The Land Office fees, the taxes, and who normally pays them — before the price you agreed becomes the price you pay.
The price in the contract is not the whole bill. On the day of transfer, the Land Office collects a set of government charges, and most of them are calculated on the official appraised value of the property rather than the price you negotiated. Knowing them in advance is the difference between a clean transfer and a last-minute argument over who pays what.
The four charges at the Land Office
Transfer fee — 2% of the appraised value. Who pays is negotiable. On resales it is commonly split between buyer and seller; developers set their own terms, so read the contract.
Specific business tax — 3.3% of the appraised value or the sale price, whichever is higher. It applies when the seller has owned the property for less than five years — unless an individual seller has had their name in the property’s house registration for at least a year — and is normally the seller’s cost.
Stamp duty — 0.5%. Charged only when specific business tax does not apply. A sale pays one or the other, never both.
Withholding tax. The seller’s income tax, collected at transfer. Individual sellers pay a progressive rate on the appraised value, reduced by years of ownership; company sellers pay 1% of the higher of the appraised value or sale price.
The fee cut you probably can’t use
Thailand has cut the transfer and mortgage fees to 0.01% for homes and condominiums where both the price and the appraised value are no more than 7 million baht, currently until 30 June 2027. The cut is for Thai individual buyers. A foreign buyer pays the standard 2%.
If you are buying leasehold
Registering a lease costs 1% of the total rent for the full term, plus stamp duty of 0.1%. If a second term is later agreed and registered, the fees are paid again.
Costs outside the Land Office
Budget for independent legal due diligence before any deposit. For a freehold condominium, the purchase money must arrive from overseas in foreign currency, and the bank’s Foreign Exchange Transaction form must be in the buyer’s name exactly as it will appear on the title — keep the original, because you will need it again if you sell. Condominium buyers also usually pay a one-off sinking fund and common-area fees in advance, and most owners pay a modest annual land and building tax.
Agree it in writing
Every one of these costs can be allocated differently in the sale agreement. Ask for a line-by-line cost sheet on any property before you pay a deposit — we prepare one for every property we show.