Tax residence in Bangladesh for Pakistani taxpayers

Bangladesh decides residence by days only, under s. 2(45) of the Income Tax Act, 2023: 183 days in the income year, or 90 days plus 365 days in the four preceding years. Its income year, 1 July – 30 June, is the same as Pakistan's tax year. A Pakistani who is non-resident in Bangladesh pays 30% on Bangladeshi income. Where both countries claim you, the 1981 Pakistan–Bangladesh Convention decides.

Check your status: Pakistan and Bangladesh

Free, no sign-up, about 3 minutes. Conclusion under Pakistan's Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, compared with the law of Bangladesh and the tax treaty.

When Bangladesh treats you as a tax resident

In Bangladesh an individual's residence depends only on days: in the income year (1 July – 30 June) at least 183 days, or at least 90 days plus 365 days or more in the four preceding years. Citizenship, home or family play no part. Bangladesh's income year is the same period as Pakistan's tax year.

With 90 to 182 days in Bangladesh in this income year, the total for the four preceding years decides: 365 days or more makes you resident.

For a non-resident, citizenship does not change residence but changes the rate: a non-resident Bangladeshi is taxed at the ordinary progressive rates, other non-resident individuals at 30%.

You were in Bangladesh for at least 183 days in this income year — under s. 2(45)(a)(1) of the Income Tax Act, 2023 you are resident. Bangladesh taxes all your income arising or received in or outside Bangladesh, including income from Pakistan (s. 26).
You were in Bangladesh for at least 90 days in this income year and at least 365 days in total in the four preceding years — under s. 2(45)(a)(2) of the Income Tax Act, 2023 you are resident. Bangladesh taxes all your income arising or received in or outside Bangladesh (s. 26).

When you are a nonresident

None of the day tests is met — you are a non-resident Bangladeshi. Bangladesh taxes only income arising or received in Bangladesh, at the ordinary progressive rates (ss. 2(4), 26). Salary for work done outside Bangladesh is not taxable there.
None of the day tests is met — you are non-resident. But salary paid by the Government of Bangladesh or a local authority to a Bangladeshi citizen in its service is deemed to arise in Bangladesh wherever paid (s. 27(a)), so it is taxed in Bangladesh.
None of the day tests is met — you are non-resident. Bangladesh taxes only income arising or received in Bangladesh; because you are not a non-resident Bangladeshi, the rate is generally 30% (ss. 2(4), 26).

Where the rules of Bangladesh clash with Pakistani tax rules

Collision: Pakistani citizen resident in both countries. Bangladesh can make you resident with only 90 days in its income year if you spent 365 days there in the four preceding years. With 90–182 days in Bangladesh, a Pakistani citizen is not «present in another country for more than 182 days», so s. 82(d) keeps him or her resident in Pakistan as well. Then the residence article of the 1981 Pakistan–Bangladesh Convention decides. With 183 days or more in Bangladesh as a resident there, s. 82(d) no longer applies and you are usually non-resident in Pakistan (unless s. 82(c) applies).
Resident of both countries: the 1981 Convention and certificates of residence. If both countries treat you as resident, the residence article of the Pakistan–Bangladesh Convention assigns you to one of them; if it gives no answer, the competent authorities decide by mutual agreement. To prove Pakistani residence, apply to the Competent Authority of Pakistan (FBR) under rule 19A; Bangladesh's procedure for certificates was not checked. Under s. 107 the Convention prevails over the Ordinance in giving relief.

What else to know

Same year in both countries: 1 July – 30 June. Bangladesh's income year and Pakistan's tax year both run from 1 July to 30 June, so the same day count applies in both. Bangladesh also looks at the four preceding income years: 90 days this year plus 365 days in the four preceding years make you resident.
Non-resident Pakistani in Bangladesh: flat 30%. A non-resident individual who is not a non-resident Bangladeshi pays 30% on income from Bangladesh, without the tax-free threshold; payers deduct tax at source of up to 30%. The Convention may limit Bangladeshi tax on dividends, interest, royalties and short-term employment if you are a treaty resident of Pakistan — the payer needs a certificate from the National Board of Revenue to apply a lower rate.
Working in Bangladesh while resident in Pakistan. Pay for work done in Bangladesh is Bangladeshi-source income wherever it is paid (s. 27(a)). The employment article of the 1981 Convention may exempt it for short stays if you are a treaty resident of Pakistan; check its day limit and counting period. In Pakistan, salary earned in Bangladesh is exempt if Bangladeshi tax on it was withheld by the employer and paid (s. 102); otherwise Pakistan gives a credit for the Bangladeshi tax (s. 103).
How double tax is relieved between Pakistan and Bangladesh. If you are resident in Pakistan, Bangladeshi tax on Bangladeshi-source income is credited against Pakistani tax on that income, computed separately for each head of income; unused credit is lost (s. 103). If you are resident in Bangladesh, Pakistani tax is relieved up to the Bangladeshi tax on that income at the average rate, and must be claimed within two years after the year concerned (PwC summary of Bangladeshi law). The Convention's relief article applies on top of these rules.
Pakistani government posting to Bangladesh. Federal and Provincial Government employees and officials posted abroad remain resident in Pakistan under s. 82(c), and their government salary is Pakistan-source income (s. 101). Whether Bangladesh may tax it depends on the government-service article of the Convention and on diplomatic privileges; this package does not model them.
Moving between Pakistan and Bangladesh: no split year. Neither country splits the year: status is fixed for the whole 1 July – 30 June year in both. Bangladesh's four-year look-back means that after a long stay you can again be resident with 90 days. A Pakistani citizen who leaves Pakistan during a tax year and stays abroad for the rest of it is exempt in Pakistan on salary earned abroad in that year (s. 51(2)).
The 1981 Convention is being renegotiated. Bangladesh and Pakistan exchanged draft amendments in 2025, and a Bangladeshi delegation began negotiating a protocol in Islamabad in December 2025. No signed protocol has been reported; until one is signed and in force, the 1981 Convention applies unchanged.
Social security: no Pakistan–Bangladesh agreement found. No social security agreement between Pakistan and Bangladesh was found. Each country applies its own rules on contributions for the same work. Social security is outside the income tax treaty.

How dual residence is resolved

If both countries treat you as a resident, Art. 4(2) of the treaty applies: Convention between the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income (signed on 15 October 1981). The tests are applied in order — permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, and finally mutual agreement between the tax authorities.

Terms you will come across in Bangladesh

আয়বর্ষ (income year): 1 July – 30 June, the period for which income is taxed in Bangladesh
নিবাসী (resident): a person with 183 days, or 90 days plus 365 days in four years, in Bangladesh; taxed on worldwide income
অনিবাসী বাংলাদেশি (non-resident Bangladeshi): a Bangladeshi non-resident, taxed at ordinary rates rather than 30%
উৎসে কর (tax at source): tax deducted by the payer, e.g. on salary or on payments to non-residents
রিটার্ন (return): the annual income tax return; filing by 30 September earns a rebate
NBR: National Board of Revenue, the Bangladeshi tax authority

Questions

Which tax treaty applies between Pakistan and Bangladesh?

The Convention signed on 15 October 1981, in force since 1987 according to Pakistan's MLI list. Both countries' tax authorities list it. A protocol to amend it was under negotiation in 2025; none has been reported as signed.

I spend 120 days a year in Dhaka. Can I be resident in Bangladesh?

Yes, if you spent 365 days or more in Bangladesh in the four preceding income years: 90 days in the current year are then enough. Otherwise you need 183 days.

What rate does Bangladesh apply to a non-resident Pakistani?

30% on Bangladeshi income, without the tax-free threshold. The Convention may lower the tax on some income if you are a treaty resident of Pakistan.

Sources

Legislation and official guidance

Income Tax Act, 2023 (Act No. 12 of 2023), s. 2(45)(a) — authentic English text published by NBR (S.R.O. No. 404-Law/2025) — An individual is resident in Bangladesh in an income year if he or she (1) was in Bangladesh for a period or periods amounting to 183 days or more in that year; or (2) was in Bangladesh for 90 days or more in that year and for 365 days or more in total in the four preceding years. The definition has no condition of citizenship or home.
National Board of Revenue, Income Tax Circular 2023-2024 (12.10.2023), paras 1.1–1.2 — The progressive rates for individuals apply to all individuals except non-residents who are not non-resident Bangladeshis; such other non-resident individuals are taxed at 30%.
Income Tax Act, 2023, s. 27(a) — Income from employment, wherever paid, is deemed to arise in Bangladesh if it is earned in Bangladesh, or if it is paid by the Government of Bangladesh or a local authority of Bangladesh to a Bangladeshi citizen in its service.
Income Tax Act, 2023, s. 26 — A resident's total income includes all income from any source arising or received in or outside Bangladesh; a non-resident's total income includes only income arising or deemed to arise in Bangladesh and income received in Bangladesh.
Income Tax Act, 2023, s. 2(4) — A non-resident is a person who is not resident.
Finance Act, 2026 — income tax rates (PwC Bangladesh, «Finance Act 2026: key amendments», June 2026) — Income year 2026-27: tax-free threshold Tk 4,00,000 (women and persons aged 65 or more Tk 4,50,000); then 10% on the next Tk 3,00,000, 15% on the next Tk 4,00,000, 20% on the next Tk 5,00,000, 25% on the next Tk 20,00,000 and 30% on the balance. Non-resident individuals other than non-resident Bangladeshis: 30%.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 82(a) — An individual is a resident individual for a tax year if present in Pakistan for a period of, or periods amounting in aggregate to, 183 days or more in the tax year (1 July – 30 June).
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 82(d) (inserted by the Finance Act, 2022; consolidated text amended up to 30.06.2026 listed by FBR) — A citizen of Pakistan is also a resident individual if he or she is not present in any other country for more than 182 days during the tax year, or is not a resident taxpayer of any other country. Applies from tax year 2023.
Pakistan–Bangladesh Convention (1981) — Convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income, signed 15 October 1981, in force 8 July 1987 according to Pakistan's MLI list (date written 8/7/1987). Its residence, employment and relief articles were not read for this package.
Income Tax Rules, 2002, rule 19A — A resident who needs a certificate of residence for a treaty country applies to the Competent Authority of Pakistan (FBR, Islamabad) in the prescribed form with proof of foreign income, CNIC, NTN and the latest return; a separate application and certificate for each tax year; decision within 45 days.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 107(2) — Subject to s. 109, a double taxation agreement and its implementing notification have effect notwithstanding anything in any other law, so far as they provide relief from tax under the Ordinance, determine the Pakistan-source income of non-residents, or provide for exchange of information.
Income Tax Act, 2023, s. 119 — A payer of taxable amounts to a non-resident deducts tax at the prescribed rate, not exceeding 30%; the Board may certify deduction at a lower or zero rate under a treaty (decision within 30 days of a complete application); for a non-resident without a permanent establishment in Bangladesh the tax deducted is the final tax liability.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 102 — Foreign-source salary received by a resident individual is exempt if the individual has paid foreign income tax on it; tax is treated as paid if it was withheld by the employer and paid to the revenue authority of the country where the employment was exercised.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 103 — A resident taxpayer gets a credit for foreign income tax on foreign-source income equal to the lesser of the foreign tax paid and the Pakistan tax on that income (average Pakistani rate × net foreign-source income), computed separately for each head of income; unused credit is not refunded, carried back or forward; the foreign tax must be paid within two years after the end of the tax year.
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Bangladesh, Corporate: Tax credits and incentives (reviewed 31.07.2026) — Foreign tax relief is available only to residents and is limited to the Bangladeshi tax on the doubly taxed income at the average rate; where there is no treaty, the Deputy Commissioner of Taxes may apply the lower of the Bangladeshi and the foreign average rate to such income; the claim must be made within two years after the year concerned.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 82(c) — An individual is a resident individual for a tax year if he or she is an employee or official of the Federal Government or a Provincial Government posted abroad in the tax year — regardless of days in Pakistan.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 101 — Salary is Pakistan-source to the extent it is received from employment exercised in Pakistan (wherever paid) or is paid by or on behalf of the Federal, a Provincial or a Local Government in Pakistan (wherever the employment is exercised). Dividends of resident companies, profit on debt and royalties paid by residents, rent and gains on immovable property in Pakistan, gains on shares of resident companies and pensions paid by residents are Pakistan-source; everything else is foreign-source.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 51 — (1) A citizen who becomes resident in a tax year after being non-resident in the four preceding tax years: foreign-source income is exempt in that tax year and the following one. (2) A citizen who leaves Pakistan during a tax year and remains abroad for the rest of it: salary earned outside Pakistan in that year is exempt.
Business Recorder — Bangladesh delegation to negotiate a protocol to the Pakistan–Bangladesh tax convention (23 December 2025) — A Bangladeshi delegation visiting Pakistan on 22–26 December 2025 was to initiate negotiations on a Protocol to amend the existing Convention; no signing reported.
The Financial Express (Dhaka) — Bangladesh moves to amend treaty with Pakistan (29 August 2025) — The double taxation treaty was signed with Pakistan in 1981; both tax administrations have exchanged draft amendments covering digital business and the gig economy.
Income Tax Act, 2023, s. 86 — The payer of salary deducts tax at source at the average rate applicable to the recipient's estimated annual total income.
Income Tax Act, 2023, s. 170(1) (substituted by s. 97 of the Finance Act, 2026 [Act No. 96 of 2026], effective 1 July 2026) — Returns of individuals: filing between 1 July and 30 September earns a rebate of 5% of tax payable or Tk 25,000, whichever is lower; 1 October – 31 December, no rebate and no additional tax; 1 January – 31 March, additional tax of 2% or Tk 3,000 (whichever is higher); 1 April – 30 June, 5% or Tk 5,000 (whichever is higher).
Income Tax Act, 2023, s. 166 — Filing a return is mandatory where income exceeds the tax-free threshold or tax was assessed in any of the three preceding years (and in other cases); it is not mandatory for a non-resident individual without a permanent establishment in Bangladesh.
Art. 4 Pakistan–Bangladesh Convention (1981) — residence — Residence article of the 1981 Convention. Its text was not read for this package; the steps below follow the standard OECD order (permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, mutual agreement) and must be checked against the FBR or NBR text.
Pakistan — MLI position at deposit, list of Covered Tax Agreements (OECD) — Pakistan lists as covered tax agreements, among others: China — Agreement signed 15-11-1989, in force 27-12-1989, with protocols signed 19-06-2000 (in force 11-10-2000), 17-04-2007 (in force 17-04-2007) and 08-12-2016 (in force 24-04-2017); Japan — Convention signed 23-01-2008, in force 09-11-2008; Bangladesh — Convention signed 15-10-1981, in force 8/7/1987. India is not listed.
NBR — list of double taxation avoidance agreements (Bangladesh) — NBR lists 43 agreements, Pakistan at serial 25 (PDF Bangladesh_Pakistan.pdf), published 27.04.2026.
FBR — Bilateral full scope treaties — FBR lists the treaties with Bangladesh (original only), China (original and «as modified by MLI», effective 1 September 2022) and Japan (original and «as modified by MLI», effective 1 April 2021); India is not listed.
Art. 4 Pakistan–Bangladesh Convention (1981) — habitual abode — Standard wording: if the centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if the individual has no permanent home available in either State, he is deemed a resident of the State in which he has an habitual abode.
Art. 4 Pakistan–Bangladesh Convention (1981) — Centre of vital interests: the State with which your personal and economic relations are closer.
Art. 4 Pakistan–Bangladesh Convention (1981) — nationality and mutual agreement — Standard wording: habitual abode in both States or in neither — the State of nationality; national of both or of neither — mutual agreement of the competent authorities.

Updated 04/11/2026. The result is for information only and is not tax or legal advice. The FBR, other tax authorities and courts may interpret the rules differently, including because of circumstances not covered here, and the law changes with each Finance Act. Consult a qualified adviser before making decisions.

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