The federal budget for 2026-27, presented on Friday, introduced no new tax on cryptocurrency trading or digital asset profits, despite earlier government discussions on the matter.
Reports had emerged ahead of the budget that the government was considering a 10 to 20 percent tax on profits from cryptocurrency trading in the upcoming fiscal year
The proposal came as Pakistan prepares to launch a legal framework for cryptocurrency trading and faces pressure to broaden its tax base under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund programme.
Officials said the IMF had pushed Islamabad to bring digital assets formally under the country’s tax regime as cryptocurrency activity increasingly moves into the formal economy.
The Pakistan Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) wanted to ensure the cryptocurrency tax rate remained consistent with other tax regimes being implemented across the country.
Under Pakistan’s current framework, capital gains on listed securities are taxed at 15 percent for registered filers, while non-filers pay 30 percent on such gains.
A separate FBR official said cryptocurrency transactions are already taxable under existing laws, with digital coin mining treated as business income and gains on sales treated as capital gains.
Pakistan’s tax laws focus on taxing income regardless of how it is earned, the FBR official confirmed to Arab News before the budget was presented to parliament.
