Capital Gains Tax Calculator — Property (Section 37)
Work out the capital gains tax (CGT) payable on the sale of immovable property in Pakistan. The rate depends on when the property was acquired: a flat rate for property acquired on or after 1 July 2024, and holding-period slabs for earlier acquisitions. For educational and estimation purposes only.
Property & sale details
💰 Capital Gains Tax
How capital gains tax on property works in Pakistan
Under Section 37 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, tax is charged on the gain you make when you sell immovable property — not on the sale price. The gain is the disposal value (the sale price, or the FBR notified fair market value if higher) minus what you paid for the property and any allowable expenses such as improvement or transfer costs. CGT is completely separate from the 236C and 236K advance taxes collected at registration.
Two regimes — the acquisition date decides everything
The Finance Act 2024 split property CGT into two regimes based on when you acquired the property:
Acquired on or after 1 July 2024: a flat 15% for sellers on the Active Taxpayers List (ATL) at the date of disposal, regardless of how long the property was held. Non-filers pay progressive slab rates, with a minimum of 15%.
Acquired on or before 30 June 2024: the older holding-period regime continues — the longer you held the property, the lower the rate, reaching 0% for long holds.
Holding-period CGT rates (property acquired before 1 July 2024)
| Holding period | Open Plot | Constructed | Flat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 year | 15% | 15% | 15% |
| 1 – 2 years | 12.5% | 10% | 7.5% |
| 2 – 3 years | 10% | 7.5% | 0% |
| 3 – 4 years | 7.5% | 5% | 0% |
| 4 – 5 years | 5% | 0% | 0% |
| 5 – 6 years | 2.5% | 0% | 0% |
| Over 6 years | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Clause 9A relief — 50% / 75% CGT reduction for govt & armed forces
Under Clause 9A, Part III of the Second Schedule to the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, serving and retired government employees (federal or provincial) and Armed Forces personnel get a reduction in capital gains tax on the first sale of property that was allotted to them by the government:
50% reduction on the first disposal, and 75% reduction if the property is sold more than 3 years after allotment/acquisition. It is a reduction in tax, not a full exemption — CGT is worked out normally and then reduced.
The relief is available to the original allottee only (not a buyer, transferee or heir), applies to the first disposal only, and requires a certificate from the allotment authority (DHA, CDA, housing foundation, provincial housing department, etc.). It covers CGT only — 236C advance tax still applies separately. Read the full Clause 9A guide →
Section 75A — why you should never buy property in cash
Under Section 75A of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, immovable property with a fair market value above Rs 5,000,000 (or any other asset above Rs 1,000,000) must be purchased through a banking channel — a crossed cheque, crossed pay order, crossed demand draft, or other crossed banking instrument. Here the fair market value means the FBR-notified value or the provincial stamp-duty value, whichever is higher.
If you buy such a property in cash or through a bearer cheque, two things happen:
1. A 5% penalty of the property value (FBR or stamp-duty value, whichever is higher) can be imposed.
2. Your cost is wiped out for CGT. The cash amount is not treated as cost under Section 76 when you later sell. With no cost to deduct, the entire sale value becomes taxable capital gain — dramatically increasing the CGT you pay. This is why paying cash to please a seller can cost the buyer millions later. Tick the Section 75A option above to see this effect on your figures.