Today THAI ACCOUNTANT talks more about Thailand VAT. What kind of VAT we cannot claim back.

Some VAT invoices are abbreviated tax invoice, like the ones we get from 7 Eleven, cash registers of department stores and small shops, etc. These tax invoices have the word “TAX ABB” and we cannot claim back the VAT included in the amount we paid for these invoices. That means we will not include these tax invoices in our Input VAT Report, thus we cannot claim it back. However, with this kind of tax invoice, if we buy a significant amount worth our time, we can ask the seller to issue a full tax invoice for us. They must issue one for us. And with the full tax invoice, we will be able to claim back the VAT.

Some expenses, like gasoline for passenger cars (not trucks) or gifts or meals and accommodation that seems to be entertainment type of expense, cannot be included in the Input VAT Report. Usually we need a full receipt from the seller/service provider so that we can book the expenses in our accounts, but the law does not permit us to claim back the VAT we paid for these expenses.

For the expenses that we pay for, if their tax invoices are not correct (as THAI ACCOUNTANT talked about yesterday), we will not be able to claim back the VAT and also the VAT we paid will be classified as “Add-back expense”, which means we have to add back this VAT portion to the bottom line profit when calculating the corporate income tax at year-end. (But we can still use the expense portion as the expense of the company.) So please always try to get the correct form of tax invoices.

There is much more to Thailand VAT. It helps to have a good Thai accountant handle your Thai accounting and tax.