The Thai Cabinet approved a bill to reduce personal income tax rates, as previously reported on our site here. The bill provides that the new rates will be retroactive starting January 1, 2013.  Recognizing that the bill would not be approved by the Parliament within this year, the Cabinet adopted the changed rates by issuing a Royal Decree in accordance with section 3 of the Revenue Code which will be effective for the 2013 and 2014 tax years.

Our earlier article contains more detail, but in brief the Royal Decree provides that (i) a 5% bracket would apply to earnings up to Thai Baht (THB) 300,000 per annum (annual earnings of less than THB 150,000 are already exempt); (ii) a 15% bracket would replace the current 20% bracket on earnings from 500,001 to 750,000, and (iii) a 25% bracket would apply to earnings from THB 1,000,001 to THB 2,000,000. Finally, the top marginal tax rate on earnings, which applies to income above THB 4,000,000, would be reduced from 37% to 35%.

We will continue to monitor future developments and post updates accordingly. For more information on taxation in Thailand, please see the Taxation section of our website here

last  updated 13 December 2013