How Specific Incomes Are Taxed in Bangladesh 2026: Salary, House Rent, FDR Interest, Savings Certificates, Dividends, Shares, Land Sale, Freelancing and Agriculture

In this guide: Salary · House property (rent) · Interest: FDR, savings accounts, savings certificates · Dividends and shares · Selling land, a flat or a building: s.125 · Freelancers, content creators, agriculture and the rest

The short answer

The Act lists seven heads: employment, rent, agriculture, business, capital gains, financial assets and other sources (s.30). Each head has its own computation; the totals are added, exemptions under the Sixth Schedule removed, and the slab rates applied. The single most important 2026 change is to s.163: before July 2026 the tax collected at source on a long list of items — land registration, dividends, savings certificates, export proceeds — was final, so the income never met the slabs. The Finance Act 2026 cut that list to sections 138 and 139 only. Everything else is now ordinary income with a credit for the tax already collected: higher earners pay more, lower earners can claim refunds, and everyone has to report the income rather than parking it in the “final” schedule.

Salary

“Salary” includes basic, allowances, bonus, festival bonus, overtime, employer-paid rent or a rent-free flat, car benefit, and employer contributions to a recognised provident fund above the limit (s.32). From the total, one-third or Tk 5 lakh — whichever is lower — is exempt (Sixth Schedule, Part 1, para 27, as substituted by the Finance Ordinance 2025 and applying from tax year 2025-26; the older Tk 4.5 lakh figure still circulates from the unamended 2023 text). The remainder is taxed at the slabs; government employees are taxed on basic and bonus only; medical expenses reimbursed under a group insurance policy are exempt (Finance Act 2026). The employer must deduct monthly under s.86 and issue the salary certificate and deduction statement that the e-Return pulls in. Employee provident fund contributions and the employee’s share of approved funds count for the investment rebate.

House property (rent)

Annual value is the higher of rent received and reasonable rent (s.35). Deductions are limited (s.38): a flat 25% for repairs, collection and maintenance (30% for commercial lettings), interest on borrowed capital for the property, and municipal taxes and insurance actually paid. No other expenses. Rent must be received into a bank account where the monthly rent exceeds Tk 25,000, or the 25% allowance is at risk (s.39). The tenant, where it is a company, firm, NGO or other specified payer, deducts 5% at source under s.109 and the landlord claims the credit; a landlord with several lettings should expect the circle to compare declared rent with the tenants’ deduction statements.

Interest: FDR, savings accounts, savings certificates

Interest on a joint account is split between the holders. Pensioners who live on certificate income and never filed because the deduction was final now fall inside s.166 when the income exceeds the limit; the first year’s return should include a wealth statement that explains the certificates.

Dividends and shares

Dividends from a Bangladeshi company are withheld at source under s.117 — at 15% under the Finance Act 2026. Dividends up to Tk 50,000 from listed companies are exempt (Sixth Schedule). Gains on listed shares by an individual investor are exempt up to Tk 50 lakh in a year and taxed at 15% above that; sponsors, directors and placement holders are taxed on all gains. Gains on unlisted shares are capital gains at 15% where the holding exceeds five years and at slab rates below (s.57). Mutual fund units follow the listed-share rule.

Selling land, a flat or a building: s.125

At registration the sub-registrar collects tax under s.125 from the seller, by area and deed value under the Tax at Source Rules 2024 as amended. The structure is a percentage of the deed value or a per-katha minimum, whichever is higher, with the top tier for Gulshan, Banani, Motijheel, Dilkusha and Mohakhali, lower tiers for other RAJUK and CDA areas, other city corporations, pourashavas and the rest of the country; flats are charged per square metre or a percentage. The 2023 table ran 8% / Tk 20 lakh per katha at the top down to 2% outside municipal areas (flats Tk 800 per square metre or 8%), and 2025 SROs cut the top tiers; we are confirming the live 2026 rates and will not print a table we cannot stand behind. The important change: until June 2026 this collection was final under s.163. From 1 July 2026 it is a credit: the seller computes the capital gain (sale price less indexed cost and expenses, s.58), applies the slab or capital-gains rate, and sets the s.125 tax against it — claiming a refund where the collection exceeds the liability, paying the difference where it does not. A seller who has held land for decades at a low cost should model the gain before signing. Gains on property held over five years are taxed at 15% or slab rate, whichever is lower; under five years at slab rates.

Freelancers, content creators, agriculture and the rest

• Freelancing and IT-enabled services: income from listed ITES and freelancing received through banking channels is exempt (Sixth Schedule, extended by the Finance Act 2026 to content creation, as enacted), subject to the activity appearing in the list and the money arriving by bank; keep the inward remittance certificates. A freelancer still files a return and shows the exempt income.
• Agricultural income: exempt up to Tk 5 lakh for an individual whose only income is agriculture (Finance Ordinance 2025; the Tk 2 lakh figure is the unamended 2023 text); otherwise computed after cultivation costs (s.42). Since 2026 gold, jewellery, antiques and club memberships are capital assets, so a gain on sale is taxable, club membership fees attract 10% collection at source, and "rent" now covers warehouse rent, selami and premium, with a revised computation method.
• Gifts and inheritance: not income, but must be explained in the wealth statement with the deed or succession document; a gift from a non-relative above the limit may be treated as income from other sources.
• Lottery, prizes, crossword: 25% withheld under s.118 (raised from 20% by the Finance Act 2026), final.
• Foreign income of a resident: taxable with credit for foreign tax under the treaty; see our NRB guide.