Capital gains tax on PSX shares and other listed securities. Three regimes apply depending on when the security was acquired.
Capital Gains Tax on listed securities in Pakistan is governed by Section 37A read with the Eighth Schedule. What confuses most investors is that the rate doesn't depend on when you sold the shares - it depends on when you bought them. Three distinct regimes coexist on PSX today, and your portfolio can have lots from all three at the same time.
Pre-1 July 2013 acquisitions are exempt - gains on these shares are 0% regardless of how much you make. Acquisitions between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2024 follow a holding-period schedule: 15% if held less than one year, dropping to 12.5%, 10%, 7.5%, 5%, 2.5% and finally 0% after six years. Acquisitions on or after 1 July 2024 are taxed at a flat 15% for filers on the Active Taxpayer List regardless of holding period; non-filers pay the higher of 15% or their marginal slab rate, which can mean an effective 45% for top-bracket non-filers.
The National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) calculates and deducts CGT on every disposal you make through a PSX broker. The system tracks each tax lot - acquisition date, cost, sale price - and applies the right regime automatically. At the end of the year (or whenever you ask), you can download a CPR-style certificate from the NCCPL portal showing total gains, applicable rate, and tax already deducted. This is the authoritative figure you copy into your IRIS return - this calculator is a sanity check, not a replacement.
Off-market transactions (private placements, gift, inheritance, shares received through a corporate action like a merger) don't pass through NCCPL. You're responsible for tracking the acquisition date and cost yourself and declaring the gain in your own return. Brokers can issue a certificate covering on-market activity only.
You bought 1,000 shares of OGDC at PKR 80 in March 2014 and sold them in October 2025 for PKR 180. Gain = PKR 100,000. Acquisition date is in the holding-period regime and you've held for over 6 years - rate is 0%, tax payable PKR 0.
Same year you bought 500 shares of LUCK at PKR 700 in August 2024 and sold them in May 2026 for PKR 1,000. Gain = PKR 150,000. Acquisition date is post-1 July 2024, so the flat regime applies - 15% × 150,000 = PKR 22,500.
Total CGT for the year: PKR 22,500. NCCPL will have already deducted this; declare it under code 9203 in your return.
The Eighth Schedule allows capital losses on listed securities to offset capital gains on listed securities within the same tax year. Unused losses can be carried forward for up to three tax years but can only be offset against future CGT on securities - not against salary, business income, or property gains. Losses cannot be carried backward.
A common trap: investors hold loss-making positions indefinitely without realising them. If you have unrealised losses and you've also booked gains in the year, selling before 30 June can shelter the gains. Just be aware of the wash-sale-style anti-avoidance principles - buying back the same security days later in a transparent attempt to "harvest" a loss is open to challenge.