Corporate Income Tax is a direct tax imposed juristic companies or partnerships doing business in Thailand or those that do not do business in Thailand but getting certain types of income from Thailand.

Who are liable for Corporate Income Tax?

The taxable person are as follow:-

1. A company or juristic partnership incorporated under Thai law:
   • Limited company
   • Public company limited
   • Limited partnership
   • Registered partnership
2. A company or juristic partnership incorporated under foreign laws:
   • a company or juristic partnership incorporated under foreign laws and carrying on business in Thailand
   • a company or juristic partnership incorporated under foreign laws and carrying on business in other places including Thailand
   • a company or juristic partnership incorporated under foreign laws and carrying on business in other places including Thailand, in case of carriage of goods or passengers
   • a company or juristic partnership incorporated under foreign laws which has an employee, an agent or a go-between for carrying on business in Thailand and as a result receives income or profits in Thailand
   • a company or juristic partnership incorporated under foreign laws and not carrying on business in Thailand but receiving assessable income under Section 40(2)(3)(4)(5) or (6) which is paid from or in Thailand
3. A business operating in a commercial or profitable manner by a foreign government, organization of a foreign government or any other juristic person established under a foreign law.
4. Joint venture
5. A foundation or association carrying on revenue generating business, but does not include the foundation or association as prescribed by the Minister in accordance with Section 47 (7) (b) under Revenue Code

MSNA group of companies can assist in accounting & tax, audit and filing of the audited financial statements and corporate income tax returns with the Department of Business Development and Revenue Department. We can also help in registering the company with online tax filing system.

Section 3 of the Revenue Code states that a taxpayer in Thailand shall obtain and use a taxpayer identification number (TIN).

Currently, a taxpayer identification number is issued but the Revenue Department and comprises of 13 digits. For Thai nationals, they can use their Thai ID card number as same as their TIN.

In Thailand, the following persons need to apply for TIN:

1. A person who has the duty to submit personal income tax
2. An individual who wishes to become a Value Added Tax (VAT) or Specific Business Tax (SBT) registrant
3. A juristic person that has the duty to submit corporate income tax such as branch office and branch office. Limited companies can use their company registration number as their tax identification number
4. A payer of income liable to withhold tax

You can apply for a taxpayer identification number at the nearest office of Revenue Department in your area. MSNA can also assist in getting tax ID cards, preparing and filing personal or corporate income tax returns for foreigners and companies in Thailand.

As a taxpayer in Thailand, there are certain duties to be complied as follows:-

1. To register for tax identification number (in case of a foreigner) and must also inform the Revenue Department officers of any changes in his personal details. For Thai nationals, their Thai identification number serves as their tax identification number
2. Submit the tax returns and pay proper tax to the Revenue Department
3. Provide relevant documents and accounts as the law requires. This includes receipt, profit and loss statement, balance sheet, special account, etc.
4. Cooperate and assist the Revenue Department officers and provide additional documents or information when required as well as comply with the summon
5. Pay tax as assessed by the Revenue Department officers on time. In case a taxpayer fails to pay a complete sum, the assessment officer has the right to seize, attach and sell that asset by auction even without a court decision. Cash raised from the transaction will be used to pay off tax arrears.

Any taxpayer who does not comply with the law will face civil and criminal action. Hence, it’s highly advisable to contact Thai tax experts like MSNA to consult about filing your taxes in Thailand.

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 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.

The government has recently issued a Ministerial Regulation to amend the assessable income tax rates that are exempt from being included in the computation of income tax for severance pay received by employees under the Labor Protection Act in consideration of rising inflation rates and the general consumer price index, which will alleviate the income tax burden for employees who have been laid off.

The Ministerial Regulations no. 394 (B.E. 2567) issued under the Revenue Code on Tax Exemptions was published in the Royal Gazette on July 17, 2024 shall apply to assessable income received from 1 January 2023 and onwards. The compensation received by an employee under the Labor Protection Act, but does not include compensation received by an employee due to retirement or termination of employment contract. This shall include compensation not exceeding the wages for the last 400 days of employment, but not exceeding Baht 600,000.

Need help with your personal income tax filing in Thailand? Contact MSNA for further assistance.

Recently, we registered a company engaged in export business. They asked us how they can claim back the VAT that they will pay. This is our answer.

Once the company is registered in the VAT system and you buy anything, please always remember to ask the vendors to issue a Tax Invoice in the company name with the correct address. 

At month end, your accountant will gather all the tax invoices issued by your vendors and make an input VAT report and the accountant will also gather all your tax invoices that you issued to make an output VAT report. Then the difference of the VAT amounts (the input VAT in excess of the output VAT) will be claimed back from the Revenue Department through these methods:

1. You roll forward the excess VAT amount to the following months until you have a big enough amount then you click to claim the big amount at once.

2. You click to claim back the excess VAT amount every month.

Note that the Revenue Department will ask for so many documents to make sure that all the VAT you claim back is legitimate, so we suggest not to claim back every month. Some companies do it every quarter of every half year. You can engage MSNA group to do your accounting and tax filing. We can also meet with the Revenue Department on your behalf, if necessary. However, we cannot help to speed up the VAT refund process.

Can tourists buy a condo in Thailand? Yes you can. However, when foreigners buy a condo, they need to send the purchase money from overseas. The Land Department needs the evidence of your foreign money transfer to process the registration of the change in the ownership. However, normally banks will not open a bank account for a foreign tourist. How can tourists by a condo in Thailand if they do not have a bank account here? You need to send your money to Thailand to your bank account because your bank needs to issue a letter to the Land department certifying that you sent the purchase money into Thailand. What to do?

You will have to contact your country’s embassy in Thailand to issue a letter to the bank. The letter should mention that the embassy certifies your passport, that you are a citizen of that country and that they request the bank to open a saving account for you.

Depending on the bank, to open an account for you, they may ask for a residence certificate in addition to the letter from your embassy. A resident certificate is issued by the immigration office in the province where you can provide an address that is not a hotel.

When tourists buy a condo in Thailand, it is prudent that they consult with an expert like ThaiLawyers so they can be sure that the sale and purchase agreement is legal, fair and in line with the normal practice in Thailand. We will help guide you through the process while protecting your interest. If you cannot be at the Land Department to do the title deed transfer, ThaiLawyers can represent you and make sure you become the new legal owner of the condo in Thailand.

Contact MSNA group for your next real estate transaction in Thailand. We may even refer you to the best and most reliable agents who will protect you and not the other side.

In accordance to the Revenue Code Amendment Act (No. 53) B.E. 2564 of the Revenue Department, non-residents or foreign online service providers and online platforms who earned more than THB 1.8 million per year from providing online services to non-VAT registered customers in Thailand must register for VAT, submit VAT returns and pay VAT by computing output tax without deducting input tax starting from 1 September 2021. Hence, the online service providers and online platforms are not required to issue a tax invoice or keep an input tax report.

Online services refers to service including incorporeal property which is rendered over the Internet or any other online network services that is impossible to deliver without information technology. Examples of online services includes:

• Digital products such as mobile applications
• Software programs
• Digital images, videos and financial data
• Digital music, films and games
• Distance teaching via pre-recorded medium such as online courses
• Electronic data management such as website supply, web-hosting, automated and digital maintenance of programs
• Providing or supporting a business or personal presence on an electronic network
• Search engine such as customized search-engine services
• Listing services for the right to put goods or services for sale on an online market or auction house
• On-demand streaming services where there is no interaction with the content provider
• Advertising services on intangible media platform
• Support services performed, via electronic means for arranging and facilitating the completion of transactions which may not be digital in nature such as commission fees to intermediaries, service fees to consumers and merchants for sale of products through the online marketplace

Meanwhile, the following are not categorized as an online service:

• Telecommunication services
• Payment channel or money transfer services
• Electronic voucher delivered to the customer by email or SMS to be redeemed for a meal, a hotel stay or a theme park entrance
• Live teaching services whereas the content of the course is delivered by a teacher over the Internet or an electronic network
• Professional services involving human intervention and the nature of which is not essentially automated such as consulting services where advice from the consultant is communicated via email or video call.

On the other hand, online platform refers to market, channel or any other procedures that service providers use to deliver their services to the customers. It serves as an intermediary between the service providers and customers and facilitates the service transactions. It can be in the form of website, mobile applications or other channels.

Such online service providers and online platforms are required to register in the Simplified VAT System for E-Service (SVE). This system allows users to register for VAT, file VAT returns, and pay VAT and request for VAT refund electronically.

Make sure you are filing Thailand taxes correctly. Consult with MSNA’s Thai tax experts now.

The authorized directors of the company can open a business bank account for their company in Thailand right after they have registered the company. At MSNA Group, we are asked about credit card application for the company very often. In this post, we talk about opening a credit card account for business owners who are non-Thai nationals.

The conditions and requirements for the business owner to apply for a credit card depends on the issuing banks where they want to submit their application. In general, a business owner must provide the following:

1. A copy of valid passport with visa and work permit
2. Company registration documents
3. Company Affidavit updated not more than 3 months from the date of application
4. Shareholders list updated not more than 6 months from the date of application
5. Personal Thai bank account statements updated from the last 6 months
6. Company bank statements updated from the last 6 months

Thus, a foreigner can apply for a credit card under the company provided that he has obtained a visa and Thailand Work Permit to work as an authorized director of the company. ThaiLawyers are expert in registering a company, opening a corporate bank account and assisting in business credit card application. Contact us now for your best options.