Legal service for foreign clients
Corporate & Personal Tax Planning in Thailand
Lower tax through statutory reliefs, never through evasion.
Quick answer
Thailand's headline corporate rate is 20% of net profit, but SMEs with paid-up capital up to THB 5M and revenue up to THB 30M use a graduated scale where the first THB 300,000 of profit is exempt. Sound planning starts with entity structure, uses enhanced deductions such as training and R&D, and times revenue recognition against the fiscal year.
From THB 20,000 — From THB 20,000 per engagement; annual retainers quoted separately · Planning report within 2–4 weeks
Who this is for
- Owners paying more tax than industry peers
- Individuals with salary plus business income
- Groups with intercompany transactions
- Owners planning a sale or asset transfer
What you receive
- Analysis of the current burden against alternatives
- A plan for reliefs and enhanced deductions
- Quarterly tax forecasts for cash-flow planning
- Written business rationale supporting each structure
Documents to prepare
- Three years of financial statements
- Tax returns already filed
- Shareholding structure and related-party dealings
- Business plan or forward revenue projection
How it works
5-step process
- 1
Review the current position
Effective rate, add-backs, and assessment risk are examined.
- 2
Model the options
Each structure is compared with real numbers, not slogans.
- 3
Test commercial substance
Every plan needs commercial purpose beyond the tax saving.
- 4
Implement
Contracts, chart of accounts, and staff training are aligned.
- 5
Review annually
Tax law shifts often; this year's plan may not hold next year.
In depth
Corporate & Personal Tax Planning: what foreign clients need to know
Tax planning that survives scrutiny means choosing a structure and contract pattern that fits provable facts, not hunting for reductions in the last month of the period. Almost everything done after year-end is data entry; the decisions that lawfully reduce tax are made early — whether to take work personally or through a company, whether to pay yourself salary or dividends, and how ownership of assets is arranged.
Choose a business form on total burden, not one headline rate
Comparing personal and corporate tax by top rate alone usually gives the wrong answer. Individuals can deduct on a standard basis for certain income types, which can win while income is modest, whereas a company is taxed on net profit and may access small-company relief tied to capital and revenue limits — but a second layer arrives when dividends are paid out.
What matters is the total burden on money the owner actually keeps: corporate tax, withholding on dividends, social security on salary paid to yourself, and compliance costs such as bookkeeping and audit fees. Counted in full, the break-even point for incorporating usually sits higher than people expect.
Paying the owner in a way that can be explained
Director salary is deductible when it is proportionate to duties actually performed, backed by an appointment letter or resolution, and withheld correctly. Dividends can be paid where retained profit exists and the corporate-law steps are followed. Mixing the two without paperwork is the leading reason deductions are disallowed on review.
Owner-funded costs later reimbursed need the same discipline. Without a claim process that states purpose and attaches evidence each time, a reviewer reads them as loans to the director, which raises imputed interest and disallowance of the whole amount.
Incentives and exemptions a mid-sized business can actually use
The reliefs an ordinary business can reach are mostly additional deductions under time-limited measures: certain system and equipment investments, hiring in specified groups, and staff training costs. Each carries conditions on the investment window and the documents to retain — miss the paperwork at purchase and the claim is gone even if everything else qualifies.
Where owners or income are cross-border, check the treaty Thailand has with the counterpart country before agreeing contract terms: withholding rates on royalties, interest and dividends differ by treaty, and claiming the treaty rate requires the recipient's tax residence certificate in hand before payment.
Cost structure: government fees vs professional fees
| Item | Official fee | Professional fee | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structure review with costed options | No government fee at the advisory stage | THB 15,000–45,000 | Includes a total-burden comparison of two or three options |
| Papering owner remuneration and the expense-claim system | Registration fees apply only if directors or signing authority change | THB 12,000–35,000 | Includes draft resolutions and ready-to-use claim forms |
| Cross-border transaction planning and treaty-rate claims | Published fee for issuing a tax residence certificate | THB 30,000–90,000 | Depends on how many treaty countries and income types are involved |
An independent consultant who incorporated before break-even
Situation: Annual revenue under two million baht, incorporated on general advice, adding accounting and audit cost without reducing tax
What we did: We modelled total burden both ways on three years of actuals and kept the company only for clients that require a corporate counterparty
Outcome: Compliance cost fell and total annual burden dropped without changing how work is taken on
A company paying its owner without classifying the payments
Situation: Monthly transfers from the company to the owner were booked as temporary advances
What we did: We split the balance into salary matching real duties, evidenced expense reimbursements, and dividends within distributable profit, each with a resolution
Outcome: The advance account cleared and no imputed-interest observation arose the following period
When to act, and when waiting is fine
You are deciding between working personally and incorporating
Model three years of total burden including accounting and audit cost; do not decide on rates alone
Retained profit is high and no dividend has ever been paid
Plan staged distributions with resolutions so balances do not accumulate between the company and its directors
You will invest in machinery or systems this year
Check which additional-deduction measures are still live before ordering, because the conditions hinge on the investment window
You pay royalties or interest to a recipient abroad
Obtain the residence certificate before the first payment date; requesting it later rarely lands within the remittance cycle
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How does planning differ from evasion?
Planning uses disclosed statutory rights; evasion hides facts and carries fines and criminal liability.
What reliefs do SMEs get?
Graduated rates, accelerated depreciation, and annually announced enhanced deductions.
Can prior filings be corrected?
Amended returns are possible, but extra tax carries a 1.5% monthly surcharge.
How does planning differ from evasion?
Planning arranges genuine facts and contracts to reach an intended tax result; evasion presents facts that did not happen.
Do small companies get the reduced rate automatically?
Only if both the paid-up capital and revenue conditions are met in that period; exceed either and the ordinary rate applies for the year.
How often should a tax plan be revisited?
Once a year before the new period starts, and immediately on major events such as a capital increase, a new shareholder, or first foreign income.
Can you implement the advice as well?
Yes — registration changes, drafting resolutions and agreements, and setting up the bookkeeping to support the chosen structure.
Related services
Tax Health Check Before the Revenue Calls
Find and close exposures early — far cheaper than an assessment.
Transfer Pricing Documentation Under Thai Law
Annual disclosure and Local File that hold up under review.
Revenue Audit Defense & Assessment Appeals
Answer summons, assemble evidence, and appeal inside the 30-day window.
Written by: Thai Law & Accounting Services — attorneys and licensed accountants
Reviewed by: Reviewed by a Notarial Services Attorney registered with the Lawyers Council of Thailand.
Last updated: 2026-08
Information as of August 2026. Government fees and processing times change — verify with the relevant agency before acting, or let our team verify for you.