Selling Property in Pakistan: A Seller's Checklist for Documents, Dues, Taxes and Payment

In short

Where the Transfer of Property Act applies, a seller must produce the title documents they hold when the buyer asks, and pay "all public charges and rent accrued due" up to the sale, unless the contract says otherwise. The office or society that registers or records the transfer collects 236C advance tax from the seller: 2.75% of the gross consideration for a seller on the Active Taxpayers List. Capital gains tax is separate. Under section 75A, a buyer may not pay for property worth more than Rs5 million except through a crossed banking instrument or a digital transfer between bank accounts.

Selling property in Pakistan goes more smoothly when the seller prepares before the buyer's token arrives: the title documents, the dues, the tax and how the money will be paid. Here are the steps in order, each linked to our guide. The law and tax text below was read on 4 November 2026.

Step 1: Gather your title documents

Section 55 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 sets out what a seller owes a buyer "in the absence of a contract to the contrary". The Act applies only where it has been extended (see our sale deed guide). The seller is bound "to produce to the buyer on his request for examination all documents of title relating to the property which are in the seller's possession or power", "to answer to the best of his information all relevant questions" about the property or its title, and to disclose "any material defect in the property or in the seller's title thereto" "of which the seller is, and the buyer is not, aware", and which the buyer could not discover with ordinary care.

Which documents those are depends on the kind of property:

For a flat, ask the builder or association what their transfer needs; we found no official list. Our Check before you pay page lists the official checks a buyer can run; running them first shows you what they will see.

Step 2: Clear dues and get the NOCs

Section 55 binds the seller "to pay all public charges and rent accrued due in respect of the property up to the date of the sale", and to discharge existing incumbrances unless the property is sold subject to them.

• Punjab: ProPakistani reported on 5 October 2026 that, according to excise department officials, no NOC for "the purchase or sale of property will be issued" "until both property tax and sanitation fees have been paid". We found no official notice of this rule. See our Punjab registration guide and the Punjab property tax calculator.
• Property tax elsewhere: our property tax online guide, and for Islamabad's G-13 and G-14 this post.
• KP and Sindh: our KP and Sindh transfer guides.
• Society or authority: ask its office in writing for the dues clearance it issues before a transfer.

Step 3: Work out the seller's taxes

Advance tax under section 236C. The Income Tax Ordinance says the person "responsible for registering, recording or attesting transfer of any immovable property" shall "collect from the seller or transferor advance tax". It names housing authorities and housing societies among them. The Ordinance as amended up to 30 June 2026 says: "The rate of tax to be collected under section 236C shall be 2.75% of the gross amount of the consideration received." FBR's rate card lists that rate for a seller on the Active Taxpayers List and 11.50% for one who is not.

The Ordinance says this tax "shall be adjustable", except that it is a minimum tax where the property was "acquired and disposed of within the same tax year".

Capital gains tax. Section 37(1A) charges gain on disposal of immovable property in Pakistan "at the rates specified in Division VIII of Part I of the First Schedule". Use the calculator for those rates.

Which value. Section 68(6) says the consideration for 236C and for capital gains "shall not be less than the fair market value" the FBR has notified for the area (or, where it hasn't, the stamp-duty value). Find your area in our FBR valuation table and press "Use this value" to carry it into the calculators. See FBR value vs DC value.

Then use the transfer tax calculator for 236C and the capital gains tax calculator for the gain, after checking FBR's ATL search for whether you are a filer.

Rates as of November 2026.

Step 4: Get paid through the bank

Section 75A of the Income Tax Ordinance says no person shall purchase "immovable property having fair market value greater than five million Rupees" otherwise than by a crossed cheque, demand draft or pay order, "or any other crossed banking instrument or through digital means showing transfer of amount from one bank account to another bank account". For this, fair market value is the FBR value or the provincial stamp-duty value, "whichever is higher".

The rule binds the buyer, but it matters to the seller too: if you bought this property in cash after section 75A came in (the Finance Act 2019) and its fair market value was above Rs5 million, section 75A(3) says that amount "shall not be treated as cost" when the gain on its sale is worked out.

The token (bayana). An agreement to sell, Section 54 says, "does not, of itself, create any interest in or charge on such property"; our sale deed guide explains the difference. Section 55's rules apply "in the absence of a contract to the contrary", so read what the token agreement says about deadlines and refunds. We don't give legal advice: have a lawyer read it before you sign.

Hand over at the registry. Section 55 binds the seller to execute "a proper conveyance" "on payment or tender of the amount due", when the buyer tenders the conveyance for execution "at a proper time and place". For Punjab's stamp paper, see our e-stamp guide.

Selling from abroad

Giving a power of attorney safely, NICOP and POC are covered in our overseas Pakistanis guide. That guide also explains FBR's overseas FAQ, under which a non-resident NICOP or POC holder pays the filer rate on 236C even when not on the Active Taxpayers List, and why to confirm it with the registering office.

One rule is specific to non-resident sellers. Section 236C says that where a non-resident individual holding a POC, NICOP or CNIC "had acquired the said immovable property through a Foreign Currency Value Account (FCVA) or NRP Rupee Value Account (NRVA) maintained with authorized banks in Pakistan", the tax collected under 236C "shall be final discharge of tax liability in lieu of capital gains". Ask the registering office to confirm it applies to you.

Frequently asked questions

Property sell karne ka tarika kya hai?

Gather your title documents, clear property tax and dues, work out your taxes, take payment through the bank, and sign the deed at the registry or the transfer at the society.

What documents does a seller need to sell property in Pakistan?

Your title documents (fard, registered deed, mutation, or an allotment or transfer letter), your CNIC and the dues clearances the office asks for.

How much tax does a seller pay on property in Pakistan?

236C advance tax, collected at the transfer: 2.75% of the gross consideration on the Active Taxpayers List, 11.50% off it, per FBR's rate card (updated up to 30 June 2026). Overseas sellers: see the exception in "Selling from abroad". Capital gains tax may also apply: use the calculator.

Can I take cash when I sell my plot?

Section 75A bars a buyer from purchasing property worth more than Rs5 million (the higher of the FBR and stamp-duty value) except through a crossed banking instrument or a digital transfer between bank accounts.

Is the bayana (token) the sale?

No. Where the Transfer of Property Act applies, section 54 says an agreement to sell does not, of itself, create any interest in the property. The Registration Act extends to "the whole of Pakistan" bar excluded districts; its section 17(1)(b) requires registering instruments that "create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish" a right in property worth Rs100 or more.

Can I sell my property in Pakistan from abroad?

Yes, for example through an attorney: see our overseas Pakistanis guide.

Sources

1. Pakistan Code (Ministry of Law and Justice): The Transfer of Property Act 1882, sections 54 and 55 pakistancode.gov.pk
2. Pakistan Code (Ministry of Law and Justice): The Registration Act 1908, sections 1 and 17 pakistancode.gov.pk
3. FBR: Income Tax Ordinance 2001, amended up to 30 June 2026 (sections 37, 68, 75A and 236C; First Schedule, Part IV, Division X) download1.fbr.gov.pk
4. FBR: Withholding Income Tax Rate Card, updated up to 30 June 2026 as per Finance Act 2026 download1.fbr.gov.pk
5. ProPakistani: Punjab Links Property Transactions With Garbage Tax Payment (5 October 2026) propakistani.pk