How much more tax does a non-filer pay when buying or selling property, and is there still a late-filer rate?

A person who is not on the active taxpayers’ list pays far more advance tax on a property transfer than a person who is. For tax year 2027 (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027), a non-listed buyer pays roughly 8 to 15 times the listed rate under section 236K, and a non-listed seller pays a little over 4 times the listed rate under section 236C. The figures below are from the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 as amended to 30 June 2026.

What does the law say?

Section 100BA(1) says the collection or deduction of advance income tax for a person not appearing on the active taxpayers’ list “shall be determined in accordance with the rules in the Tenth Schedule”. Section 100BA(2) gives the Tenth Schedule effect notwithstanding anything else in the Ordinance.

Rule 1 of the Tenth Schedule generally increases a withholding rate by 100% for non-listed persons, but its provisos set specific rates for property:

• The second proviso sets the section 236K rates for the buyer.
• The Table under the third proviso, serial number 2, sets the section 236C rate for the seller “on the gross amount of consideration received on sale or transfer of immovable property”.

How do the rates compare?

Buyer, section 236K (base: fair market value)

Fair market value	On the active taxpayers’ list (Division XVIII)	Not on the list (Tenth Schedule)
Up to Rs. 50 million	1.25%	10.5%
Above Rs. 50 million up to Rs. 100 million	1.25%	14.5%
Above Rs. 100 million	1.25%	18.5%

Seller, section 236C (base: gross consideration received)

Seller	Rate
On the active taxpayers’ list (Division X)	2.75%
Not on the list (Tenth Schedule)	11.5%

The consolidated footnotes show that the Finance Act, 2025 set the current non-listed 236K rates (replacing 12%, 16% and 20%) and the 11.5% 236C rate (replacing 10%). The listed rates of 1.25% and 2.75% come from the Finance Act, 2026.

Worked example (illustrative figures)

Bilal sells a house in DHA Lahore to Sana for Rs. 30,000,000. The fair market value and the consideration are both Rs. 30,000,000, which is below Rs. 50 million.

	On the list	Not on the list
Sana, buyer, 236K	30,000,000 x 1.25% = Rs. 375,000	30,000,000 x 10.5% = Rs. 3,150,000
Bilal, seller, 236C	30,000,000 x 2.75% = Rs. 825,000	30,000,000 x 11.5% = Rs. 3,450,000

If neither party is on the list, the total collected on this one transfer is Rs. 3,150,000 + Rs. 3,450,000 = Rs. 6,600,000, against Rs. 375,000 + Rs. 825,000 = Rs. 1,200,000 if both are.

For a Rs. 80,000,000 property, a non-listed buyer falls in the second band: Rs. 80,000,000 x 14.5% = Rs. 11,600,000, against Rs. 1,000,000 at 1.25%.

Is there still a late-filer rate?

No, not in the Tenth Schedule from 1 July 2026. Rule 1A was inserted by the Finance Act, 2024 for persons who appear on the active taxpayers’ list but did not file their return by the due date. Its omitted text, preserved in the consolidated footnote, set 236C at 7.5%, 8.5% or 9.5% and 236K at 4.5%, 5.5% or 6.5% by value band, and did not apply to a person who had filed on time for each of the last three tax years.

Section 5 of the Finance Act, 2026 says “rule 1A shall be omitted”. Section 100BA(1) still refers to persons on the list “who have not filed return by the due date”, but with rule 1A gone the Tenth Schedule no longer sets a separate rate for them. A listed late filer is therefore charged at the ordinary 1.25% and 2.75% rates, as the Schedule now reads.

What if the non-listed person later files a return?

Rule 3 of the Tenth Schedule lets the Commissioner make a provisional assessment where tax was collected at the Tenth Schedule rate and the person does not file a return by the due date, imputing income from the tax collected. Under rule 4(2), that provisional assessment abates if the returns and wealth statements are filed within 45 days of receiving the order. Rule 4(3) says that where returns are filed, the tax collected under rule 1 “shall be adjustable against the tax payable in the return filed for the relevant tax year”.

Rule 2 covers a person who was not required to file a return at all. The collecting agent notifies the Commissioner, who has thirty days to accept the position or direct collection at the rule 1 rate.

Common mistakes

• Doubling the listed rate. The general 100% increase in rule 1 is overridden for property by specific rates. The non-listed 236K rate is 10.5% or more, not 2.5%.
• Assuming one band applies to all buyers. Only non-listed buyers face value bands. Listed buyers pay a flat 1.25%.
• Relying on the old late-filer table. Rule 1A no longer exists for transfers on or after 1 July 2026.

What to check in the official text

Read section 100BA, rules 1 to 4 of the Tenth Schedule, sections 236C and 236K, and Divisions X and XVIII of Part IV of the First Schedule. Whether a person is on the active taxpayers’ list is decided on the list itself, which the Board maintains and which is not part of this corpus.