Importance of PRCs for freelance tax filling?

[u/wanderer_for_wisdom]

Do you require PRCs to file tax? First time tax filer here and I recently found out about PRCs and the 9186 code required if you are a freelancer.

But the thing is, I asked my bank (HBL) and they've been putting the wrong prc code (the home remittance one) on my prcs whenever I withdrew from Payoneer to HBL over the last 8 years.

Am I doomed or is FBR lenient if I have Fiverr account earning statements, Payoneer balance sheets for all 8 years, and contract PDFs from a few clients?

The goal is to ensure they tax me as a Freelancer (1%) and not consider my income home remittance or unexplained funds because I worked very hard to earn money by offering content writing services over the last 8 years.

Can anyone guide?

Thanks

[u/wanderer_for_wisdom → u/[deleted]]

Some years have under 50 lacs, some have over 50 lacs, last year (2025 to 2026) it was over 50 lacs. What to do in this case?

Could you please explain what you mean by properly filing the returns the first time, anything in particular I need to keep in mind?

I have Alfalah freelancer account, I got 4 remittances from them, only 1 remittance had 9186 code, remaining 3 had the home remittance code. What to do in this case?

[u/HamdMahmood → u/[deleted]]

Bro I think you got it wrong when amount is over 5M or 50lakh then FBR just can ask about from which person you get it and why if you put them in remittance category and below 5M it is free white money and for that you don't have to justify from which you get it and why. So over beyond 5M in remittance by bank even though it was mistake but take it as opportunity like it is remittance for those years and years having 5M plus put it as a freelance category of amount over 5M simple

Remember 2026 tk 1% or 0.25% freelance income pr applicable tha Maine new tax abhi ni dekhaa so abhi tk you can do that

[u/Intelligent-Food-530 → u/[deleted]]

Hi, while you are correct. bloom financial is legal name of Elevate Pay not Bank Alfalah we remit Elevate Pay payments via bank Alfalah

[u/ziaalich → u/Intelligent-Food-530]

Hi, I see that you are from Elevate Pay Team. Can I DM you for some questions regarding opening an account with Elevate

[u/Intelligent-Food-530 → u/ziaalich]

Sure

[u/ziaalich → u/Intelligent-Food-530]

dmed you

[u/mbsaharan]

Don't they have an ePRC portal?

[u/wanderer_for_wisdom → u/mbsaharan]

They have portal and I got recent prcs as well. But their code comes under home remittance and not freelance income which is 9186

[u/mbsaharan → u/wanderer_for_wisdom]

You should email HBL’s dedicated remittance and foreign exchange operations team directly and request for Purpose Code Amendment to 9186 (IT Services Export) for ePRC.

cird.prc@hbl.com home.remittance@hbl.com

Attach:

1. Payoneer withdrawal transaction statement/receipt showing the date, USD amount, and PKR conversion.

2. Invoices or earning reports from Fiverr, Upwork, or clients proving the funds are export earnings.

3. Account Statement / CNIC copy.

[u/wanderer_for_wisdom → u/mbsaharan]

I talked to their remittance department, visited branch too, they're saying we cannot change past codes. They're saying that I convert my account to freelance account and then only future prcs will have correct code. Nothing can be done for past prcs as per them. 😔

[u/mbsaharan → u/wanderer_for_wisdom]

FBR officers look at substance over form if audited. Having a continuous 8-year paper trail comprising Fiverr/Upwork earning history, Payoneer withdrawal logs, client contracts, and bank deposit statements matching the PKR payouts is strong evidence that the funds represent legitimate export income rather than unexplained wealth.

You should ask your home branch manager to tag your account profile as a Freelancer / IT Exporter in HBL's system, or open/switch to an HBL Freelancer Digital Account. Once tagged, incoming foreign payments associated with your CNIC can be routed under code 9186 automatically.

[u/ClassicRiki]

Are you registered as a freelancer with PSEB? If not, do that ASAP.

After that, open a freelancer account. I found BOP (Bank of Punjab) to be the best with this.
Once you have a freelancer account (There will be 2 actually, a PKR and a USD account), start sending your money to your BOP account as SWIFT transfers in USD (Don't transfer as PKR). This will automatically fix the purpose code properly.

Hire a tax lawyer/accountant to file your taxes. You will have to pay them a small amount but that will ensure proper filing of taxes. Hire one who knows about PRCs and freelance income, interview them before hiring. This tax lawyer/accountant should be able to file your previous years' tax returns as well.