The Federal Board of Revenue has introduced new rules to tax income earned from social media content, targeting individuals who generate income through user interactions in Pakistan, including non-resident Pakistanis. The new rules were notified through SRO 1642 of 2026, released this week, following the government’s earlier introduction of a 5 percent tax rate on social media content earnings as part of the budget.
Under the new rules, anyone earning money from social media content will be taxed once their audience crosses a defined size threshold, set at more than 50,000 users in a year or 12,250 users in a quarter. Tax officials have already begun identifying high earning social media accounts with millions of followers that have so far remained outside the tax net, reflecting growing government attention toward a segment of the digital economy that has expanded rapidly as social media has become a significant source of income for many content creators.
For those who qualify for taxation, the minimum taxable income will be calculated by taking total earnings from social media and subtracting expenses, which can only be claimed up to 30 percent of revenue. Under the rules, remuneration is defined as the higher of either actual earnings or revenue-per-mille, fixed at Rs195 per 1,000 views on YouTube and subject to revision over time. Individuals falling under these rules will pay advance tax quarterly and must declare their income in a special section of their annual tax return, with commissioners empowered to rectify any under-declarations that come to light during review.
The rules also define what qualifies as a social media platform and social media content for the purposes of taxation. A social media platform is defined as an internet based service whose primary purpose is to enable users to interact with other users and share user generated content, where the economic value of the service arises from user participation, network effects, and the monetisation of user engagement or user data. Social media content, meanwhile, is defined as any digital information, communication, or creative material generated or published by a user on such a platform, with value arising from user engagement, audience reach, or platform facilitated dissemination, including content capable of generating advertising, sponsorship, or other monetisation revenue. The rules add a formal regulatory framework to a digital income segment that has grown significantly in recent years, as growing numbers of individuals increasingly generate substantial income through audience engagement and viewership rather than traditional trade or service based earnings.
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