Tax on buying and selling property 2026-27 (236C, 236K, capital gains)

The tax on property sale in Pakistan for tax year 2027 (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027) is 2.75% of the sale price under section 236C if the seller is a filer, and 11.5% if not. The buyer pays 1.25% under section 236K, or 10.5% to 18.5% as a non-filer. Capital gains tax is separate: 15% of the profit on property bought from 1 July 2024. Rates are from FBR’s Income Tax Ordinance, amended to 30 June 2026.

A “filer” here means a person on FBR’s Active Taxpayers List (ATL). Check yours before you sign: see how to check filer status.

What are the 236C and 236K tax rates in 2026-27?

The registrar, local or housing authority, or housing society that records the transfer collects both taxes.

Both taxes are adjustable: you claim them in your income tax return against your tax for the year. One exception: if you buy and sell the same property within one tax year, the 236C tax becomes minimum tax instead.

What value is the tax charged on?

The law sets a floor. For 236C, 236K and capital gains, the value used can’t be less than the fair market value FBR has notified for that area. Where FBR hasn’t notified one, the value fixed for stamp duty by the revenue department applies.

So if you declare a price below FBR’s table, tax is still charged on FBR’s value. FBR publishes these tables city by city; for example, the latest we found for Multan, as of 13 October 2026, is dated 21 April 2026.

How is capital gains tax on property calculated?

Capital gains tax is a separate income tax on your profit: sale price minus cost. It is settled in your annual return, and the 236C tax you already paid counts against it. The rate depends on when you bought the property.

Bought on or after 1 July 2024: a flat 15% of the gain if you are on the ATL on the day you sell. There is no holding-period discount. An individual who is not on the ATL pays at the normal income tax slab rates, and never less than 15%.

Bought on or before 30 June 2024: the rate falls the longer you held it.

These rates were set by the Finance Act 2024, and the Finance Act 2026 left them unchanged.

If you sell an older plot after 6 years, your capital gains tax is 0%, but the registrar still takes 2.75% under 236C. You can adjust it against your other tax in your return.

What changed in the Finance Act 2026?

The Finance Act 2026 was enacted on 27 June 2026, and its changes apply from 1 July 2026.

• Filer rates roughly halved. 236C went from 4.5% to 5.5% (by value) to a single 2.75%. 236K went from 1.5% to 2.5% to a single 1.25%. Dawn reported this on 13 June 2026 as cuts from 5.5% and 2.5%, which were the top bands.
• Late-filer rates removed. Before, late filers paid higher property rates. Now they pay the same as on-time filers. Getting back on the ATL after a late return costs an individual a Rs 25,000 surcharge, up from Rs 1,000, unless they undertake not to buy any property for six months.
• Section 7E removed. The yearly tax on “deemed income” from property you own (20% on 5% of its value, with one property exempt) no longer applies.
• Inherited property. The cost of an inherited property is now its fair market value on the day it is transferred to the heir. A transfer to heirs through a family settlement after a death also counts as inheritance.

Section 114C, which would stop “ineligible” people buying property worth over Rs 10 crore, is law, but the federal cabinet declined to switch it on from 1 July 2026, so it is not in force as of 31 July 2026, Profit reported.

Who is exempt from 236C and 236K, or pays them as final tax?

• Families of shaheeds and government or armed forces personnel: 236C does not apply to the first sale of property allotted by the government or an authority to a shaheed’s dependants, war-wounded personnel, ex-servicemen, or serving and retired armed forces and government employees, if duly certified.
• Overseas Pakistanis paying from abroad: if a non-resident with a POC, NICOP or CNIC buys through a Foreign Currency Value Account or NRP Rupee Value Account, the 236K tax is final. When they sell that property, the 236C tax is final too, in place of capital gains tax. Government or authority schemes for expatriates paid in remitted foreign exchange pay no 236K at all. More in our guide for overseas Pakistanis buying property.
• Instalment plans: if a society collects the full 236K with your instalments, it doesn’t charge it again at transfer.

How much are stamp duty and transfer fees in Punjab?

These are provincial charges, paid on top of the federal taxes above.

• Stamp duty: 1% in both urban and rural Punjab under the Stamp (Amendment) Ordinance 2026, signed on 10 April 2026, as reported by The Nation and The News. Rural property paid 3% before. Zameen News notes an ordinance is temporary, typically about 90 days, unless the Assembly passes it, and we found no report on whether it was passed. Ask the registrar which rate applies on the day.
• PLRA e-registration fee: 0.1% of the property’s value, minimum Rs 3,600, from July 2026, per Daily Times (9 July 2026).
• Society or authority transfers through PLRA’s Property Transfer System: Rs 3,000 in 2026-27, per Daily Times.

We couldn’t confirm Punjab’s current capital value tax rate from an official or dated source, so it isn’t listed. We didn’t check Sindh, Islamabad, KP or Balochistan. For the full Punjab process, see property transfer in Punjab.

How does the tax get paid at transfer?

On a Rs 1 crore sale, a non-filer seller pays Rs 8.75 lakh more under 236C than a filer. See how to become a filer and filer vs non-filer.

More guides: home loans in Pakistan, property tax in Punjab, succession certificate, how to file your income tax return, Property.