Free calculator
Build and sell profit calculator
Work out what building a house or flats to sell leaves you: the profit after land, building, finance, commission and tax, the margin on the sale, the return on your money as a yearly rate, and the sale price per sq ft you need to break even.
- Tax year 2027 rates
- Answers as you type
- Free, no sign-up
Calculator
Work out the profit
Give the land, the building and the sale price, and how long the job takes. Open Finance and Commission and tax to match your deal.
Profit on the job
- Margin on the sale
- 17%profit over the sale price
- On your money
- 21.5%on Rs 3.56 crore put in
- A year
- 22.3%over 1 year 3 months
- Break-even
- Rs 11,200a sq ft, Rs 3.7 crore in all
Where the money goes
- Sale price
- Rs 45,000,000
- Landwith 4% buying costs, Rs 600,000
- -Rs 15,600,000
- Building3,300 sq ft at Rs 5,900
- -Rs 19,470,000
- Approvals and connections
- -Rs 500,000
- Agent's commission1%
- -Rs 450,000
- Profit before tax
- Rs 8,980,000
- TaxRs 12.38 lakh under 236C at the sale, Rs 1.1 lakh more with the return
- -Rs 1,347,000
- Profit after tax
- Rs 7,633,000
| Building cost | Sale 10% lower | Sale as planned | Sale 10% higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% lower | Rs 53.58 lakh | Rs 92.88 lakh | Rs 1.31 crore |
| As planned | Rs 34.11 lakh | Rs 76.33 lakh | Rs 1.14 crore |
| 10% higher | Rs 14.64 lakh | Rs 57.96 lakh | Rs 97.65 lakh |
Tax rates for tax year 2027 (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027), KIBOR as of 29 September 2026. An estimate for planning, not tax advice: confirm the tax on your deal with a tax adviser or the FBR.
Reference
Break-even sale price for a 10 marla house
The price a 3,300 sq ft double storey has to sell for to cover every cost, by the price of the land and the finish, at Lahore building rates as of September 2026.
| Land | Standard finish | Mid-range finish | Premium finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rs 1 crore | Rs 3.16 crore (Rs 9,560 a sq ft) | Rs 3.7 crore (Rs 11,220 a sq ft) | Rs 4.53 crore (Rs 13,720 a sq ft) |
| Rs 1.5 crore | Rs 3.7 crore (Rs 11,200 a sq ft) | Rs 4.24 crore (Rs 12,860 a sq ft) | Rs 5.07 crore (Rs 15,350 a sq ft) |
| Rs 2 crore | Rs 4.24 crore (Rs 12,840 a sq ft) | Rs 4.78 crore (Rs 14,500 a sq ft) | Rs 5.61 crore (Rs 16,990 a sq ft) |
| Rs 3 crore | Rs 5.32 crore (Rs 16,110 a sq ft) | Rs 5.86 crore (Rs 17,770 a sq ft) | Rs 6.69 crore (Rs 20,270 a sq ft) |
Built in 12 months and sold 3 months later with your own money, 4% buying costs on the land, Rs 5 lakh for approvals and connections, 1% commission and a filer's 236C. The price per sq ft is over the covered area.
How it is worked out
From land to profit
The calculator follows the money month by month. The land and its buying costs and the approval fees are paid at the start, the building cost is spread evenly over the months of the build, and the house is sold once the months to sell have run on after it is finished. The sale pays the agent's commission, the tax and any loan, and what is left is yours.
Profit before tax is the sale price less every cost: the land and its buying costs, the building, the approvals and connections, the markup on borrowed money and the commission. The margin is the profit after tax as a share of the sale price, and the return on your money is the same profit over the money you put in yourself.
The yearly return counts when each rupee went in: the land money is tied up for the whole job, the last month's building money for only the months to sell. It is the rate at which your payments in and the proceeds out balance, a year at a time, and it is the figure to set against what the same money would earn elsewhere.
The break-even price is the sale price that just covers every cost, the commission and the advance tax on the sale, leaving no profit. For the worked example, a 10 marla house in Lahore, it is Rs 11,200 a sq ft of covered area, against a sale at Rs 13,640.
Tax
The tax on building to sell
Buying the land, a filer pays advance tax of 1.25% under section 236K in tax year 2027 (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027), which the calculator counts in the land's buying costs with the stamp duty, the transfer fee and the commission.
Selling the house, the seller pays advance tax under section 236C when the transfer is registered: 2.75% of the sale for a filer, 11.5% for a non-filer. It is adjustable against the tax on the profit, so the calculator takes the larger of the two: the tax on the profit at your rate, or the advance tax where that is more.
The rate on the profit depends on who is selling. For property bought from 1 July 2024, a filer pays capital gains tax of 15% on the gain, however long it was held. A builder who builds and sells as a business is taxed on it as business income, at the normal rates for an individual or a company. The calculator takes 15% unless you change it. Confirm the tax on your own deal with a tax adviser or the FBR.
Terms
The figures a builder watches
- Margin
- The profit as a share of the sale price. A 17% margin keeps Rs 17 of every Rs 100 the buyer pays.
- Return on investment
- The profit as a share of the money you put in yourself. Borrowing raises it when the markup costs less than the job earns.
- Yearly return (IRR)
- The return as a rate a year, counting how long each payment was tied up: the internal rate of return on your money.
- Break-even price
- The sale price that covers every cost, the commission and the tax on the sale, with nothing left over. Below it the job loses money.
- 236C
- The section of the Income Tax Ordinance under which the seller of property pays advance tax when the transfer is registered, adjustable against the tax on the gain.
Questions
Build and sell profit questions
Still have a question?
Ask our team during Pakistan business hours, in English or Urdu.
+92 333 2466662Chat on WhatsAppHow much profit is there in building a house to sell in Pakistan?
It turns on the land price and the sale price more than on the building. In the worked example, a 10 marla plot in a Lahore society bought for Rs 1.5 crore, a 3,300 sq ft double storey built for about Rs 1.95 crore and sold for Rs 4.5 crore 1 year 3 months later leaves about Rs 76.33 lakh after tax: 17% of the sale and 21.5% on the money put in, about 22% a year. The land and sale prices are an example: check what houses sell for in your society.
What is a good profit margin for a builder?
Set the yearly return, not the margin alone, against what the same money earns elsewhere and the risk of the job. 1-year KIBOR was 12.43% on 29 September 2026, so a build and sell that returns less than that a year pays little for the risk of a slow sale or a rise in costs. The sensitivity table shows how fast the profit goes if the sale price or the building cost is 10% out.
How is the profit on building and selling a house taxed?
The seller pays advance tax under 236C when the transfer is registered, 2.75% of the sale for a filer and 11.5% for a non-filer in tax year 2027, adjustable against the tax on the profit. A filer selling property bought from 1 July 2024 pays capital gains tax of 15% on the gain; a builder in the business of building to sell is taxed on business income at the normal rates. Buying the land costs 1.25% advance tax under 236K for a filer. Confirm your own case with a tax adviser or the FBR.
What is the break-even sale price?
The price that covers the land, the building, the fees, the finance, the commission and the advance tax on the sale, with no profit left. In the worked example it is about Rs 3.7 crore, or Rs 11,200 a sq ft of covered area. Any offer below that loses money.
Does borrowing increase the return?
On your own money, yes, when the job earns more than the markup; the profit in rupees falls. In the worked example, borrowing half of every cost at 15.43% (KIBOR plus 3%) adds Rs 28.28 lakh of markup, which takes the profit to Rs 49.15 lakh but the return on the Rs 1.78 crore you put in to 27.6%, about 29% a year. A slow sale makes the markup grow.
How long does it take to build and sell a house?
A 10 marla double storey takes about 9 to 13 months on site with a standard finish, plus 1 to 2 months for the drawings and the approval, and then as long as it takes to find a buyer. Every month on the market holds up the whole of your money, which is why the yearly return falls as the months to sell grow.
What costs are there besides the land and the construction?
The tax and fees on buying the land, the map approval and the utility connections, the markup on any borrowed money, the agent's commission on the sale, and the tax on the sale and on the profit. A boundary wall, the fittings a buyer expects and months with the house empty add more.
Build to a profit, not a guess
Smart Construction keeps every project's costs against its budget and its sale price, so you know the margin while there is still time to protect it.
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