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.

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.

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.