Property taxes in Thailand in 2024
Thailand has low taxes for property buyers and owners. Tax rates and registration fees vary depending on the owner’s tax status and the ownership’s duration, as well as on the type of property ownership — whether it is a right of ownership (freehold) or a right of possession (leasehold, which is essentially a long-term lease for 90 years).
Taxes on the purchase and sale of real estate
When purchasing property in Thailand, the buyer pays only the transfer fee — the tax on the transfer of ownership.
Tax | Leasehold | Freehold | Liability to tax |
|---|---|---|---|
Transfer fee | — | 2% | Buyer/Seller |
Lease registration fee | 1% | — | Buyer/Seller |
Stamp duty | 0.1% | 0.5% or not applicable | Seller |
Specific business tax | — | 3.3% | Seller (in the case of owning the property for less than 5 years) |
Withholding tax | — | 1% (individuals) or 5–35% (legal entities) | Seller |
From $1,127,000
Completion in: 2025.I 45 units in total
From $109,000
Completion in: 2026.I Total of 789 apartments
From $1,567,000
Built in 2023 51 units in total
From $179,000
Completion in: 2025.I Total of 400 apartments
From $171,000
Built in 2023 Total of 251 apartments
Transfer fee
This fee is divided between the buyer and seller by the agreement of the parties. Tax on the transfer of ownership is calculated from the cadastral value of property.
Lease registration fee
This fee is charged upon registering leasehold ownership, its amount is calculated from the total price for the entire lease term of 90 years, specified in the contract. Often these costs are divided equally by the lease provider and leaseholder.
Specific business tax
This tax is paid by all companies and individuals when selling real estate that has been owned for less than 5 years. Specific business tax is calculated from the cadastral value or the contract of sale price, whichever is higher.
An individual is exempt from specific business tax if the property has been used as the seller's residence for at least a year. In other words, the owner must be registered on the property and included in the house registration book.
Stamp duty
Stamp duty is payable only when no specific business tax applies. It is calculated from the cadastral value or the contract of sale price, whichever is higher. Upon transfer of a land plot in leasehold ownership, stamp duty is paid on the remaining value of the lease.
Withholding tax
A withholding tax is an income tax that the state withholds from the payer of income, not from the recipient. That is, this tax is paid by the buyer on behalf of the seller as part of the purchase price of the property.
If the seller is a legal entity (foreign or local), then the withholding tax is 1 percent of the cadastral value or the contract of sale price, whichever is higher.
If the seller is an individual (foreign or local), then the withholding tax is calculated at a progressive rate. The tax base is calculated from the cadastral value using a tax deduction depending on the number of years of ownership. The calculation of this tax is quite complex; let’s consider an example of such a calculation.
An example of calculating the withholding tax on the sale of real estate by an individual
A tax deduction is calculated from the cadastral value, depending on the number of years of ownership (see table A).
Number of years of ownership | Deduction (% of the cadastral value) |
|---|---|
1 | 92% |
2 | 84% |
3 | 77% |
4 | 71% |
5 | 65% |
6 | 60% |
7 | 55% |
8 or more | 50% |
The remaining amount is divided by the number of years the property has been owned. The maximum divisor is 10. Even if the property has been owned for more than 10 years, a divisor of 10 still applies. The resulting value will be the tax base to which the progressive personal income tax rate is applied (see table B).
Income, Thai baht | Personal income tax rate |
|---|---|
1–300,000 | 5% |
300,001–500,000 | 10% |
500,001–500,000 | 15% |
750,001–1,000,000 | 20% |
1,000,001–2,000,000 | 25% |
2,000,001–5,000,000 | 30% |
5,000,001 or more | 35% |
The resulting value is multiplied by the number of years of ownership. That is how you get the total withholding tax amount.
For example, you sell a freehold-owned condo in a condominium 2 years after you purchased it. The cadastral value of this property is 5,000,000 Thai baht. According to table A, the tax deduction will be 84 percent of the cadastral value, i.e. 4,200,000 Thai baht. Thus, the tax base is the remaining 800,000 Thai baht. Dividing that by 2 (according to the total years of ownership) we get a personal income of 400,000 Thai baht, to which personal income tax rates from table B are applied: 5 percent to 300,000 Thai baht (which is 15,000 Thai baht) and 10 percent to 100,000 Thai baht (10,000 Thai baht). Thus, your personal income tax is 25,000 Thai baht. Multiplying that number by 2 (again, according to the total years of ownership) we get a withholding tax amount of 50,000 Thai baht.
Inheritance and gift tax
On 1 February 2016, an inheritance tax was introduced in Thailand. Real estate worth less than 100,000,000 Thai baht is exempt from this tax. If the inherited property value exceeds 100,000,000 Thai baht, only the portion that exceeds this amount will be taxed.
The Inheritance tax rates for over 100,000,000 Thai baht:
- 5% inheritance tax for parents and descendants;
- 10% inheritance tax for other heirs.
The spouse of the heir is exempt from the inheritance tax regardless of the inheritance value.
The gift tax in Thailand is 5 percent of the property value. If the property value does not exceed 20,000,000 Thai baht and said property is given as a gift to spouses, descendants and relatives in the direct ascendant line, no gift tax is charged. If the property is gifted to other persons than the above, the tax does not apply to properties valued at less than 10,000,000 Thai baht.
Residential property taxes
Since 2020, Thailand has changed the system for calculating the land and building tax, and in 2022 the calculation matrix has been further updated and supplemented.
The land and building tax rates do not depend on the type of ownership (leasehold or freehold), but rather on the type of property and its use.
Individuals who own a villa under 50,000,000 Thai baht or an apartment under 10,000,000 Thai baht are exempt from this tax if they are registered on the property. If the owner is not registered on the property, or owns several residential properties, then the tax rates are applied to the total cadastral value of properties.
Cadastral value, Thai baht | Tax rate |
|---|---|
0–50,000,000 | Not applicable if the owner is registered on the property |
0–25,000,000 | 0.03% |
25,000,000–50,000,000 | 0.05% |
more than 50,000,000 | 0.1% |
Cadastral value, Thai baht | Tax rate |
|---|---|
0–10,000,000 | Not applicable if the owner is registered on the property |
0–40,000,000 | 0.02% |
40,000,000–65,000,000 | 0.03% |
65,000,000–90,000,000 | 0.05% |
more than 90,000,000 | 0.1% |
Cadastral value, Thai baht | Tax rate |
|---|---|
0–50,000,000 | 0.02% |
50,000,000–75,000,000 | 0.03% |
75,000,000–100,000,000 | 0.05% |
more than 100,000,000 | 0.1% |
Commercial real estate is subject to an increased tax rate of 0.3–0.7 percent. The land ownership rate increases by 0.3 percent every 3 years if the land is not in use (up to a maximum of 3 percent).
If you want to reduce or even eliminate the land and building tax, the solution is obvious — you should register on the property.
Even if you own several villas or apartments in Thailand, only one property can become your place of residence. To register on the property you need to put your name in the blue book (a house registration book). The blue book changes to yellow if a foreigner is registered in it.
Rental income tax
Non-residents only pay tax on income received in Thailand. Tax residents of the Kingdom of Thailand are individuals who spend at least 180 calendar days a year in the country. Residents of Thailand are required to pay tax on income in Thailand as well as on a portion of foreign income that is brought into the country by filing Form PND 91.
When renting out real estate, the management company pays tax withheld from the property owner's income received to a foreign account at the following rates: 5 percent if the owner is a tax resident of Thailand; 15 percent if the owner is not a tax resident of Thailand. To pay this tax, the management company files Form PND 3 along with withholding tax return form. At the same time, the withholding tax rate on major transactions can vary from 1 to 3 percent.
A tax resident of Thailand files Form PND 91 on personal income tax return if their annual income exceeds 60,000 Thai baht.
The previously paid withholding tax is deducted from the personal income tax amount.
When sending income abroad, the taxpayer is required to file Form PND 54.
Tax residents whose private income exceeds 1,800,000 Thai baht are required to register as VAT payers. At the same time, VAT does not apply to wages.
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