Cost of buying a condo in Thailand as a foreigner

Last checked 23 October 2026. This page summarises published sources. It is background information, not legal advice. Take advice from a qualified Thai lawyer.

The four charges collected at the Land Office

• Transfer fee: 2 per cent of the government appraised value.¹
• Specific business tax (SBT): 3.3 per cent, or stamp duty of 0.5 per cent. The two are not charged together.¹
• Withholding tax on the seller's income.¹

Annual land and building tax is separate and is not collected at transfer.¹

Transfer fee

The transfer fee is 2 per cent of the government appraised value, whatever price the parties agree.¹ A temporary reduction to 0.01 per cent runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, but it applies only where the buyer is a Thai individual and the residential property is up to THB 7 million. A foreign buyer pays the full 2 per cent.¹²

Specific business tax or stamp duty

SBT is 3.3 per cent, made up of 3 per cent plus local tax, on the higher of the appraised value and the actual price. It applies when an individual sells within five years of acquiring the property, and to every sale by a company.¹

It does not apply where the individual has held the property for more than five years, has been in the house registration book for at least one year, or inherited it. Stamp duty of 0.5 per cent applies only where SBT does not.¹

Withholding tax

A company seller pays 1 per cent of the higher of the appraised value and the price.¹ For an individual seller the tax is progressive. It is calculated on the appraised value after a deduction that grows with the years held, spread over those years and taxed at personal income tax rates, and the Land Office computes it.¹ No fixed percentage can be given for an individual seller.

Who usually pays: common practice, not law

The sale contract decides who pays. Where it is silent, section 457 of the Civil and Commercial Code makes buyer and seller bear the costs of the sale equally.¹

In resales, the usual practice is that buyer and seller share the transfer fee equally and the seller pays SBT or stamp duty and withholding tax. Developers selling new units often require the buyer to pay the transfer fee in full. This is one law firm's description of practice, not a rule of law.¹ Read the contract before you pay a deposit.

The FET form and bringing money in

For a condominium, the transfer is not registered until the seller produces a debt free certificate from the juristic person and a foreign buyer produces an FET form.¹ The government information site says the money must be transferred from a foreign bank to a Thai bank, with a receipt and bank certificates.³

The FET (Foreign Exchange Transaction form, formerly Tor Tor 3) is the Thai bank's record that foreign currency came in and was converted to baht. Banks issue one automatically for inward transfers of USD 50,000 or more, which is bank practice and can vary. Below that amount, a bank confirmation letter and credit advices are collected instead.⁴

Three details matter. The remitter should be the registered owner, the stated purpose should say purchase of a condominium unit, and the money should arrive as foreign currency and be converted in Thailand.⁴

A worked example

The law firm gives an example: a sale at THB 5,000,000, with an appraised value of THB 4,000,000, after three years of ownership.¹

• Transfer fee: 2 per cent of THB 4,000,000, which is THB 80,000.
• SBT: 3.3 per cent of THB 5,000,000, the higher figure, which is THB 165,000.
• Stamp duty: not charged here. Had it applied instead of SBT, it would be 0.5 per cent of THB 5,000,000, which is THB 25,000.

Withholding tax is not in this example, because it depends on who the seller is.

Other costs to budget for

These sources do not cover mortgage fees, legal and agent fees, the sinking fund, common area fees or furniture. Ask for each in writing.

What to check in the contract before paying a deposit

• Which party pays each of the four Land Office charges.
• The appraised value, since the transfer fee follows it.
• Whether the building has foreign quota left.²
• How the FET form will be obtained and in whose name the money must arrive.⁴

Take advice from a qualified Thai lawyer before you buy. Our guide to whether foreigners can buy property in Thailand covers the ownership rules, and the freehold condominium guide covers the title.

Keep reading

• Can foreigners buy property in Thailand?
• Nominee crackdown in Thailand
• Best places to live in Pattaya
• Freehold condominium
• All listings

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Last checked 23 October 2026. Wikipedia and Wikivoyage style pages are secondary sources. Pages from the Tourism Authority of Thailand Japan office are in Japanese and are summarised here in our own words.

1. ThaiLawOnline, “Property Transfer Fee Thailand and Taxes”, published Updated 4 October 2026. https://www.thailawonline.com/glossary/property-transfer-taxes/
2. ThaiLawOnline, “Thailand Condo Foreign Ownership Quota: 49% Rule 2026”, published Updated 21 October 2026. https://www.thailawonline.com/thailand-condo-foreign-ownership-quota/
3. Thailand.go.th (Royal Thai Government information site), “Guide book: foreigners and property ownership”, published Content updated 10 July 2023; checked 23 October 2026. https://www.thailand.go.th/guide-book-detail/010_012
4. ThaiLawOnline, “FET Form Thailand: Sending Money to Buy a Condo (2026)”, published Updated 21 October 2026. https://www.thailawonline.com/fet-form-thailand/

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Take independent legal advice before you buy.