LAHORE: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has intensified its enforcement drive against tax evasion in the private healthcare sector by deploying Inland Revenue Service (IRS) officers directly at commercial hospitals and clinics across the country, marking a shift to on-site monitoring after data showed widespread underreporting of income and poor tax compliance by doctors in the tax year 2025.
Official FBR data shows that of the 319,572 registered doctors nationwide, only 130,243 are registered with the income tax authorities, representing 40.75% of the total. Among those registered, just 56,287 doctors filed income tax returns for TY2025, accounting for about 43% of doctors on the tax rolls.
Further analysis of TY2025 returns shows that of the 56,287 doctors who filed returns, 48,704 declared some level of income, while 7,583 reported zero income. Among those who declared income, around 30,000 doctors, or nearly 62%, reported annual earnings below Rs2 million. This figure rises to about 65% when measured against total return filers.
Within the below-Rs2 million bracket, 341 doctors reported income between Re1 and Rs100,000, 17,647 declared income between Rs100,000 and Rs1 million, and 12,959 reported earnings between Rs1 million and Rs2 million.
The data also show a sharp decline in the number of doctors as declared income levels increase. Only 6,655 doctors reported annual income between Rs2 million and Rs3 million, 6,959 fell in the Rs3 million to Rs5 million range, and 3,093 declared income between Rs5 million and Rs10 million. At the highest end, just 1,050 doctors reported annual income exceeding Rs10 million in TY2025.
The FBR has begun posting IRS officers at the premises of private hospitals and clinics under Section 175-C of the Income Tax Ordinance. In the first phase, officers have been deployed at 50 commercial hospitals to observe medical services and revenue collection in real time.
The official said the focus is on identifying underreported revenues, particularly from high inpatient charges that, in some cases, exceed rates charged by five-star hotels. Based on these observations, the FBR is issuing private notices to non-compliant doctors to encourage voluntary compliance, which, the official said, has already begun.
According to the FBR, the figures highlight two major gaps: the difference between registered doctors and those filing returns, and the disparity between the size of the profession and the low income levels being declared. The authority said on-site monitoring is intended to address both issues and improve compliance in the private healthcare sector.
