How much is Thai withholding tax? Every rate, by income type

Withholding tax is not a single rate — it depends on the type of income paid. The most common are services and contract work at 3%, rent at 5%, advertising at 2%, and transport at 1%. Professional fees, salary, dividends, and interest each have their own rate, and some rates also depend on whether the payee is an individual or a juristic person.

By the BillsOS team · Updated 6 Jun 2026

⚠️ Disclaimer: This article is for general understanding only and is not case-specific tax advice. Rates and conditions may have exceptions or change under Revenue Department announcements. Please verify with the Revenue Department (rd.go.th) or your own accountant/auditor before relying on it.

Withholding-tax rate table (quick-scan)

This table covers the common case where the payer is a juristic person (or otherwise has a legal duty to withhold) — the most frequent situation for freelancers and small businesses — unless stated otherwise.

How to read it: (1) find the income type you are paying → (2) check whether the payee is an individual or a juristic person → (3) apply the rate and PND form on that row. For salary or commission paid to an individual, use the progressive rate via PND.1, not a flat rate.

What is withholding tax?

Withholding tax is tax that the payer deducts from part of the amount due and remits to the Revenue Department on the recipient’s behalf, collecting tax in advance. The recipient can later credit the withheld amount against their annual tax liability.

Who must withhold, and when

The party with the duty to withhold is generally the payer — usually a juristic person (company or partnership). When paying for services, rent, contract work, and so on, the payer withholds at the rate for that income type and remits to the Revenue Department by the 7th of the following month (or the 15th when filing online).

A common misunderstanding: under Section 3 Teras, an individual paying another individual generally need not withhold, because the duty to withhold under Section 3 Teras falls mainly on payers that are "companies, juristic partnerships, or other juristic persons."

The "under ฿1,000, no withholding" rule (and the recurring-contract exception)

Under Revenue Department practice (clause 12/7 of Departmental Order Tor.Por. 4/2528, issued under Section 3 Teras), if the total amount payable under a contract is under ฿1,000, the payer has no duty to withhold.

But a frequently-missed exception: for a recurring contract paid in instalments whose total is expected to reach ฿1,000 or more, you must withhold on every instalment even if each one is under ฿1,000. For example, internet at ฿400/month exceeds ฿1,000 over the year, so you withhold every month.

PND.3 vs PND.53: what is the difference?

Both forms remit withholding tax under Section 3 Teras; they differ by the type of recipient:

• PND.3 — used when the payee is an individual (e.g. a freelancer or private person) for income such as rent, subcontracting, services, contract work, advertising, and transport.
• PND.53 — used when the payee is a juristic person (company/partnership) for the same income types.

Note: salary/wages and commission paid to an individual use PND.1, while dividends/interest paid to an individual use PND.2 — different forms from 3/53.

What is the 50 Tawi certificate, and how does it relate?

Each time tax is withheld, the payer must issue a withholding-tax certificate (the "50 Tawi" certificate under Section 50 Bis of the Revenue Code) to the recipient as proof that tax was withheld and remitted. This is the document the recipient uses to claim a credit when filing the annual return.

How the withheld party gets it back (the PND.90/91 credit)

Withheld tax does not vanish — it is prepaid tax. An individual recipient totals their 50 Tawi certificates for the year and enters the amount on PND.90 (multiple income types, not salary only) or PND.91 (salary only) to offset their full-year tax.

• If more was withheld than the tax actually due → you can claim the excess as a refund.
• If less was withheld → you pay only the difference.

(Juristic persons follow the same principle, crediting on PND.50/51.)

Common mistakes

• Applying 3% to everything — rent is 5%, advertising 2%, transport 1%, not 3% across the board.
• Withholding 3% on commission to an individual — it should be the progressive rate via PND.1 (Sections 40(2)/50(1)), not a flat 3%.
• Forgetting the ฿1,000 rule on recurring contracts — each instalment is under ฿1,000 but the contract total exceeds it, so you must withhold.
• Swapping PND.3 and 53 — look at the payee: individual = 3, juristic = 53.
• Not issuing the 50 Tawi, or issuing it late — the recipient cannot claim the credit, and the payer is at fault.

Issue 50 Tawi and auto-calculate withholding tax with BillsOS

Remembering every rate from 1% to 5% and still picking the right PND form is easy to get wrong. BillsOS helps freelancers and small businesses issue invoices and receipts with a PromptPay QR, and auto-calculates withholding tax while issuing the 50 Tawi certificate in a few clicks — reducing rate and form errors.

• See how to issue the 50 Tawi document: 50 Tawi guide
• All-in-one tax-invoice software: Tax-invoice software

BillsOS is a document-creation tool; it does not file taxes or provide tax advice in place of an accountant.

Sources / Sources

• Primary (Revenue Department):
  • Revenue Department — withholding under Section 3 Teras
  • Revenue Department — withholding guide (PND.3 & PND.53) [PDF]
  • Revenue Department — Section 50 Bis (50 Tawi) certificates
  • Departmental Order Tor.Por. 4/2528 (under Section 3 Teras) — the ฿1,000 rule, clause 12/7
• Secondary (accounting/tax references):
  • iTAX pedia — withholding income tax
  • FlowAccount — what PND.3 / PND.53 are
  • PEAK — withholding on prizes

This document is for general understanding and is not case-specific tax advice. Questions? Contact support@billsos.com.