Property Taxes in Thailand: Rates, Calculation and Relief

Property taxes in Thailand need to be calculated separately for owning the property, registering the transaction and the income received. Buyers, sellers and owners of a condo or house need different calculations: a universal percentage of the purchase price is not enough here. Even payments on sale may be based on different amounts: the government assessed value or the greater of the assessed value and the transaction price.

Current as of publication. Conditions may change, and the article’s update date does not mean that new tax rules were adopted on that day. For your property, it is useful to collect in advance the government assessed value, information about the owner, the use of the property and the possible exemption of part of the base.

Below we break down the composition of payments, the conditions for relief, the published payment schedule and the consequences of late payment. If you are only choosing housing, start with the guide to buying property in Thailand: it will help you connect the tax estimate with the other stages of purchase.

Which taxes and fees apply to property in Thailand

Start by separating costs by situation. The annual tax relates to owning property, registration fees relate to the transfer of title, and income taxation requires a separate calculation. Owning an apartment alone does not allow these obligations to be combined into one amount.

The table below shows the basic rates from the official reference of the Land Department and information from the Revenue Department. A rate without a basis for application and a correct base does not yet give a ready calculation.

Common area maintenance, the condominium reserve fund, utilities and bank fees should be recorded separately. These payments are needed for the budget but do not become taxes just because they are related to the apartment. Ask for an estimate with separate line items: this makes it easier to see exactly what you are paying for.

Annual land and building tax: rates and calculation

For the annual land and building tax you need the government assessed value, the usage category of the property, the applicable rate and the conditions for exemption. The names “condo” or “villa” are not enough for calculation. It is useful to learn which types of property in Thailand exist, and then match the form of ownership and use of your property with the tax bill.

We recommend checking the calculation in the following sequence:

• Find the assessed value base used for the charge.
• Check how the use of the property is classified.
• Establish whether an exemption of part of the base is provided and whether its conditions are met.
• Compare the applicable rate with the charge issued by the administration where the property is located.
• Check the final amount after taking the exemption into account.

Partial exemption of the base and reduction of the rate work differently. In the first case the amount to which the tax calculation applies changes; in the second, the rate itself. Therefore a notice about relief is worth reading together with an explanation of its mechanism.

According to the law on land and building tax, published by the Ministry of Finance, a periodic increase in the rate is provided for continuously unused property. The total rate is limited by law. For such a property, one needs to deal not only with the assessment, but also with how non-use is reflected in the charge.

Thailand’s property taxes cannot be reliably assessed by the listing price. If the calculation includes only market value, go back to the government assessed value and usage category: these details help verify the annual charge.

Relief for Primary Housing and Agricultural Land

For housing, the law ties the exemption of part of the tax base to the circumstances of the owner and the property. The translation of the law published by the Ministry of Finance names use for residence and the owner’s name being entered in the house registry as of January 1. A residential building without land is considered separately.

The aggregate counting of the base and the limit on the exempt amount are described in the text of the law on the Ministry of Finance website. When checking the agricultural relief, it is useful to look at the combined calculation of properties within the relevant administration.

Buying a condo as a foreigner does not automatically mean exemption from the annual tax. A yellow house registration book also cannot be considered a guarantee of relief without checking the other conditions. Here, it is necessary to establish consistently the form of ownership, use for residence and the owner’s entry in the registry.

Note the difference: exemption of part of the base is not the same as a promise of zero payment. The result depends on what base remains after applying the relief. This helps to understand why the same description “primary residence” does not yet replace a calculation for the specific property.

Payment Deadlines, Installments and Consequences of Late Payment

In the government announcement on the annual tax for 2026 the payment deadline was moved from April 2026 to June 2026. The same publication provides for installments in June, July and August 2026. The year 2569 of the Buddhist era indicated in the Thai announcement corresponds to 2026 of the Gregorian calendar. This is the published schedule, which by itself does not rule out later or local extensions.

For your property, check the applicable deadline with the administration where the property is located. If you are outside Thailand, do not rely on a universal online procedure: the available payment method should be clarified for the specific charge. A useful sequence of actions is as follows:

• Contact the administration where the property is located.
• Request the charge and the payment deadline that applies to it.
• Find out whether installments are available and how money can be transferred.
• Before paying, check the details and the link between the payment and your property.
• Keep the receipt and information about which charge was paid.

For late payment the law provides for a fine and a monthly surcharge. According to the text of the law published by the Ministry of Finance, the amount of the fine depends on the time of payment and receipt of a debt warning. For payment before receiving a warning and within the period set by the warning, separate rules apply.

The surcharge is charged on the debt monthly. An incomplete month is counted as a full month, and the fine is not included in the base for the surcharge. Therefore, when repaying a debt, it is useful to request a calculation with separate lines for tax, fine and surcharge, not just the total amount due.

Fees on Purchase and Sale: Transfer, Stamp Duty and Business Tax

The basic registration fee for transferring ownership is 2% of the government assessed value. This rate is set out in the official reference of the Land Department. This refers to the registration fee, not the seller’s profit tax.

The government assessed value and the transaction price are separate amounts. For the registration fee, the assessed value is used, so you should not substitute the contract price into its formula without checking the base. For other payments, the reference provides for comparing values.

For a taxable sale by an individual, the specific business tax is 3.3%, including local tax. According to the Land Department reference, its base is the greater of the government assessed value and the declared transaction value. First determine whether the tax applies, then choose the base and calculate the amount.

Stamp duty for an individual is 0.5% of the greater of the assessed and declared value. The same reference explains that when the specific business tax is paid, stamp duty is not charged. These payments cannot be added together as mandatory lines of one transaction.

Whether the specific business tax applies should not be inferred only from the holding period. The calculation requires establishing the regime of the specific transfer and whether applicable exceptions exist. The base registration fee rate should also be separated from the temporary relief program: a notice of reduction does not yet confirm that your buyer and property are entitled to the relief.

Withholding Tax on Property Sales

Withholding tax on a sale depends on the seller’s status. The company formula does not replace the calculation for an individual, even if similar apartments are being sold. Therefore, it is useful to state directly in the preliminary estimate who is transferring the property.

For a corporate seller, the Revenue Department specifies the rate 1% of the greater of the sale price and the government assessed value. To check this line, both values are needed. Choosing only the contract price or only the assessment without comparison can give an incorrect base.

For an individual seller, the Land Department’s government reference describes the calculation from the government assessed value by the method established in the tax code. The standard annual personal income tax scale by itself does not give a ready withholding amount on a property sale. A special calculation should not be replaced with an approximate percentage of the apartment’s price.

The personal income tax scale for individuals, in effect since the 2017 tax year, is as follows: net income up to 150,000 baht is exempt from tax; over 150,000 to 300,000 baht — 5%; over 300,000 to 500,000 baht — 10%; over 500,000 to 750,000 baht — 15%; over 750,000 to 1,000,000 baht — 20%; over 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 baht — 25%; over 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 baht — 30%; over 5,000,000 baht — 35% (table of the Revenue Department of Thailand, in Thai).

We recommend obtaining a preliminary calculation for the seller and the property. It is useful for it to show the assessed value, the applicable calculation method and the final amount on a separate line. If the result raises questions, ask for an explanation of the source data and the calculation method used.

Withholding on a sale should also not be confused with tax on rental income or the owner’s annual tax. Each of these calculations arises in its own situation. A transaction estimate becomes clearer when these differences are kept in it.

Example Calculation for a Transaction with a Different Price and Government Assessed Value

Let us take a property whose transaction price differs from the government assessed value. Both amounts are expressed in baht, but specific source amounts are not given here. Such an example makes it possible to see the formulas without creating the impression that the calculation fits any apartment.

If the transaction price is above the assessed value, the price is used for payments where the greater value is chosen. If the government assessment is higher, it is used. The registration fee in this case keeps its own base: the assessed value.

The specific business tax and stamp duty here are alternatives. Withholding tax lines also relate to different seller statuses. You cannot add up all the positions in the table and call the result the total cost of the transaction.

By the way, the calculation itself does not answer how much the buyer will pay. After determining the applicable payments, it is necessary to examine separately the distribution of costs and the non-tax costs of the transaction.

Who Pays the Costs: Buyer or Seller

The amount of a payment and the distribution of costs between the parties are different questions. The formula shows the total amount of a fee or tax, but does not replace a written description of the financial terms of the transaction. For the buyer and the seller, it is useful to prepare separate estimates.

Do not assume that splitting the registration fee equally is mandatory. It is better to obtain in advance a written distribution of costs that names the payments and the amounts for each party. This is a recommendation for preparing the transaction, not a quotation of a legislative norm.

It is also useful to check the meaning of the offer’s total price. If the seller promises that transaction costs are included, ask them to list exactly which items this arrangement covers. A phrase like “all fees included” without a breakdown makes it harder to verify the budget.

Material step-by-step process of buying property will help you connect such an estimate with the preparation and registration of the transaction. Keep the annual tax and housing maintenance in a separate budget for ongoing ownership.

Foreign Owners: Documents, Relief and Rental Income

For a foreign buyer, it is necessary to check separately the right of ownership, the documents for registration and the tax calculation. According to material from a legal portal (Global Law Experts), foreign ownership of apartments in a condominium is limited to 49% of the total saleable area of the project. This fact applies to condominium apartments and does not establish the right to own land.

Before choosing the form of transaction, it is useful to study the rules of property ownership for foreigners. Do not substitute a check of rights to the property with a discussion of fees: even correctly calculated payments do not answer all questions of ownership registration. The tax estimate must match the transfer you plan.

Bank confirmation of a transfer is a separate topic in purchase preparation. Documents on fund movements should not be mixed with taxes, or a single form should not be described as mandatory for every buyer without considering the circumstances. Practical material on transferring money to buy property will help you prepare questions for the bank and the specialist handling the paperwork.

A foreign owner cannot be promised in advance participation in any temporary program of fee reduction. To exempt housing from the annual tax, a check of the ownership form, property use and the owner’s entry in the house registry is also needed. A foreign passport itself or owning an apartment does not replace these conditions.

Rental income from housing should be considered separately from the annual tax on the property. For determining obligations, the recipient’s status and the applicable calculation and reporting procedure are important. This topic is covered in more detail in Thailand’s tax system for expats.

Inheritance and Gifts: Tax and Registration Fee

On inheritance, one needs to distinguish between the inheritance tax and the registration fee for the transfer of title to property. The registration fee rate does not describe all possible tax obligations of the heir. For the estimate, it is useful to separate the registration of the transfer of title from the taxation of the property transfer itself.

Inheritance tax established by the 2015 law (Inheritance Tax Act, B.E. 2558): it is paid on the part of the estate received from one decedent that exceeds 100 million baht; the value of the estate is calculated after deducting the liabilities assumed together with it. The rate is 10%, and for direct-line heirs, that is, parents and other ancestors, children and other descendants, it is 5%. The law does not apply to inheritance received by the deceased’s spouse (text of the law in the translation of the Revenue Department of Thailand, in English).

The government reference sets the inheritance registration fee at 2% of the assessed value. For inheritance transfers between parents and descendants or spouses, it sets out a special rate 0,5%. The application of this rate should be tied specifically to the stated type of transfer and the relationship between the parties.

To check the calculation, the heir should find out:

• How the transfer of title to the specific property is formalized.
• Which relationships between the parties are considered when choosing the registration fee.
• Which assessed value is used.
• Which tax questions are considered separately from registration.

A gift requires independently determining the type of transfer, the parties and the applicable regime. The inheritance rate cannot be automatically transferred to every gift. Even if the property and the participants are similar, the basis for the transfer of title remains a separate parameter of the calculation.

Do not combine inheritance tax, gift tax rules and the registration fee into one line, “transfer tax”. A separate estimate will make clear which payment has been calculated and which one still requires an individual opinion.

How to Legally Reduce Costs and Verify the Calculation

A useful check starts with the source data, not with a promise of a minimum percentage. Property taxes in Thailand are calculated under the applicable rules; the owner’s task is to determine them for their property and avoid budget errors. Reducing costs may depend on the right to an exemption and on the agreed transaction terms.

We recommend the following order:

• Find out the government assessed value. Separate it from the offer price and the agreed transaction price.
• Determine the applicable payments. Do not include the specific business tax and stamp duty at the same time.
• Check the exemption conditions. For housing, compare the ownership form, use and the owner’s name entry in the registry.
• Get a preliminary calculation. Ask to see the base, rate or calculation method for each line.
• Review the distribution of costs. Prepare a written estimate for the buyer and the seller.
• Check the temporary relief separately. Establish whether the program applies to the buyer, the property and the planned transfer.
• If necessary, consult an independent specialist. Give them the calculation and the transaction details so that the consultation concerns your situation.

Material lawyer for buying property will help you understand which questions to entrust to a specialist. A consultation may reveal an error in the base, an unsuitable relief or an unclear distribution of costs. Savings cannot be guaranteed before verification.

Do not use a lowered price, nominee ownership or formal residence registration as a way to obtain relief. The practical goal is a correct calculation with clear grounds. If the result changed after verification, it is useful to keep an explanation of which line was corrected and why.