Pakistan Crypto Tax: What You Need to Know About Crypto Reporting and Rules

When it comes to Pakistan crypto tax, the official stance from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is that cryptocurrency gains are taxable as income or capital gains, depending on how you use them. Also known as crypto income tax in Pakistan, this rule applies whether you’re trading, mining, or earning from staking—any profit you make could be subject to tax. Despite this, there’s no clear reporting system, no official crypto tax forms, and no public records of anyone being fined for not paying. That doesn’t mean it’s legal to ignore it—it just means enforcement is still in the shadows.

Most Pakistani crypto users operate in a gray zone. The State Bank of Pakistan has banned banks from handling crypto transactions, but that doesn’t stop millions from using P2P platforms like Paxful and Binance P2P to buy and sell Bitcoin and USDT. And while the FBR hasn’t released a step-by-step guide, their 2021 circular clearly states that income from virtual assets falls under the Income Tax Ordinance. That means if you bought Bitcoin for 50,000 PKR and sold it for 120,000 PKR, that 70,000 PKR gain is taxable. The same applies to earning tokens from airdrops or DeFi rewards—you’re expected to track those as income when you receive them.

What makes this messy is the lack of infrastructure. There’s no official crypto wallet tracker, no exchange reporting to the FBR, and no clear guidance on how to calculate gains across multiple platforms. Most users rely on manual spreadsheets or third-party tools like Koinly or CoinTracker to log transactions. And while the FBR has shown interest in blockchain forensics—similar to how Chainalysis and Elliptic are used globally—they haven’t rolled out any public tools for taxpayers. So right now, compliance is entirely self-driven. If you’re holding crypto as an investment, you’re technically responsible for reporting. If you’re trading daily, you’re likely in the same boat as millions of others: aware of the rule, but unsure how to follow it.

Some people assume crypto is tax-free because it’s not mentioned in the official tax code. That’s a dangerous assumption. The FBR doesn’t need to list every new asset class—it just needs to say income is taxable, and crypto is income. Countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia have taken similar paths: no formal system, but clear legal intent. Pakistan’s approach is no different. The real question isn’t whether you should pay—it’s whether you’re prepared if the FBR ever starts auditing. And with global pressure mounting on emerging markets to clamp down on crypto, it’s only a matter of time before Pakistan moves from silence to enforcement.

What you’ll find below are real breakdowns of how crypto taxation works in similar regions, what tools traders are using to stay compliant, and how to avoid common mistakes that could land you in trouble. From P2P income reporting to understanding capital gains in a volatile market, these posts give you the facts—not the guesses. You don’t need to be a tax expert to protect yourself. You just need to know what’s at stake.