Owner's taxes on Koh Phangan: Land & Building Tax and rental income tax

Owning property in Thailand means two annual tax obligations. The Land and Building Tax (LBT) is a local property tax introduced under the Land and Building Tax Act B.E. 2562 (2019) and collected by the local administrative authority. Personal Income Tax on rental income flows to the Revenue Department. How each applies to you depends on how you hold the property — leasehold villa or freehold condominium — and how many days a year you spend in Thailand.

Who actually pays the Land and Building Tax on a leasehold

The LBT is assessed on the registered owner of the land or building — the person whose name appears on the title deed. For a foreign buyer holding a leasehold villa, the land title stays in the Thai landowner's name throughout the lease. That means the LBT falls on the landowner, not on you as lessee, as a matter of law. Your lease contract may or may not pass this cost through to you — check the wording. For a freehold condo unit, you are the registered owner and you pay the LBT yourself. For both, the tax base is the government's official appraised value, not the market price — appraised values on Koh Phangan run well below transaction prices.

2026 rates by property category

2026 is the first full-rate year without a pandemic-era across-the-board government discount. Tax is assessed and collected by the local Subdistrict Administrative Organisation (OrBorTor) on Koh Phangan.

• Primary residence, land and building combined — first ฿50 million of appraised value: exempt. ฿50–75M: 0.03%. ฿75–100M: 0.05%. Over ฿100M: 0.10%.
• Primary residence, building only (e.g., condo you own but not the land) — first ฿10 million: exempt. ฿10–50M: 0.02%. ฿50–75M: 0.03%. ฿75–100M: 0.05%. Over ฿100M: 0.10%.
• Second or additional homes — no exemption threshold. ฿0–50M: 0.02%. ฿50–75M: 0.03%. ฿75–100M: 0.05%. Over ฿100M: 0.10%.
• Rented residential or commercial use — 0.30% to 0.70% of appraised value (rising with value in bands).
• Vacant or unused land — same 0.30–0.70% range, with an escalator: each consecutive three-year period of vacancy adds a further 0.30%, capped at 3% total. Land left unused for six or nine years faces a sharply higher effective rate.

Practical note on condos: A condo unit appraised at ฿5 million used as a primary residence is entirely inside the ฿10 million exemption threshold — LBT is ฿0. A similar unit rented out falls under the 0.30% commercial/rented rate: ฿15,000 per year. That difference is the clearest illustration of why rented property carries a meaningfully higher LBT burden than owner-occupied.

Payment deadline for the 2026 assessment year was extended by the Ministry of Interior to June 2026 (normally April). Bills of ฿3,000 or more may be paid in instalments across June–August.

Income tax on rental income

Rental income from Thai property is subject to Thai Personal Income Tax (PIT) regardless of whether you are a Thai tax resident or not. The Revenue Department allows a 30% standard deduction on gross rental income from buildings and wharves — no itemisation needed. After that deduction, the remaining 70% is added to other Thai-source income and taxed at progressive rates:

• ฿0–150,000 — exempt
• ฿150,001–300,000 — 5%
• ฿300,001–500,000 — 10%
• ฿500,001–750,000 — 15%
• ฿750,001–1,000,000 — 20%
• ฿1,000,001–2,000,000 — 25%
• ฿2,000,001–4,000,000 — 30%
• Over ฿4,000,000 — 35%

These rates have been in place since 2013. Personal allowances (personal deduction, spousal, dependent child, insurance) reduce taxable income further for residents filing annually.

Resident vs. non-resident treatment

You are a Thai tax resident if you spend 180 or more days in Thailand during a calendar year. Residents are taxed on Thai-source income and on foreign income remitted to Thailand in the year it is earned. Non-residents are taxed only on Thai-source income — including rental income from a Thai property — at the same progressive rates. For non-residents, the tenant or payer may be required to withhold 15% of the rental payment at source and remit it to the Revenue Department; the non-resident can then file an annual return and claim a refund if the withholding exceeded the actual PIT liability (since the 30% deduction reduces the net taxable amount below what the withholding assumes).

The 2025 changes to the Revenue Department's rules on foreign-sourced income remittances affect residents who remit offshore income to Thailand — they do not change the position on Thai-source rental income, which has always been taxable regardless of remittance.

Filing and compliance

• Land and Building Tax — assessed and notified by OrBorTor (Koh Phangan's local administrative bodies) annually, typically January–April. Payment deadline: June 2026 (extended year). No self-assessment; you receive a notice.
• Personal Income Tax on rental income — annual return (Por. Ngor. Dor. 90 for mixed income, or Por. Ngor. Dor. 91 for salary-only) filed with the Revenue Department by 31 March of the following year. A Thai tax ID number from the Revenue Department is required. Non-residents can also file online.
• Management commission, maintenance costs and professional fees are not deductible under the standard 30% deduction method — but the 30% flat rate is simpler and usually more advantageous than itemising actual expenses for a typical villa.

Right Way does not file taxes for clients. Use a Thai accountant for both LBT compliance and PIT returns. For the taxes that arise at purchase and at sale, see The full cost of buying on Koh Phangan. For the rental income framework, including the Hotel Act licensing requirement for stays under 30 days, see Renting out your villa on Koh Phangan.