The new law replaces the current law on house and property tax. From 1 January 2020, taxes will be levied in accordance with the new law. The tax is also known as “Land and Building Tax” or “Property Tax”.

Taxable real estate

The tax applies to both land and owner-occupied dwellings, flats and buildings, including houses, or to buildings that can be used as a residence or for storage, industrial or commercial purposes.
Tax base

At present, the House and Property Tax Act provides for a 12.5% tax on the annual rental value of a property.

Under the new law, the tax base is the estimated value (appraisal value) of the property, which is determined for the purpose of charging registration fees under the Land Code. In the absence of an estimated value, the tax base is calculated according to the criteria, methods and conditions laid down in ministerial decrees.

The estimated value corresponds to the value stated on the official purchase contract by the Landoffice. However, the Landoffice (land registry) regularly sets new values. So if the purchase contract is older, the estimated value can sometimes be significantly higher than the value in the official purchase contract.

The most important tax rates :

0,02 % for residential property per year
0.3 % for commercial properties per year

Note: For properties in the name of a company, the commercial tax rate applies. These tax rates have been fixed for 2020 and 2021 and will be regularly adjusted by decree thereafter.

Due to the Corona crisis, a reduction of 90% will be granted for 2020.

If the land or building remains empty or unoccupied for three consecutive years, the rate increases by 0.3 percentage points every three years, but not more than 3%.

The local authority authorised to levy the tax is entitled to charge a higher rate, but in any case it may not exceed the maximum rates (max. 0.3% for residential property and max. 1.2% for commercial property.

In the example, the tax is therefore around THB 1,580 at an estimated value of around Thai Baht 7.9 million. This amount is then reduced by another 90% for 2020.

Due date for the payment of property tax

In December 2019 a number of time extensions for the implementation of the new Real Estate Tax Act in 2020 were announced. Instead of issuing tax assessment notices to taxpayers in February 2020 for payment in April 2020, they will now be issued in June 2020 and tax payments will be due in October 2020.

In the case of condominiums, property tax was often paid by the property management company in the past. According to some customer reports, this is partly no longer possible. Read more : Pay property tax yourself at the town hall ?