What Makes Up the Cost of a Property Deal in Thailand

Here's how these charges add up on a THB 5,000,000 property (a non-SBT scenario — for example, if the seller has held the property for more than 5 years):

SBT isn't included in this example: as covered below, official sources disagree on its exact rate, and only a confirmed figure belongs in a budget calculation.

Transfer registration fee

The most basic and predictable charge on a Thai property purchase is the fee for registering the transfer of ownership at the Land Department:

The key phrase is "appraisal price," not the contract price. The Land Department calculates this base using its own valuation of the property, which can differ from the transaction price in either direction.

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Specific Business Tax: an important caveat

Specific Business Tax (SBT) applies when a property is sold within 5 years of acquisition, with several exceptions (a registered primary residence held for at least 1 year, inherited property, gifts to children, and others):

On the rate itself, two official sources disagree as of this writing:

while thailand.go.th, citing the Real Estate Information Center, states "3.3% (including local taxes)" of the appraised value or the transaction price, whichever is higher.

The two official sources genuinely disagree here: rd.go.th states 0.1% of gross receipts plus a 10% local tax on top, while thailand.go.th, citing REIC, states 3.3% of the appraised value with the local tax already folded in. This discrepancy sits at the level of the government sources themselves, not an error in this article — it's worth confirming the current rate directly with a Thai tax advisor or the Revenue Department before a transaction.

If a sale isn't subject to SBT (for example, a property held by the seller for more than 5 years), stamp duty applies instead — see below.

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Stamp duty

Stamp duty is an alternative to SBT, not an extra charge on top of it — it applies whenever a sale isn't subject to Specific Business Tax:

The same 0.5% (1 baht per 200 baht) also appears in the Revenue Department's general stamp duty schedule for documents transferring rights in immovable property.

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Withholding tax

Withholding tax is charged separately from SBT and stamp duty, and it's calculated differently for individuals and juristic persons:

For a purchase made through a juristic person (including a Thai company — see Buying Property in Thailand Through a Thai Company), the rate is a flat 1%. For individuals, the exact amount depends on the holding period and the appraised value, calculated using the Revenue Department's own formula — in practice this figure is always calculated by the notary or Land Department officer on registration day, and shouldn't be estimated in advance.

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The 2026–2027 temporary fee cut: why it doesn't apply to foreigners

From July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, Thailand has in effect a Ministry of Interior announcement, published in the Royal Gazette, temporarily reducing the transfer registration fee and mortgage registration fee — from 2% and 1% respectively down to 0.01% — for properties priced and appraised at no more than THB 7 million. The measure was approved by Thailand's Cabinet on June 30, 2026 — see the official press release from the Public Relations Department: "Cabinet approves cut to residential property registration fees to 0.01%".

One caveat matters here: this reduction applies only to individual Thai nationals buying a home for themselves. It does not extend to foreign buyers — for them, the transfer fee is still calculated at the standard 2% rate. Before budgeting a deal around the reduced rate, it's worth explicitly confirming with the Land Department or the lawyer handling the transaction whether the specific buyer qualifies.

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Who pays what in practice

The law doesn't rigidly fix which party — buyer or seller — pays each of these charges: SBT and stamp duty are traditionally paid by the seller, while the transfer registration fee is often split evenly between the parties by agreement. In practice, this split is a matter of negotiation and is usually spelled out as its own clause in the sale and purchase agreement (covered in more detail in Sale and Purchase Agreements for Thai Property: What Belongs in the SPA).

When budgeting a deal, it's worth planning for all of the charges above on top of the property's price, rather than counting on the 2026–2027 reduced rate — as covered above, it doesn't apply to foreign buyers. The transfer itself still needs to be officially documented as money brought in and exchanged through a legal channel, and that's where EXFM comes in: converting a client's funds into baht and arranging the transfer so the full document package is ready by registration day.

Further reading: the rates and conditions for these taxes and fees in the original sources — the Revenue Department's Specific Business Tax and Stamp Duty pages — and the thailand.go.th portal.