Tax filing and compliance in Thailand

Tax filing and compliance means submitting every return the Thai Revenue Code requires, accurately and on time: VAT (PP 30), withholding tax (WHT: PND 1, 3, 53, and 54), the half-year corporate income tax (CIT) return (PND 51), and the annual CIT return (PND 50). A VAT-registered Thai company files at least two returns every month, plus the half-year and annual returns.

Every Thai limited company files PND 50 and PND 51, even with no revenue. Monthly filings start as soon as you pay salaries or suppliers (WHT) or register for VAT (mandatory above THB 1.8 million of annual turnover). The highest risk sits with foreign-led SMEs, subsidiaries of foreign groups that make cross-border payments, and online businesses that pay foreign platforms, especially when filing is left to a part-time bookkeeper.

The Emergency Decree on Top-Up Tax B.E. 2567 (2024), in force since 1 January 2025, applies a 15% global minimum tax to multinational groups with consolidated revenue of EUR 750 million or more in at least 2 of the 4 previous fiscal years. Most SMEs are out of scope. If your Thai company belongs to such a group, the first GloBE Information Return for fiscal year 2025 is due in June 2027.

Under Revenue Code Section 27, unpaid tax carries a surcharge of 1.5% per month, and Section 35 adds a fine of up to THB 2,000 per late return. Late VAT returns (PP 30) also carry a penalty and a filing fine. One missed PND 50 with THB 500,000 of unpaid CIT builds up about THB 90,000 in surcharges after 12 months (1.5% x 12), before any audit.

When you pay through the e-WHT system of a participating Thai bank, the bank withholds the tax and sends it to the Revenue Department (RD) for you, so you do not issue paper 50 Tawi certificates or file a separate PND 3 or 53 for those payments. Under temporary measures, the rate on e-WHT payments for services, rent, and similar items has been cut to 1% (instead of 3% or 5%); these measures have been extended several times, most recently to 31 December 2027, so we confirm the current period before applying them. The lower rate helps your suppliers' cash flow; your own cost is unchanged, because WHT is an advance on the supplier's tax, not an extra tax for you. Plizz sets up e-WHT with your bank as part of the standard engagement.

PP 36 is the return a Thai buyer uses to self-assess and pay 7% VAT on services bought from abroad: Google Ads, Meta advertising, AWS, foreign consultants, and foreign software licenses. You file PP 36 and pay the 7% by the 7th of the following month (15th with e-filing), then claim it back as input VAT on the next PP 30. SMEs miss it because the foreign invoice shows no Thai VAT. Miss PP 36 and you lose the input VAT credit and pay surcharges on top.

For a fiscal year ending 31 December 2025, the 150-day deadline is 30 May 2026. PND 50 is prepared from the audited financial statements, so the audit schedule drives the filing date. Plizz coordinates the audit and the return together, so a late audit does not turn into a late PND 50 with surcharges.

Governance: Plizz is a registered firm and the Thai member of DFK International, with named accountants, internal review, and continuity if someone leaves. Integration: returns are prepared from the books we keep, not from a spreadsheet handed over each month, so there are no reconciliation gaps. Price: our fees sit between a freelancer (low price, no review) and a Big 4 firm (enterprise prices, junior staff on routine work).

A company that passed the THB 1.8 million threshold without registering owes VAT on its sales from the date it should have registered, plus a 1.5% per month surcharge and possible penalties. Our onboarding review checks for this. If it applies, we help you register and settle the past VAT with the Revenue Department before an audit finds it, which usually keeps penalties lower.