The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has unveiled a new framework to bring social media earnings under a dedicated tax regime, signaling increased scrutiny of income from platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and other monetized digital channels.

Under the proposed rules, social media account holders in Pakistan with at least 50,000 subscribers will now be classified as businesses and required to pay taxes on their earnings, officials said. The framework covers both resident and non-resident creators earning from user engagement within Pakistan.

The FBR issued draft amendments under S.R.O. 546(I)/2026 and S.R.O. 545(I)/2026, detailing a special procedure for taxing income generated from remunerative social media content. Taxable income will be calculated as total remuneration after allowing for up to 30 percent of revenue as expenses.

A benchmark formula has also been introduced, setting revenue at Rs. 195 per 1,000 YouTube views, with provisions for periodic revision. Digital earners will be required to pay advance income tax on a quarterly basis and declare their earnings in a special section of their annual income tax return. If declared income is lower than the formula-based calculation, the tax commissioner may recover the difference.

For non-resident creators, the FBR proposed thresholds whereby taxation applies if engagement with Pakistani users exceeds 50,000 in a year or 12,250 in a quarter.

This move places influencers, YouTubers, and digital content creators firmly within the tax net as the government steps up efforts to regulate the growing digital economy. Officials say the initiative aims to ensure fair taxation while maintaining transparency and compliance across monetized online platforms.