Pakistan
Pakistan surcharge explained
6 min read · Last updated 1 November 2026 · Tax Globy editorial team
Pakistan applied a surcharge on high taxable income in tax year 2025-26 and removed it for 2026-27. The charge sat on top of the salaried slabs rather than inside them, which is why it is easy to misread an old estimate. This guide sets out what it was and why the calculator still shows it for older years.
What the surcharge was
A surcharge is an extra charge calculated on top of the income tax, not instead of it. Pakistan applied one in tax year 2025-26 at 9%, where taxable income exceeded PKR 10 million, and it had been reduced from 10% that year.
The trigger was the level of taxable income, so it reached the tax bill of anyone whose taxable income passed PKR 10 million for the year. It was not a separate slab and it did not replace the top rate.
Who paid it
Only taxpayers whose taxable income exceeded PKR 10 million in 2025-26 paid it. A salary below that line was taxed through the slabs alone, whatever the marginal rate at the top of the bill.
Because the threshold was measured on taxable income, a salary just under it could still be taxed at 35% without any surcharge being due. The surcharge depended on the total, not on the rate reached, so it was a charge on a small group rather than on salaried taxpayers in general. Most salaries never reached the threshold, and for those the change in 2026-27 mattered less than the movement in the slabs themselves.
Run your own numbers
The calculator applies the rates described in this guide and shows the band-by-band breakdown.
Open the Pakistan calculatorHow it met the top rate
In 2025-26 the top slab was 35%, and the surcharge added 9% of the income tax. For income inside the surcharge zone, an extra rupee of salary cost 35% in slab tax plus 9% of that 35%, which comes to about 38.15%.
That is a smaller step than a 9% charge on the income itself would have produced. The distinction matters when you compare an old estimate with a new one: a percentage of the tax is not the same as nine percentage points added to the rate.
The slabs for 2026-27
For 2026-27 the salaried slabs run from 0% to 35% across eight bands, and the surcharge is gone. The table lists the bands.
Only the income inside each band is taxed at that band rate. The top band starts at PKR 7,000,000, so the 35% rate never applies to the whole salary.
| Annual taxable salary (PKR) | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 600,000 | 0% |
| 600,001 to 1,200,000 | 1% |
| 1,200,001 to 2,200,000 | 11% |
| 2,200,001 to 3,200,000 | 20% |
| 3,200,001 to 4,100,000 | 25% |
| 4,100,001 to 5,600,000 | 29% |
| 5,600,001 to 7,000,000 | 32% |
| Above 7,000,000 | 35% |
PKR 12,000,000 in both years
Take taxable salary of PKR 12,000,000 in 2025-26. The slab tax was calculated first, and the 9% surcharge was then added because taxable income exceeded PKR 10 million.
The same taxable salary in 2026-27 is taxed through the slabs alone, and the slab calculation comes to PKR 3,174,000. The surcharge line no longer appears, so the total is the slab tax with nothing added.
Why older years still show it
The calculator keeps each tax year as a separate configuration, with its own bands and its own surcharge setting. Choosing 2025-26 applies the rules of that year, including the 9% charge above the threshold.
That is deliberate. Old payslips, old returns and old comparisons stay meaningful, and a figure quoted from an earlier year can be reproduced in the year it belonged to. A surcharge line for 2025-26 is not a fault; a surcharge line for 2026-27 would be.
- 2026-27: eight bands, a 35% top rate and no surcharge
- 2025-26: a 9% surcharge where taxable income exceeded PKR 10,000,000
- 2024-25 and earlier: no surcharge in this model
Figures are estimates for general guidance, not tax advice.
Common questions
Does the 9% surcharge apply in 2026-27?
No. It was abolished for 2026-27, so the slabs are the whole of the income tax charge in this model.
At what income did the surcharge start?
Taxable income above PKR 10 million in tax year 2025-26. Below that level no surcharge was due.
Was the surcharge the same as a higher slab?
No. It was charged on the income tax where taxable income passed the threshold, not on the income itself.
Why does a 2025-26 comparison show an extra line?
The calculator keeps the surcharge for that year. It reflects the rules that applied then, not the rules for 2026-27.
Written and maintained by the Tax Globy editorial team
Tax Globy is an independent calculator project. Every rate, threshold and deduction is checked against the published official source listed on the page, and each page shows when it was last reviewed.
Last reviewed 1 November 2026 · Estimates only, not tax advice.
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