This information is for reference only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed lawyer before any transaction.
Land and Building Tax Act
Land and Building Tax Act B.E. 2562 (2019)
The information is reviewed and updated monthly against official sources.
In short
Thailand's Land and Building Tax Act B.E. 2562 (2019) imposes an annual local property tax on owners and possessors of land, buildings and condominium units, calculated on government-appraised value with ceiling rates that vary by use (agricultural, residential, other/commercial, and idle land), plus owner-occupier allowances and an escalating surcharge on long-unused land.
Section 5: Key definitions: taxpayer, land, building, condominium unit
The Act applies to a natural or juristic person who owns land or a building, or who possesses or exploits State-owned property. A building covers any structure fit for habitation, storage, industry or commerce, and expressly includes a condominium unit holding an ownership certificate. This brings foreign condo owners squarely within scope.
Section 8: Properties exempt from the tax
Certain holdings are wholly exempt, including non-commercial State property, premises of the UN and foreign embassies (on a reciprocity basis), Thai Red Cross assets, religious and charitable property used without profit, public cemeteries, and condominium common areas. Common property shared by condo co-owners therefore carries no separate tax charge.
Section 9: Liability fixed on 1 January each year
Whoever owns or possesses land or a building on the first day of January in any given year bears the duty to pay tax for that year. Ownership status on that single date determines who is liable, regardless of later sale or transfer during the year. Paying this tax grants no additional legal rights.
Section 35: Tax base: government appraised value
Tax is computed on the total value of the land or building, taken from the official pre-assessed value used for registration fees under the Land Code. Land, buildings and condominium units each use their respective appraised figures; where no appraised value exists, valuation follows a Ministerial Regulation. Market price and purchase price are not used.
Section 37: Ceiling rates by category of use
The Act sets maximum rates by use: agricultural land up to 0.15 percent; residential property up to 0.30 percent; all other uses, including commercial, up to 1.20 percent; and land left empty or unused up to 1.20 percent. Actual rates are set by Royal Decree or local ordinance within these caps and may be tiered by value.
Section 38: Mixed-use properties taxed proportionally
Where a single plot or building serves more than one purpose, the local authority apportions the tax according to the share of each use, under joint rules of the Finance and Interior Ministries. A property combining a home with a shop is thus taxed partly at the residential rate and partly at the higher commercial rate.
Section 40: Agricultural allowance for individuals (50 million baht)
When a natural person uses land or a building for farming within a given local authority, the appraised value used for tax is reduced by up to fifty million baht for that locality. This relief substantially shields individual farmers, though it does not extend to companies or to corporate-held agricultural land.
Section 41: Owner-occupied home allowance (50 / 10 million baht)
An individual who owns both home and land and is registered in its household certificate on 1 January enjoys a tax-base reduction of up to fifty million baht. Someone owning only the building, not the land beneath it, gets a reduction of up to ten million baht. The allowance attaches to the principal registered residence.
Section 42: How tax payable is calculated
Tax due is found by subtracting any allowance under Sections 40 or 41 from the appraised value, then applying the relevant rate, apportioned for mixed use. For one owner holding several adjoining plots, the combined value of all lots is aggregated into a single tax base before the calculation.
Section 43: Escalating surcharge on idle land
Land or a building kept empty or unused for three consecutive years is taxed in the fourth year at an extra 0.30 percent on top of the idle-land rate. If it stays unused, the rate climbs a further 0.30 percent every three years, but the total payable rate may never exceed three percent. This discourages speculative idle holdings.
Section 44 and 46: Assessment in February, payment by April
Each year the local authority must send every taxpayer an assessment notice within February, stating the property details, appraised value, rate and amount due. The taxpayer must then pay the assessed tax within April of the same year. These statutory deadlines drive the annual compliance cycle for property owners.
Section 52: Payment by instalments
A taxpayer may apply to pay the tax in equal instalments, with the number of instalments and minimum qualifying amount set by Ministerial Regulation. Missing an instalment deadline forfeits the instalment privilege and triggers a one percent monthly surcharge on the outstanding tax, any part of a month counting as a full month.
Section 55: Discretionary tax reduction by Royal Decree
To address economic or social needs or local conditions, a Royal Decree may reduce the tax on certain categories of land or buildings, but the reduction may not exceed ninety percent of the amount otherwise due. This mechanism underlies the temporary cuts that the government has periodically applied to ease the burden on owners.
Section 58 and 60: Arrears block transfer registration
Tax left unpaid after the deadline becomes arrears. By June each year the local authority reports outstanding arrears to the Land Office, and registration of a transfer of ownership or possession may be refused while tax on that property remains overdue. Buyers should therefore confirm the tax is clear before completing a transfer.
Sections 68-70: Penalties and monthly surcharge for late payment
Failing to pay on time generally incurs a penalty of forty percent of the arrears; this drops to ten percent if paid before a written warning, and twenty percent if paid within the warning period. On top of any penalty, a one percent monthly surcharge accrues on the unpaid tax (0.5 percent if an extension was granted).