Four charges are paid at the Land Office on the day a property is transferred. Our cost calculator works them out for you; this guide explains each one.
1. Transfer fee: 2% of the appraised value
The Land Office charges 2% of its own appraised value of the property (not the sale price). Buyer and seller usually split it 50/50, but that's a custom, not the law, so check what your contract says.
The 0.01% cut is not for foreigners. From 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 the fee is reduced to 0.01% for homes and condos where the price, the appraised value and any mortgage are each 7 million baht or less, but only for Thai individuals. Foreign buyers pay the full 2%.
2. Specific business tax (3.3%) or stamp duty (0.5%), never both
- Specific business tax of 3.3% applies if the seller has owned the property for less than five years, or if the seller is a company. It's charged on the higher of the sale price or the appraised value.
- An individual seller is exempt from it if their name has been in the house registration (tabien baan) for the property for at least a year.
- Where business tax doesn't apply, stamp duty of 0.5% is charged instead, on the same base.
The seller normally pays.
3. Withholding tax on the sale (seller)
Company sellers pay 1% of the higher of the price or the appraised value.
Individual sellers pay income tax on a deemed gain, worked out like this:
- Take the appraised value and deduct a fixed percentage for the years held: 92% for 1 year, 84% for 2, 77% for 3, 71% for 4, 65% for 5, 60% for 6, 55% for 7, and 50% for 8 years or more.
- Divide what's left by the number of years held (no more than 10).
- Apply the income tax rates to that yearly figure, starting at 5%.
- Multiply back up by the years held. The total can't be more than 20% of the sale price.
4. Mortgage registration (buyer, if borrowing)
Usually 1% of the loan amount. Thai buyers who qualify for the reduced transfer fee also get a 0.01% mortgage fee if the mortgage is registered at the same time.
Worked example
A foreign individual sells a condo for 8,500,000 baht after three years. The appraised value is 6,000,000 baht and the seller is not in the house registration.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Transfer fee, 2% of 6,000,000 | 120,000 (60,000 each if split) |
| Specific business tax, 3.3% of 8,500,000 | 280,500 |
| Withholding tax (77% deduction, divide by 3, tax, × 3) | about 93,000 |
Because the property was held for under five years and the seller wasn't in the house registration, business tax applies rather than stamp duty. Hold it for five years and that line drops to 0.5%, a saving of over 230,000 baht in this example.
Before you sign
- Ask the Land Office for the appraised value early; it drives most of these numbers.
- Write the split of each cost into the sale contract.
- If you'll want to send the sale money abroad, keep your original Foreign Exchange Transaction form or bank credit advice from when you bought.
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If you own a villa or condo in Phuket, Pearl Property's management team takes care of the day-to-day paperwork for owners, from TM30 reports to tenant contracts and rental records for your accountant.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Figures were correct on the date shown above; rules change, so confirm with a Thai lawyer, accountant or the relevant office before you act.