The Rs 200,000 Tax on a Foreign Domestic Worker Visa

Employing a foreign national as a domestic worker carries a tax of two hundred thousand rupees, collected when the visa is issued or renewed. The figure is written into the section itself, not buried in a schedule.

It is also adjustable, which almost nobody who pays it realises.

We read section 231C of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 on 4 September 2026, in the consolidated text FBR publishes on its own download site.

What the section says

Section 231C is short, and worth setting out plainly.

The trigger is a domestic aide visa issued or renewed to a foreign national as a domestic worker. It is not a one off on first arrival: the section covers renewal as well as issue.

Adjustable is the word that matters

Subsection 2 states that the tax collected or collectible under the section is adjustable advance tax, for the tax year to which it relates, on the income of the agency, sponsor or person employing the foreign national.

So this is not a fee that disappears. It is a payment on account of your income tax for that year, and it counts against what you owe when you file.

1. Get the receipt or challan showing the tax collected.
2. Check it carries your CNIC or NTN, not just the worker's file number.
3. Note which tax year the visa was issued or renewed in.
4. Keep it with your other advance tax evidence.
5. Enter it as tax already paid when the return is filed.

Two hundred thousand rupees is a large enough sum that failing to claim it is a real loss. And as with every other advance tax we have written about, the failure is documentary: if the deposit does not carry your identifier, the credit does not attach to you.

The same pattern runs through our guide to how salary tax is deducted and our guide to advance tax when you buy or transfer a vehicle. Collect the certificate at the time, not at filing time.

Who actually pays it

The section names three possible payers: the agency, the sponsor, or the person employing the services of the foreign national.

That matters where an agency handles the paperwork. If the agency pays and recovers the amount from you in its invoice, the tax was collected from the agency, and the credit follows whoever it was collected from. Ask before the visa is processed whose name the collection will be recorded against, and get it recorded against the person who will claim it.

The same logic applies to a sponsor arranging the visa on behalf of a household. Sort out whose credit it is at the start, not at filing time.

It applies on renewal too

The section covers an authority issuing or renewing a domestic aide visa. So this is a recurring cost for as long as the arrangement continues, not a single payment at the start.

If you employ a foreign domestic worker over several years, that is a claimable amount in each of those years. Households that have been paying this for some time and never claimed any of it should take advice on what can still be recovered.

Claiming anything back depends on filing, and being off the Active Taxpayer List stops refunds being issued at all. Our guide to the ATL surcharge and the 30 September deadline sets out what that now costs.

This does not apply to Pakistani domestic workers

The section is specifically about a domestic aide visa issued to a foreign national. Employing a Pakistani domestic worker does not trigger it, because there is no visa to issue or renew.

Domestic workers who are Pakistani nationals are covered by provincial domestic workers legislation instead, which deals with matters such as minimum age and conditions rather than with tax. That is a separate subject from this section.

Where the figure sits, and why we can quote it

Most withholding sections point to the First Schedule for the amount, which is why we usually decline to quote a rate: the schedule changes with each Finance Act and the consolidated text FBR publishes is amended only to 20 February 2026.

Section 231C is different. The two hundred thousand rupee figure is stated in the body of the section itself, so we can quote it from the text we read.

That said, the Finance Act, 2026 took effect on 1 July 2026 and we have not read it. A later Act could amend the section itself, so confirm the current amount before you budget for it.

Common questions

How much is the tax on a foreign domestic worker visa?

Section 231C states two hundred thousand rupees, collected at the time of issuing or renewing the visa.

Who pays it?

The agency, sponsor or person employing the services of the foreign national, whichever the authority collects from.

Can I get it back?

It is stated to be adjustable advance tax on the income of whoever it was collected from, for the tax year it relates to, so it counts against your tax when you file.

Does it apply every year?

The section covers renewal as well as issue, so it recurs while the arrangement continues.

Does it apply to a Pakistani domestic worker?

No. The section concerns a domestic aide visa issued to a foreign national.

Is the figure current?

It is what the published consolidated Ordinance states. That text predates the Finance Act, 2026, so confirm before budgeting.

Last checked and sources

Last checked 4 September 2026. We downloaded the consolidated Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 from FBR's own download site, the version amended up to 20 February 2026, and read section 231C in it. That any authority issuing or renewing a domestic aide visa to any foreign national as a domestic worker shall, at the time of issuing or renewing such visa, collect from the agency, sponsor or the person employing the services of such foreign national a tax of two hundred thousand rupees, and that the tax collected or collectible under the section shall be adjustable advance tax for the tax year to which it relates on the income of that agency, sponsor or person, are taken from that text. The figure is quoted because it appears in the body of the section rather than in the First Schedule. The published consolidated text predates the Finance Act, 2026, which took effect on 1 July 2026 and which we have not read, so confirm the current amount before relying on it. Whether and how the credit can be claimed in your particular circumstances depends on your own tax position, and nothing here is tax advice.