ReThai

Taxes and fees when buying and selling property in Thailand

The government costs of a property transfer in Thailand are paid at the Land Office on the day of the transfer: a transfer fee of 2% of the appraised value, the seller's withholding tax, and either specific business tax of 3.3% or stamp duty of 0.5%, never both.

A buyer who borrows also pays a mortgage registration fee of 1% of the loan, at most ฿200,000. The transfer fee is often split; the taxes are the seller's. The contract decides.

Last reviewed · Sources

Summary table

CostRateCharged onWho usually pays
Transfer fee2%The appraised valueOften split equally between buyer and seller; it is a matter of agreement.
Specific business tax3.3%The higher of the price and the appraised valueSeller.
Stamp duty (when business tax is not charged)0.5%The higher of the price and the appraised valueSeller.
Withholding tax, seller is a personProgressiveThe appraised value, after a deduction for the years ownedSeller.
Withholding tax, seller is a company1%The higher of the price and the appraised valueSeller.
Mortgage registration fee1%, at most ฿200,000The loan amountBuyer.

For your own figures use the transfer cost calculator.

The appraised value

The Land Office does not work from your price alone. Each property has an official appraised value, which can differ from what you pay. The transfer fee and a person's withholding tax are charged on the appraised value. Specific business tax, stamp duty and a company's withholding tax are charged on whichever is higher, the appraised value or the price.

Ask the seller or the Land Office for the appraised value before you agree who pays what.

Specific business tax or stamp duty

Only one of the two is charged.

  • Specific business tax, 3.3%. The tax is 3% and a local tax of 10% of it is added. It applies to sales by companies and developers, and to a sale by a person within five years of the date of acquisition.
  • When a person is not charged. The property was inherited; or it is the seller's principal residence and the seller has been entered in its house registration for at least one year; or it is sold more than five years after acquisition.
  • Stamp duty, 0.5%. Charged on the receipt at 1 baht per 200 baht or part, only when specific business tax is not due.

Withholding tax

This is the seller's income tax on the sale, collected at registration. The official does not register the transfer until it is paid.

Seller is a company

1% of the higher of the price and the appraised value. It counts as a credit against the company's income tax for the year.

Seller is a person

  1. Take the appraised value.
  2. Subtract the standard deduction for the number of years owned (first table below).
  3. Divide the result by the number of years owned.
  4. Work out income tax on that amount at the progressive rates (second table below).
  5. Multiply the tax by the number of years owned.

Years are counted by calendar year, from the year of acquisition to the year of sale, both included. Part of a year counts as a year, and more than ten years count as ten. The tax worked out this way cannot be more than 20% of the sale price.

Standard deduction by years owned (Royal Decree No. 165)
Years ownedDeductionShare that is taxed
192%8%
284%16%
377%23%
471%29%
564%36%
660%40%
755%45%
8 or more50%50%
Rates applied to the amount per year. The exemption of the first band that applies to ordinary income is not given here.
Amount per yearRate
Up to ฿300,0005%
฿300,000 to ฿500,00010%
฿500,000 to ฿750,00015%
฿750,000 to ฿1,000,00020%
฿1,000,000 to ฿2,000,00025%
฿2,000,000 to ฿4,000,00030%
Above ฿4,000,00035%

Worked example

A unit with an appraised value of ฿5,000,000, sold by a person in the second calendar year of ownership:

  1. Appraised value: ฿5,000,000.
  2. Deduction of 84%: ฿800,000 remains.
  3. Divided by 2: ฿400,000 a year.
  4. Tax at the progressive rates: ฿25,000.
  5. Multiplied by 2: ฿50,000 withheld.

The same case in the calculator: open the example.

Property received by inheritance or as a gift follows the same steps with a flat deduction of 50%. The calculator does not cover it.

Mortgage registration fee

When the purchase is financed by a loan secured on the property, the mortgage is registered with the transfer. The fee is 1% of the loan amount, at most ฿200,000.

The temporary fee reduction, and who it is for

From 1 July 2026 until 30 June 2027 the transfer fee and the mortgage registration fee are reduced to 0.01% for homes: houses, commercial buildings, land sold with such buildings, and condominium units, new or resale.

  • The buyer must be a Thai national buying as an individual.
  • The price and the appraised value must each be no more than 7 million baht.
  • The mortgage must be no more than 7 million baht and registered at the same time as the transfer.
  • Only the two registration fees are reduced. The taxes are unchanged.

A foreign buyer pays the standard fees. The reduction has been extended before, and its dates can change again. The calculator applies it only inside the dates above and only when its conditions are met.

Registering a lease

A lease is not a sale, and its costs are different: about 1.1% of the rent for the whole term, made of a registration fee and stamp duty. See leasehold and freehold.

What these costs do not include

  • Lawyer and agent fees and bank charges.
  • The annual property tax charged by the local authority.
  • The seller's final income tax position, which can differ from the amount withheld.

Estimate the transfer costs

Questions

Does Thailand have property tax?
Yes, in two forms. When a property is transferred, a transfer fee and taxes are paid at the Land Office; they are the subject of this page. Owners are also charged an annual property tax by the local authority, which this page does not cover.
Who pays the transfer fee, the buyer or the seller?
Whoever the contract says. It is often split equally. The taxes (withholding tax, and specific business tax or stamp duty) are the seller's, though a contract can pass them to the buyer.
Is there a capital gains tax when I sell?
There is no separate capital gains tax in the rules described here. The sale is taxed as the seller's income, and the tax is withheld at the Land Office: for a person, at progressive rates on the appraised value after a standard deduction; for a company, 1%.
Do foreigners pay higher transfer taxes than Thai buyers?
The standard rates are the same. The difference today is a temporary reduction of the transfer and mortgage fees to 0.01%, valid until 30 June 2027, which applies only when the buyer is a Thai national buying as an individual.
Why are the taxes based on an appraised value and not on my price?
The Revenue Code tells the official to take the appraised value used for registration fees as the sale price for the withholding tax of a person, whatever the market price. Specific business tax and stamp duty use the higher of the appraised value and the price.
When does the 3.3% specific business tax apply?
To sales by companies, and to a sale by a person within five years of the date of acquisition. A person is not charged if the property was inherited, or is a principal residence in whose house registration the seller has been entered for at least one year. When it applies, stamp duty does not.

Sources

  1. Foreign ownership of land in Thailand: fees and taxes Government Public Relations Department (thailand.go.th), citing the Real Estate Information Center. Read 11 November 2026.
  2. Revenue Code, sections 38 to 64 (sections 48(4), 49 bis, 50(5), 52) The Revenue Department (English site). Read 11 November 2026.
  3. Revenue Code, sections 65 to 76 (section 69 ter) The Revenue Department (English site). Read 11 November 2026.
  4. Revenue Code, chapter 5, specific business tax (sections 91/2, 91/5, 91/6) The Revenue Department (English site). Read 11 November 2026.
  5. Specific Business Tax (summary page) The Revenue Department (English site). Read 11 November 2026.
  6. Revenue Code, stamp duty schedule (items 1 and 28) The Revenue Department (English site). Read 11 November 2026.
  7. Royal Decree No. 165 B.E. 2529 (1986): expenses deductible from income from the sale of immovable property The Revenue Department (English translation). Read 11 November 2026.
  8. Royal Decree No. 342 B.E. 2541 (1998): sale of immovable property for a commercial or profitable purpose The Revenue Department (English translation). Read 11 November 2026.
  9. Personal Income Tax (rates) The Revenue Department (English site). Read 11 November 2026.
  10. Thailand extends reduced property transfer and mortgage registration fees (3 July 2026) Tilleke & Gibbins. Read 11 November 2026.
  11. Extended reduced land transfer and mortgage registration fees (27 August 2026) Forvis Mazars Thailand. Read 11 November 2026.
  12. Thailand extends reduced property transfer and mortgage registration fees, with a worked example ILCT (International Legal Counsellors Thailand). Read 11 November 2026.
  13. Taxes on selling properties in Thailand (2014), with worked examples Mazars (Thailand). Read 12 November 2026.
  14. Buying and selling property: taxes and fees, with an example Siam Commercial Bank. Read 12 November 2026.
  15. Thailand property taxes Siam Legal. Read 12 November 2026.
  16. Real Estate 2026: Thailand, law and practice Chambers and Partners practice guides (Duensing Kippen). Read 12 November 2026.