creators earning income through user engagement in Pakistan. Under the proposed framework, taxable income will be calculated as total remuneration received from social media content, allowing for expenses of up to 30 percent of total revenue.
The rules cover income generated from advertisements, subscriptions, or viewership within Pakistan, and include a benchmark formula for YouTube content, currently set at Rs. 195 per 1,000 views, which may be revised periodically.
Creators will be required to pay advance income tax on a quarterly basis and report their earnings in a designated section of the annual income tax return. If declared income is lower than the calculated amount under the benchmark formula, the tax commissioner may recover the difference.
For foreign and non-resident content creators, taxation thresholds have also been proposed. These apply if engagement with Pakistani users exceeds 50,000 users in a tax year or 12,250 users in a quarter.
This move effectively places influencers, YouTubers, content creators, and digital platforms earning from Pakistani audiences under closer tax scrutiny. It represents a major step by the government to expand oversight of the growing digital economy, ensuring that income derived from online content monetization is properly reported and taxed within Pakistan.
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