A company must close its accounting period every year. An accounting period shall be 12 months except in the following cases where it may be less than 12 months:

1. A newly setup company or juristic partnership may choose to use the period from its registration date to any date as its first accounting period.
2. A company or juristic partnership may file a request with the Director-General to change the last day of an accounting period. In such case, the Director-General shall have the authority to approve as he deems appropriate. Such an order shall be notified to the company or juristic partnership who files the request within a reasonable period of time and in the case where the Director-General grants the permission, the company or juristic partnership shall comply with the accounting period as prescribed by the Director-General.
3. In the case of a merger between a company or a juristic partnership, the company or juristic partnership must terminate the merger contract and use the date of official termination of the contract provided by government officials as the last day of its accounting period.
4. In the case whereas a company or juristic partnership’s files for dissolution, the company or juristic partnership shall use the date of official termination of incorporation provided by the government officials as the last day of its accounting period.

On the other hand, an accounting period of more than 12 months may be possible in the case of a company or juristic partnership closing down and being unable to pay the tax within 150 days; counting from the last day of the accounting period, the company or juristic partnership can send a petition within 30 days from the date of official termination of the contract provided by the government officials. The Director-General of the Revenue Department may grant an extended accounting periods which can be more than 12 months.

MSNA group of companies provide accounting, audit and related services for closing your accounting period. We can also help if you want to change your accounting period.

For Thai personal income tax computation, taxpayers may exclude interest and dividends before filing it with the Thai Revenue Department.

The following forms of interest income may be excluded from the computation of Thai personal income tax provided that a 15% tax is withheld at source:

1. Interest on bonds or debentures issued by a government organization;
2. Interest on saving deposits in commercial banks if the aggregate amount of interest received is not more than THB 20,000 during the taxable year;
3. Interest on loans paid by a finance company;
4. Interest received from any financial institution organized by a specific law of Thailand for the purpose of lending money to promote agriculture, commerce or industry.

Moreover, taxpayers who reside in Thailand and receive dividends or shares of profits from a registered company or a mutual fund which tax has been withheld at source at the rate of 10% may choose to exclude such dividend from the assessable income when calculating Thai personal income tax. However, with this option, the taxpayer will not be able to claim any tax refund or credit.

The tax filing period for Thai personal income tax returns of 2024 is from January until March 2025. We highly recommend you to consult with tax experts like MSNA to compute and submit your taxes accordingly.

We got asked a lot of times about the difference between being a tax resident and a non-tax resident in Thailand when filing the Thai personal income tax returns.

Taxpayers in Thailand are classified into resident and non-resident. A tax resident is any person living in Thailand for a period of more than 180 days in any tax calendar year. A tax resident of Thailand has the duty to pay tax on income from sources in Thailand as well as on the portion of income from foreign sources that is brought into Thailand.

However, there are cases where foreign-based income is not subject to Thailand taxes even if the taxpayer is a tax resident of Thailand.

A non-tax resident on the other hand means any person not living in Thailand but has income from sources in Thailand. He/she has the duty to pay tax only on income sourced in Thailand.

Contact MSNA for assistance in filing your Thai personal income tax returns in Thailand.

For filing of Thai personal income tax returns with the Thai Revenue Department, these are the cases where foreign-based income is not subject to Thai taxes.

1. If foreign-sourced income derived before 1^st January 2024 and remitted into Thailand in a later tax year
2. Foreign-sourced income is derived by a foreigner who is NOT a Thailand tax resident but later remitted such income into Thailand

A foreigner is considered a tax resident of Thailand if he/she has stayed in Thailand for at least 180 days during the calendar year and has derived income either within Thailand or outside Thailand.

Moreover, foreigners must include both income sourced within and outside Thailand in the filing of his/her Thai personal income tax return. Taxable income shall be an aggregate amount of Thai-sourced income earned during the tax year and foreign-sourced income remitted to Thailand during the tax year. Hence, if foreign-sourced income is remitted partially, the taxable amount shall be apportioned accordingly.

MSNA can help Thai tax residents compute and submit their personal income tax returns. Contact us now for getting tax ID card, filing the tax returns and obtaining Tax Residence Certificate or Income Tax Payment Certificates.

For real estate properties in Thailand, the Department of Lands has set its criteria for payment of Specific Business Tax as follows:

1. The term “sale” for specific business tax collection includes agreements to sell, sales with buy-back, exchanges, gifts, hire-purchase agreements, or transfers, with or without compensation.
2. The following types of registered real estate transactions are considered as sales for commercial or profit-making purposes and are subject to specific business tax:
   1) Sale of real estate by those with a license for land allocation under land allocation control laws.
   2) Sale of condominium units by business operators who registered the building in accordance with the Condominium Act.
   3) Sale of buildings constructed for sale, including the land on which such building stands.
   4) Sale of real estate that does not fall under (1), (2), or (3), specifically in cases where it is divided or separated for sale for making roads or other public utilities or promise to provide such things.
   5) Sale of real estate held by corporations or juristic persons for business purposes as per Section 77/1 of the Revenue Code.
   6) Sale of real estate not covered under (1), (2), (3), (4) or (5) if the sale occurs within five years from the date of acquisition of such real estate.
3. Registration of sale of real estate that is not subject to specific business tax is as follows:
   a. Sale not covered under item 2 and occurring more than five years from the acquisition date of the real estate.
   b. Sale or expropriations under real estate expropriation laws.
   c. Sale of inherited real estate.
   d. Sales of real estate used as the primary residence, with the seller listed on the house registration for at least one year before the sale. If land and building were acquired at different times, the five-year period applies to the latest acquisition. For instance, if foreigners have their names in the yellow house registration book for more than one year, they will not need to pay the 3.3% specific business tax, similar to Thai people)
   e. Transfer of ownership or possession of real estate to biological children (excluding adopted children) without compensation.
   f. Inherited property transfers to legal heirs or will beneficiaries who are legal heirs.
   g. Transfer of ownership or possession of real estate to government agencies or government organizations without compensation as per Section 2 of the Revenue Code.
   h. Exchange of ownership or possession of real estate with government agencies or organizations under Section 2 of the Revenue Code, where no compensation other than real estate exchange is given.
4. Sellers of real estate are required to pay specific business tax at a rate of 3.3% based on either the appraised property value for registration fee purposes under the Land Code or the actual sale price, whichever is higher.

MSNA group of companies can assist you in property acquisition and taxation matters. Contact MSNA for your tax concerns and Thai Lawyers for buying properties in Thailand.