Withholding · Section 236Y · Tax Year 2026-2027
Foreign Card Payment Tax Calculator (Section 236Y)
When you pay a person outside Pakistan with a Pakistani credit, debit or prepaid card, your bank collects 0.5% of the gross amount remitted from you, or 1% if you are not on the Active Taxpayers’ List. On Rs 100,000 remitted you pay Rs 100,500 in all. It is adjustable advance tax.
| Payment | Filer (0.5%) | Not on the list (1%) |
|---|---|---|
| Rs 100,000 once: tax | Rs 500 | Rs 1,000 |
| Rs 100,000 once: total charged | Rs 100,500 | Rs 101,000 |
| Rs 10,000 a month: tax in a year | Rs 600 | Rs 1,200 |
Reading the result · Tax Year 2026-2027
Why is the tax added to the payment?
Section 236Y makes the bank collect the tax from the cardholder when it transfers the money abroad, at 0.5% of the gross amount remitted. The calculator reads that as a charge in addition to the amount sent, which is how the amount to enter, the rupee sum remitted, works; your statement shows how your bank charges it. It counts against your tax for the year when you file. Subscriptions, hosting, advertising accounts and bookings on overseas sites all count when paid with a Pakistani card.
How much does filer status save?
Off the Active Taxpayers’ List the rate doubles to 1%: Rs 600 more a year on a Rs 10,000 monthly subscription, adjustable only with a return filed in time. The filer vs non-filer calculator compares other transactions.
Where this stops
It is the income tax collected on the transaction, not the whole cost of paying abroad: the bank’s exchange rate and any foreign transaction fee are separate. Money sent home to Pakistan is a different question. See the foreign remittance calculator.
FAQs
Foreign card payment tax questions
How much tax is charged on foreign card payments in Pakistan?
0.5% of the gross amount remitted abroad, collected from you by your bank under section 236Y, or 1% if you are not on the Active Taxpayers' List. On Rs 100,000 remitted that is Rs 500, so you pay Rs 100,500 in all (Rs 101,000 for a non-filer); your statement shows how your bank charges it. The Finance Act 2026 cut the rate from 5% to 0.5%.
Does it apply to Netflix, Google, Amazon and other online payments?
Generally yes: a Pakistani card payment to an overseas merchant is a card transaction with a person outside Pakistan, and the bank collects the tax when the amount is remitted abroad. If a merchant bills you in rupees through a Pakistani entity, the charge may not be a remittance abroad; check your statement. A Rs 10,000 monthly subscription costs Rs 600 a year in this tax for a filer.
Does section 236Y apply to wire transfers abroad?
Not under section 236Y, which covers only credit, debit and prepaid card transactions with a person outside Pakistan. Other rules may apply to a bank transfer abroad.
Is the tax adjustable?
Yes. Section 236Y(2) makes it adjustable: it counts against your tax for the year in your return. Off the Active Taxpayers' List the rate is doubled (Tenth Schedule rule 1); the extra is adjustable only with a return for that year filed before the Commissioner's provisional assessment, or within 45 days of its order with the returns and wealth statements for that year and the year before (rules 3, 4(2), 4(3)).
Sources
Where the rate comes from
Section 236Y was inserted by the Finance Act 2022 with Division XXVII at 1%; the Finance Act 2023 substituted 5% for 1%, and the Finance Act 2026 substituted 0.5% for 5% (footnotes to First Schedule, Part IV, Division XXVII). An earlier section 236Y had been omitted by the Finance Act 2021. Read on .
Related tools
See the full filer vs non-filer cost
Compare this with cash withdrawal, dividends and property transactions.
Open Filer vs Non-Filer Calculator