Glossary, tax and fees

Specific business tax (SBT) in Thai property

ภาษีธุรกิจเฉพาะ

Specific business tax is a 3.3% tax on the sale of property by a company or developer, or by an individual who has owned it for less than five years. It is charged on the higher of the sale price and the appraised value.

The rate is 3% plus a local levy of one tenth of that, giving 3.3%. It is collected by the land office at transfer and is the seller's cost unless the contract says otherwise. Developers always fall within it and build it into their prices.

An individual seller escapes the tax after holding the property for more than five years. Other exemptions include inherited property and a home where the seller's name has been in the tabien baan (house registration book) for at least one year, which seldom helps a non-resident foreign owner. Where specific business tax applies, stamp duty does not.

For an investor the point is the holding period. Selling a THB 20 million property after four years costs THB 660,000 in specific business tax. After five years the charge is 0.5% stamp duty instead: THB 100,000. Sale contracts sometimes try to move the tax to the buyer, so read the costs clause.

See property taxes and buying costs and selling property and repatriating funds.

General guidance, not legal or tax advice. Take independent legal advice before you commit to a purchase.

Terms related to specific business tax (sbt)

Stamp duty: Stamp duty on a Thai property sale is 0.5% of the higher of the sale price and the appraised value. It is charged only when specific business tax does not apply, so a seller pays one or the other, never both.
Transfer fee: The transfer fee is the Department of Lands' charge for registering a change of ownership: 2% of the property's official appraised value, paid at the land office on the day of transfer.
Withholding tax: Withholding tax is income tax deducted from a payment before it reaches the person who earned it. On a Thai property sale the land office collects it from the seller at transfer: 1% for a company and a sliding-scale amount for an individual. Rent paid from Thailand to a non-resident owner carries 15% withholding.
Tabien baan (house registration book): A tabien baan is the house registration book issued by the district office for every dwelling in Thailand, listing the people registered as living at that address. It is evidence of residence, not of ownership.