The withholding tax (WHT) on Thai property sales is the largest tax most sellers pay on transfer day, and the most opaque. The calculation method differs between individual and company sellers, runs through statutory tables, and produces results that are not intuitive without working through the math. For buyers, the WHT is rarely your direct concern — it’s the seller’s tax — but understanding it matters for negotiation and for your own future sale.
This article covers the calculation methodology for both individual and company sellers, the practical effect, and what foreign buyers should understand about WHT.
The principle
When property is sold in Thailand, the Land Office collects a withholding tax from the seller as a prepaid income tax on the gain. The Department of Lands collects the WHT and remits it to the Revenue Department (the Thai tax authority). The seller’s underlying income tax obligation is satisfied (in most cases) by the WHT collected at the Land Office.
The mechanism is administrative: rather than tracking property gains across the seller’s lifetime tax records, Thailand collects the tax at the moment of transaction, in cash, before ownership changes hands.
Individual sellers — the statutory table calculation
For individual sellers, WHT is calculated through a five-step process:
Step 1 — Take the appraised value. Not the sale price. The Treasury Department’s appraised value is the base, regardless of what the parties agreed to.
Step 2 — Apply the cost-deduction percentage based on years owned. The statutory table:
| Years of ownership | Cost deduction |
|---|---|
| 1 year | 92% |
| 2 years | 84% |
| 3 years | 77% |
| 4 years | 71% |
| 5 years | 65% |
| 6 years | 60% |
| 7 years | 55% |
| 8+ years | 50% |
The cost deduction is treated as the seller’s basis. The remainder (after deduction) is the deemed taxable gain.
Step 3 — Divide the gain by years of ownership. This produces a deemed annual income figure.
Step 4 — Run the deemed annual income through the personal income tax brackets. Thailand’s progressive PIT:
- 0–150,000 THB: 0%
- 150,001–300,000 THB: 5%
- 300,001–500,000 THB: 10%
- 500,001–750,000 THB: 15%
- 750,001–1,000,000 THB: 20%
- 1,000,001–2,000,000 THB: 25%
- 2,000,001–5,000,000 THB: 30%
- 5,000,001+ THB: 35%
Step 5 — Multiply the resulting per-year tax by years of ownership. This gives the total WHT owed at the Land Office.
Worked example — individual seller, 7 years, 10M appraised value
- Appraised value: 10,000,000
- Cost deduction at year 7: 55%, so deduction = 5,500,000
- Remainder (deemed gain): 4,500,000
- Annual income: 4,500,000 / 7 = 642,857
- PIT on 642,857:
- 0–150,000 at 0% = 0
- 150,001–300,000 at 5% = 7,500
- 300,001–500,000 at 10% = 20,000
- 500,001–642,857 at 15% = 21,429
- Total: ~48,929
- WHT total: 48,929 × 7 = ~342,500
WHT in this example: ~3.4% of appraised value.
Worked example — individual seller, 2 years, 8M appraised value
- Appraised value: 8,000,000
- Cost deduction at year 2: 84%, so deduction = 6,720,000
- Remainder: 1,280,000
- Annual income: 1,280,000 / 2 = 640,000
- PIT on 640,000:
- 0–150,000 at 0% = 0
- 150,001–300,000 at 5% = 7,500
- 300,001–500,000 at 10% = 20,000
- 500,001–640,000 at 15% = 21,000
- Total: ~48,500
- WHT total: 48,500 × 2 = ~97,000
WHT in this example: ~1.2% of appraised value.
Pattern — typical WHT range
For most resale transactions, WHT lands in the 1–4% range of appraised value. Higher when:
- Long ownership period (8+ years) — full cost-deduction floor at 50%
- High appraised value — pushes deemed annual income into higher brackets
Lower when:
- Short ownership period — most of the value is deducted as cost
- Low appraised value — stays in lower brackets
The unintuitive bit: longer ownership doesn’t always mean lower WHT, because the cost-deduction percentage stops decreasing at year 8 and the gain is amortized over more years. The WHT calculator at most Thai law firms will produce the exact number for any specific case.
Company sellers — flat 1%
For company sellers (Thai juristic persons selling property), WHT is much simpler: 1% of the higher of appraised or sale price.
For a Thai-majority company selling a 25M villa with appraised value of 18M:
- Higher of appraised vs sale: 25M
- WHT: 1% × 25M = 250,000
The 1% WHT is then creditable against the company’s final corporate income tax (20% CIT on the actual gain) when the company files its annual tax return. So the 1% is a prepayment, not a final tax. The company’s accountant reconciles at year-end.
For property held in a Thai-majority company structure (legal but high-risk in 2026 — see Thai company structures for property ownership — what changed in 2024–2025), the WHT mechanics are different from individual ownership and the long-term tax bill is higher (20% CIT on gain vs WHT-as-final for individuals).
Who pays — customary practice
By customary practice, WHT is the seller’s tax. It is rarely shifted to the buyer, regardless of negotiation dynamics. The seller pays WHT via cashier’s cheque to the Land Office on transfer day.
The few situations where allocation might shift:
- Distress sales where the seller is unable to pay — the buyer may agree to pay WHT in exchange for a price reduction equal to or greater than the WHT amount
- Off-plan developer sales where the developer absorbs all transaction costs as part of the marketing package
- Family transfers where the parties have other reasons for non-standard splits
For standard resale transactions, expect WHT to be the seller’s tax. If a buyer is asked to pay it, recalculate the offer.
Why this matters for buyers
Three reasons foreign buyers should understand WHT:
1. Future sale tax planning. When you eventually sell your Thai property, you’ll pay the WHT calculated this way. The longer you hold, the higher the cost deduction floor effect (50% from year 8 onward) — but also more gain to amortize. Plan exit timing with the math in mind.
2. Negotiation transparency. Sellers who are reluctant to negotiate price often have a specific WHT calculation in mind. Understanding their math helps you understand their floor.
3. Distress-sale opportunity. When a distressed seller can’t cover their WHT and your willingness to pay it (in exchange for price reduction) is the difference between a deal and no deal, the WHT mechanics matter for your offer structuring.
Aggregation — the rare optionality
An individual seller may elect to aggregate the sale into their annual personal income tax return (PND.90), treating the WHT as a creditable prepayment rather than a final tax. In theory, if the seller has other tax-deductible losses or low overall income, aggregation could reduce the total tax.
In practice, aggregation rarely benefits Thai property sellers because the WHT calculation already provides generous cost deductions. Most sellers treat the Land Office WHT as the final tax and don’t aggregate.
For company sellers, the WHT is always credited against final CIT — the “election” doesn’t apply.
What this means for buyers in 2026
Three rules:
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Don’t accept being asked to pay WHT. It’s the seller’s tax. If asked, recalculate the offer.
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Plan your future-sale WHT into hold-period decisions. Years 1–4 produce the lowest WHT (high cost deductions); years 8+ produce the lowest WHT-per-year-of-gain. Years 5–7 are the awkward middle.
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For Thai-company-held property, expect higher long-term tax. 20% CIT on company gains exceeds WHT-as-final for individuals. This is one more reason against the company structure for personal residences — see Thai company structures for property ownership — what changed in 2024–2025.
For broader tax context: Taxes and fees when buying property in Thailand — full 2026 breakdown. For capital gains specifically: Capital gains on property sale in Thailand — what foreigners actually pay. For the Land Office process: Land Office transfer day in Thailand — what actually happens. For transfer fees: Property transfer fees in Thailand — the 2% rule and the Thai-only stimulus.