Thailand Income Tax Brackets 2026: PIT Rates and Withholding Explained

Thailand has a reputation for sunshine, street food and surprisingly gentle tax bills. The headline top rate of 35% sounds fierce, but almost nobody pays anything close to it. Here is how the numbers actually work in 2026, from the brackets to the deductions landing in your payslip.

The eight progressive PIT bands

Thai personal income tax is progressive, which means each slice of your income is taxed at its own rate rather than your whole salary being hit by a single figure. Only the portion of income that falls inside a band pays that band's rate. The 2026 bands are unchanged from last year:

• 0 to 150,000: 0%

• 150,001 to 300,000: 5%

• 300,001 to 500,000: 10%

• 500,001 to 750,000: 15%

• 750,001 to 1,000,000: 20%

• 1,000,001 to 2,000,000: 25%

• 2,000,001 to 5,000,000: 30%

• Over 5,000,000: 35%

The 35% rate only bites on income above 5 million baht, so most people never reach it. Crucially, these bands apply to your net income, not your gross. That distinction is where the deductions come in.

Allowances and deductions that shrink the bill

Before the rate table touches your income, you get to subtract a stack of deductions and allowances. The big ones for a salaried worker are:

• An employment expense deduction of 50% of your income, capped at 100,000 baht.

• A personal allowance of 60,000 baht for every taxpayer.

• A spouse allowance of 60,000 baht if your partner has no income.

• A child allowance of 30,000 baht per child, rising to 60,000 for a second child born from 2018 onward.

• Social security contributions, plus deductions for life insurance, health insurance and provident fund contributions.

There are more, covering parental care, mortgage interest and approved donations. Stacked together they can lop a serious chunk off your assessable income, which is why the effective rate most expats pay lands in single digits.

How monthly with holding works

You will rarely pay the tax office in one lump sum. Your employer takes tax out of every payslip and sends it to the Revenue Department on form PND 1, due by the 7th of the next month, or the 15th if filing online. The amount is worked out once: take your yearly salary, subtract your deductions, apply the bands, then split the result across twelve months.

At year end you file a short return (PND 91) to check the maths. Paid too much and you get a refund. Paid too little and you top up the difference. Bonuses and raises can shift the monthly figure, so it is normal for it to move about.

A worked example: 100,000 baht a month

Say you earn 100,000 baht a month, or 1,200,000 a year. Here is the rough shape of your tax.

Start with 1,200,000 gross. Subtract the 100,000 employment deduction, the 60,000 personal allowance and 9,000 in maximum annual social security. That leaves net assessable income of 1,031,000 baht.

Now walk it through the bands: nothing on the first 150,000, then 7,500 at 5%, 20,000 at 10%, 37,500 at 15%, 50,000 at 20% and 7,750 on the slice sitting inside the 25% band. Total annual tax comes to roughly 122,750 baht, or about 10,230 a month.

That is an effective rate near 10% on a six figure monthly salary. Add a spouse or children and it drops further. You can estimate your tax in seconds rather than doing the band arithmetic by hand.

Tax residency and the 180 day rule

One number decides how much of your income Thailand can tax: 180 days. Stay in the country for 180 days or more in a calendar year (1 January to 31 December) and you count as a tax resident. The days do not have to be back to back. They simply add up across the year.

Residents pay Thai tax on income earned in Thailand and on foreign income they bring into the country. Since 2024, money you bring in during the same year you earn it is taxable, so the old wait-a-year trick no longer works. Stay under 180 days and you are taxed only on income from Thai sources.

FAQs

Do foreigners pay the same rates as Thais?

Yes. Thai personal income tax applies to everyone earning income in Thailand regardless of nationality. The main exception is the Long Term Resident (LTR) visa, which offers qualifying professionals a flat 17% rate on Thai employment income.

When is the annual filing deadline?

Personal returns are due by 31 March for the previous calendar year. Filing online usually buys you a short extension.

Is there a capital gains tax?

Thailand has no separate capital gains tax. Gains are taxed as ordinary income, though profits from selling shares on the Stock Exchange of Thailand are exempt for individual investors.

Try the tax calculator

Payroll withholding looks trivial until a filing slips and the surcharges start stacking. If you would rather hand the monthly PND 1 filings, social security and payslips to someone else, our payroll services cover the lot. Run your own numbers first with the tax calculator, then book a call with Settlr Global, part of the Wows Global group, to get your payroll running clean from day one.