FBR Section 149 · Income Tax Ordinance 2001

FBR Tax Calculator Pakistan FY 2025–26

Estimate monthly salary tax withholding under Section 149 using the current FY 2025–26 salaried slabs — the same way Peoplifi computes it for thousands of Pakistani employees every month. Built for HR teams, payroll accountants, CFOs, and employees who want a clean second opinion on what's being deducted from their paycheck.

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✓ Last verified: FY 2025–26 slabs verified against the Finance Act 2025

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Estimate Section 149 monthly withholding. For guidance only — your actual tax depends on allowances and mid-year adjustments.

Monthly Section 149 Withholding
PKR 5,010
Effective rate: 3.55% of taxable salary
Annual taxable salaryPKR 1,692,000
Annual tax (slab)PKR 60,120
Medical exempt (/mo)PKR 9,000
Estimated net take-home (/mo)PKR 144,990

Slab rates used: 0% to 600k · 1% to 1.2M · 11% to 2.2M · 23% to 3.2M · 30% to 4.1M · 35% above. Bonus, commission, arrears, and provident fund adjustments are not modeled here — Peoplifi handles those automatically in live payroll.

The Formula

1. Annual taxable salary = (monthly gross − exempt allowances) × 12 2. Apply progressive slabs to get annual tax liability 3. Monthly withholding under Section 149 = annual tax ÷ 12 4. Apply YTD correction whenever pay, bonus, arrear or exemption changes 5. Deposit withheld tax by the 15th of the following month 6. File monthly statement (Annex-C / Form 149) and annual Form 149 return

Slabs for FY 2025–26 (salaried individuals, illustrative): 0% up to PKR 600,000; 1% between 600,001–1,200,000; 11% between 1,200,001–2,200,000; 23% between 2,200,001–3,200,000; 30% between 3,200,001–4,100,000; 35% above 4,100,000 per year. Non-salaried slabs are different — this calculator is for salaried employees only. Always confirm the live Finance Act and any SROs issued during the year.

Worked Example

Example: PKR 150,000 monthly gross salary (PKR 1,800,000 annual)

Monthly grossPKR 150,000
Annual grossPKR 1,800,000
Less: 10% medical allowance exemption(PKR 180,000)
Annual taxable salaryPKR 1,620,000
Tax on first 600,000 (0%)PKR 0
Tax on next 600,000 (1%)PKR 6,000
Tax on remaining 420,000 (11%)PKR 46,200
Annual tax liabilityPKR 52,200
Monthly withholding (÷12)PKR 4,350
Annual tax ≈ PKR 52,200 → Section 149 monthly withholding ≈ PKR 4,350 · Take-home ≈ PKR 145,650/month

What is Section 149?

Section 149 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 requires every employer in Pakistan — public or private, local or foreign-owned — to withhold income tax from salary at the moment of payment. The mechanism is simple in theory but operationally complex: you project the employee's annual taxable salary, compute tax using the progressive slabs in force that year, and deduct 1/12th each month. If salary, allowances or exemptions change mid-year, you recalculate the remaining months to close the YTD gap so that the full annual tax is collected by 30th June. Employers that fail to withhold, or withhold incorrectly, can be held personally liable for the shortfall under Section 161 along with default surcharge under Section 205 and penalties under Section 182.

What counts as taxable salary?

Taxable salary in Pakistan is broader than what most employees assume. It includes basic salary, house rent allowance, utilities allowance, conveyance allowance (above exempt limits), bonuses, commissions, leave encashment, notice-pay, most cash perquisites and the taxable portion of benefits-in-kind. Medical allowance up to 10% of basic salary is typically exempt. Employer contributions to a recognised provident fund (up to the lower of 10% of basic+DA or PKR 150,000) and approved superannuation fund are excluded. Stock options, company car benefits, interest-free or concessional loans, and accommodation provided by the employer follow their own valuation formulas under the Second Schedule. If you bundle allowances into "gross" without classifying them, you almost always over-withhold.

Step-by-step: how to use this calculator

Enter your monthly gross salary — the full amount on your offer letter before any deductions. Select the basic salary percentage your employer uses (50–70% is typical; many Pakistani companies use 60% of gross as basic). Toggle the medical allowance exemption if your structure includes a dedicated medical component up to 10% of basic. The calculator projects your annual taxable salary, walks it through the slab table, shows you the annual tax, and divides by 12 to produce the Section 149 monthly deduction. The right-hand panel also shows your effective tax rate — useful when you're comparing job offers structured differently.

Mid-year increments, bonuses, and YTD correction

Here's where most payroll spreadsheets break. If an employee gets a raise in November, you can't just apply the new withholding from November onwards — the YTD projection has already assumed the old salary for Jul–Oct. You must: (1) recompute total annual tax at the new projected annual salary, (2) subtract tax already deducted Jul–Oct, (3) divide the remaining liability by the remaining months (Nov–Jun). The same logic applies to bonuses: a one-time bonus in March changes the projected annual, so the Apr–Jun withholding must absorb the delta. Peoplifi does this retrospective recalculation automatically on every pay run, including arrears and gross-ups.

Tax on bonuses, arrears, and the gross-up trap

Bonuses are fully taxable. If you pay a PKR 200,000 bonus to an employee in the 23% slab, you'll owe roughly PKR 46,000 extra tax for the year — typically withheld from the bonus payment itself. When employers absorb the tax ("net bonus"), you must gross up: a PKR 200,000 net bonus in the 23% slab actually costs the employer PKR 200,000 / (1 − 0.23) = PKR 259,740. Arrears for prior years can be taxed at the prior year's rate under Section 12(7) if beneficial to the employee. One-off settlements on resignation (gratuity, leave encashment, notice-pay) each have their own rules — check the Second Schedule before paying out.

Common mistakes Pakistani employers make

The most expensive errors our payroll team sees: (1) treating gross salary as fully taxable without excluding the 10% medical allowance, (2) forgetting YTD correction after mid-year increments so the final quarter's deduction is too low, (3) missing bonus gross-up when the employer absorbs the tax, (4) not filing monthly Annex-C / Form 149 statements on time, (5) not reconciling withheld-vs-deposited tax at year-end, (6) using last year's slab table after 1st July without re-running projections. Any of these can trigger an FBR notice, default surcharge, and reputational risk during employee exits.

Filing & deposit deadlines

Withheld tax must be deposited in the government account by the 15th of the month following deduction. The monthly withholding statement (Form 149 / Annex-C) is filed on IRIS within 15 days of the month-end. Annual statements are due by 31st July for the preceding tax year (July–June). Section 149 certificates must be issued to every employee by 30th September so they can use them when filing their own returns. Late deposit triggers default surcharge under Section 205 at KIBOR + 3%. Late filing triggers penalty under Section 182 at PKR 2,500 per day, capped.

How Peoplifi automates Section 149 end-to-end

Peoplifi stores each employee's exemptions, benefit-in-kind valuations and prior-month actuals. On every pay run it computes projected annual salary using the live FY slabs, applies all allowable exemptions, produces a Section 149 withholding line for payroll, and retrospectively adjusts remaining months when anything changes — increment, bonus, arrear, resignation, transfer. The monthly Form 149 / Annex-C filing is pre-generated in IRIS-ready format. Annual tax certificates (for employee use in filing) generate automatically by 30th September. No spreadsheets, no end-of-year reconciliation nightmares.

Scenario Comparison

See how the calculation changes across different salary bands and tenures — use these to benchmark your own numbers.

Entry-level · 80K/month
Annual grossPKR 960,000
After 10% medicalPKR 864,000
Slab applied0% + 1%
Annual taxPKR 2,640
Monthly withholding ≈ PKR 220 · Effective rate 0.3%
Mid-level · 250K/month
Annual grossPKR 3,000,000
After 10% medicalPKR 2,700,000
Slab applied0% + 1% + 11% + 23%
Annual taxPKR 227,000
Monthly withholding ≈ PKR 18,917 · Effective rate 7.6%
Senior · 500K/month
Annual grossPKR 6,000,000
After 10% medicalPKR 5,400,000
Slab appliedup to 35%
Annual taxPKR 829,500
Monthly withholding ≈ PKR 69,125 · Effective rate 13.8%
Executive · 1M/month
Annual grossPKR 12,000,000
After 10% medicalPKR 10,800,000
Slab appliedup to 35%
Annual taxPKR 2,719,500
Monthly withholding ≈ PKR 226,625 · Effective rate 22.7%

Statutory Sources & References

This calculator and its explainers are grounded in the following statutes, ordinances and official circulars. Always confirm against the latest gazette notification before filing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the FBR salary tax slabs for FY 2025–26?

Salaried slabs for FY 2025–26 are: 0% up to PKR 600,000; 1% from 600,001 to 1,200,000; 11% from 1,200,001 to 2,200,000; 23% from 2,200,001 to 3,200,000; 30% from 3,200,001 to 4,100,000; and 35% above 4,100,000 per year. These apply to annual taxable salary, not monthly. Always confirm against the latest Finance Act before filing.

How is the monthly deduction under Section 149 calculated?

You project annual taxable salary, apply the slabs to get annual tax, then divide by 12. On every pay change (increment, bonus, arrear) you redo the projection and spread the remaining liability over the remaining months of the tax year.

Is medical allowance taxable?

Medical allowance is exempt up to 10% of basic salary under the Second Schedule, provided it's paid as a distinct medical allowance and not wrapped into a flat gross. Above 10% of basic it becomes fully taxable.

Are bonuses and commissions taxable?

Yes, fully taxable under the salary head. They're added to projected annual salary when computing withholding. If the employer absorbs the tax ("net bonus"), gross up first, then deduct.

Does employer EOBI contribution count as taxable salary?

No. Employer contributions to EOBI and to a recognised provident fund (up to the statutory cap) are excluded from taxable salary. The employee's own EOBI contribution comes out of their net, it does not reduce taxable salary.

How is a mid-year increment handled?

Recompute projected annual salary at the new rate. Subtract tax already deducted. Spread the residual over the remaining months. This YTD correction is a common source of errors in manual payroll.

What happens to tax on gratuity paid at exit?

Gratuity from an approved fund is exempt up to PKR 300,000 under Clause (13) of Part I of the Second Schedule. Above that, it's taxable as salary in the year of receipt. Unapproved gratuity has different limits — check the scheme's approval status.

What's the deadline to deposit withheld tax and file Form 149?

Tax withheld in a month must be deposited by the 15th of the next month. The monthly statement (Form 149 / Annex-C) is filed on IRIS within 15 days after month-end. Annual statements are due by 31st July for the prior tax year.

Can I use this calculator for non-salaried (business) income?

No. Non-salaried individuals fall under a different, higher slab table. This calculator is for salaried employees only — the salary slabs in the First Schedule, Part I, Division I.

What if an employee has other income (rent, dividend, freelance)?

For Section 149 purposes, employers only withhold on salary income. The employee consolidates all heads on their own annual return on IRIS. They may owe additional tax there; Section 149 does not cover it.

Is this calculator official FBR software?

No — this is an independent reference calculator built by Peoplifi. For statutory filings always use IRIS and consult a tax advisor for edge cases.

Where can I see the exact statute?

The Income Tax Ordinance 2001 and the latest Finance Act are published on the FBR website. Section 149 sits in Chapter X, Division III. The salary slabs sit in the First Schedule, Part I, Division I.

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