Thailand handles capital gains on property differently from most Western jurisdictions. There is no separate capital gains tax for individuals — instead, the Land Office withholding tax collected at transfer is treated as the final tax on the gain. For company sellers, corporate income tax applies. The asymmetry between the two structures is one of several reasons individual ownership is the cleaner default for foreign buyers where it’s available.
This article covers the actual tax treatment of property sales for foreign sellers, the company-vs-individual difference, and the rare exemption that exists.
How does Thailand tax the gain when you sell property?
Thai tax law has no dedicated capital gains tax (CGT) chapter for property — instead it taxes the sale proceeds as ordinary income through one of two mechanisms depending on who owns the property:
- For individual sellers, the gain is taxed via the Land Office withholding tax mechanism, which is treated as final
- For company sellers, the gain is ordinary corporate income, taxed at 20% corporate income tax
Both mechanisms collect tax on the gain. The mechanism, the rate, and the long-term burden differ.
What tax do individual sellers pay on a property sale?
An individual seller pays only the Land Office withholding tax (WHT), calculated through a statutory formula off the appraised value, years of ownership, and progressive personal income tax brackets (5%–35%) — full mechanics in Withholding tax on property sale in Thailand — how the Land Office calculates it. The result lands in the 1–4% of appraised value range for most resale transactions, cross-checked against the same range in Withholding tax on property sale in Thailand — how the Land Office calculates it.
This WHT is the seller’s final tax. The seller may technically elect to aggregate the property sale into their annual personal income tax return (PND.90), but the calculation rarely favors aggregation — for most sellers, the Land Office WHT is the final tax, paid in cash at transfer, with nothing further owed.
What this means in practice
The Thai tax structure for individual property sellers is genuinely simpler than most Western tax systems. There is no:
- Separate CGT calculation
- Long-term vs short-term distinction (other than the years-owned cost-deduction table built into WHT)
- Indexation for inflation
- Loss harvesting against other gains
- CGT-specific allowances or exemptions
The seller pays the WHT at the Land Office, walks out, and the tax obligation is settled.
What tax does a Thai company pay when it sells property?
A company seller owes 20% corporate income tax (CIT) on the actual gain, with the 1% Land Office withholding credited against that final bill — a materially heavier structure than individual ownership. A Board of Investment (BOI)–promoted entity needs its promotion certificate checked separately because its tax incentives may alter the result:
1. Land Office WHT collected — flat 1% of higher of appraised vs sale price. This is the company’s prepayment.
2. Annual corporate income tax (CIT) at 20% on the actual gain. The gain is calculated as:
Gain = Sale price − (Original purchase price + documented improvements + depreciation already taken)
The 1% WHT is creditable against the 20% CIT — the company pays the difference (or claims a refund if WHT exceeded final CIT, rare).
Worked example — company sale
Thai company bought villa in 2018 for THB 20M. Sells in 2026 for THB 30M. Documented improvements: 2M. Depreciation taken over 8 years: 1.6M. Appraised value at sale: 25M.
- Sale price: 30M
- Cost basis: 20M + 2M improvements − 1.6M depreciation = 20.4M
- Gain: 30M − 20.4M = 9.6M
- CIT: 20% × 9.6M = 1.92M
- Land Office 1% WHT: 1% × 30M (higher of appraised vs sale) = 0.3M
- Net CIT owed at year-end: 1.92M − 0.3M = 1.62M
- Total tax on the sale: 1.92M (~6.4% of sale price)
Compare to the same sale if the property had been individually owned: WHT calculated through the statutory formula (see Withholding tax on property sale in Thailand — how the Land Office calculates it) stays within the 1–4% of appraised value range for individual sellers — well under the company’s ~6.4% of sale price here.
The individual-ownership tax burden in this example is a fraction of the company-ownership tax burden. Over time and across larger gains, the asymmetry compounds.
This is one of several reasons the Thai-company-holds-land structure is more expensive in long-term tax terms than individual ownership through leasehold + superficies — separate from the nominee-prosecution risk that has accelerated since 2024.
Is there a primary-residence exemption from capital gains tax in Thailand?
A narrow exemption exists for individuals who reinvest sale proceeds into a new primary residence, but it rarely fits foreign owners because it requires continuous Tabien Baan registration most don’t hold. Thai law provides the exemption for individuals who:
- Sell their primary residence
- Use the proceeds to buy a new primary residence within 1 year (before or after the sale)
- Have been registered on the Tabien Baan (house registration / yellow book) at the property continuously
- Other conditions specific to the case
The exemption rarely fits foreign sellers because:
- Foreign owners typically don’t have Tabien Baan registration on their condo unit
- The “primary residence” status requires meaningful occupation history, not just ownership
- The reinvestment must be into a qualifying replacement Thai property
For most foreign owners, treat the exemption as not available. The few who genuinely qualify (long-term Thai-resident foreigners with Tabien Baan, replacing one Thai primary residence with another) should consult a Thai tax specialist.
Does selling company shares or assigning a lease count as a property capital gain?
No — both are taxed under different rules than a direct freehold sale, and neither triggers the Land Office WHT mechanics described above:
1. Sale of shares in a Thai company that holds property. This is a sale of shares, not property, and is treated as a corporate transaction with different tax rules. For foreigners, the Specific Business Tax may apply at the share level. The structure is sometimes used to avoid Land Office transfer fees, but the Revenue Department has anti-avoidance scrutiny on share-sale-as-property-sale structures.
2. Sale of leasehold rights (assignment of lease). When you assign a registered leasehold to another party, the assignment is technically a transfer of rights, not a property sale. The tax treatment differs from a freehold transfer. Lease assignments are subject to stamp duty and registration fees but not the full transfer-fee/SBT/WHT stack of a freehold sale.
Do foreign sellers also owe capital gains tax at home?
Most foreign sellers must still report the Thai gain in their home country, though a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) usually credits the Thai tax already paid. Thai property gains are reportable in:
- United States — IRS taxes worldwide income and capital gains; Thai tax credit available against US tax
- United Kingdom — HMRC taxes worldwide income for UK residents; Thai tax credit available
- Australia — Australian Tax Office similar; tax credit available
- EU countries — vary by country, generally similar credit mechanism via Double Taxation Agreement
- Russia, China, India — verify with local tax adviser
Thailand has Double Taxation Agreements with most major countries that prevent the same gain being taxed twice. The DTA typically gives Thailand the primary right to tax the gain (since the property is in Thailand), and the seller’s home country gives a credit for Thai tax paid. The seller still must report the sale in their home country and may owe additional tax if home-country rates exceed Thai tax.
For US sellers specifically: the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion does not apply to capital gains. Thai property sales are taxable in the US even after Thai tax is paid; the Thai tax is creditable against US tax but the calculation and reporting can be complex. US sellers should engage a US tax preparer experienced with foreign property sales.
Does Thai tax residency change how a property sale is taxed?
No — the Land Office WHT calculation and final-tax treatment are the same whether the seller is a Thai tax resident or not, because the gain is Thai-source income and Thai-source income is taxed the same for everyone regardless of residency (see Thai tax residency — the 180-day rule and the 2024 remittance change for the 180-day test itself). Thai tax residency mainly affects how rental income and foreign-source income are taxed, not property sale tax.
The 2024 remittance rule changes (Por. 161/2566) apply to foreign-source income remitted to Thailand by tax residents. They do not affect the taxation of Thai-source property gains.
What should buyers take away about capital gains tax before purchasing?
Three rules:
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For individuals, plan the sale tax as the Land Office WHT. No separate CGT to budget. The WHT is in the 1–4% of appraised value range; calculate it for your specific year of sale.
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For property held by a Thai company, expect 20% CIT on the actual gain. This is materially higher than individual treatment. Factor it into the long-term economics of company-held structures.
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Report the sale in your home country. Tax credits are available via Double Taxation Agreements, but the obligation to report typically remains.
For broader tax context: Taxes and fees when buying property in Thailand — full 2026 breakdown. For the WHT calculation in detail: Withholding tax on property sale in Thailand — how the Land Office calculates it. For the company-vs-individual structure question: Thai company structures for property ownership under the 2026 enforcement regime and Freehold vs leasehold property in Thailand — what's the difference and which to choose.
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