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SUMMARY
Property taxes and fees in Chiang Mai follow Thailand’s national rules: there is no special Chiang Mai transfer tax, but the final bill can still vary sharply depending on the buyer, the seller, the official appraised value, and the contract.
The biggest split today is between eligible Thai individual buyers and everyone else. A qualifying Thai buyer can get the temporary 0.01% transfer and mortgage-registration rates on homes within the THB 7 million limits, while a foreign condo buyer normally remains on the standard fee schedule.
The headline 2% transfer fee is only a starting point. It is calculated from the official appraised value, which can be lower than the agreed sale price, and the buyer may pay all, half, or another negotiated share.
Seller-side taxes can be much larger than the transfer fee. Specific Business Tax is effectively 3.3% of the higher of the sale price or appraised value, so a badly worded clause that splits “all taxes and fees” can move a surprisingly large cost onto the buyer.
Specific Business Tax and stamp duty usually do not stack. If SBT is due and paid, the 0.5% stamp duty on the same transfer is generally not added as a second charge.
The seller’s history matters almost as much as the property price. Holding period, residence registration, and whether the seller is an individual or a company can change both Specific Business Tax and withholding tax.
Annual Land and Building Tax is usually modest for normal residential property, and qualifying principal residences can receive substantial exemptions. Vacant land is a different story: the starting rate is much higher and can increase if the land remains unused.
For condo owners, common fees often dwarf the annual government property tax. A normal building fee can run into tens of thousands of baht a year even when the Land and Building Tax bill is only around THB 1,000.
Rental property has its own tax logic. Rental income is taxable, buildings can generally use a 30% standard expense deduction for personal-income-tax purposes, and 5% withholding may apply when certain Thai juristic persons pay rent to an individual landlord.
Foreigners comparing a house lease with a freehold condo should not compare fees alone. A registered long-term lease typically carries a 1% registration fee plus 0.1% stamp duty, but the legal right being acquired is fundamentally different from freehold condominium ownership.
The practical takeaway is simple: there is no reliable single “Chiang Mai closing-cost percentage.” To calculate the real bill, you need the buyer’s nationality, property type, appraised value, sale price, seller’s tax position, mortgage amount, and the exact cost-sharing language in the contract.
Are property taxes in Chiang Mai different from the rest of Thailand?
Chiang Mai property taxes follow Thailand’s national rules, so buyers do not face a special Chiang Mai transfer tax just because the property is in the city.
The Department of Lands applies the same basic transfer-fee system in Chiang Mai as elsewhere in Thailand. Specific Business Tax, stamp duty and withholding tax also come from the national Revenue Code, while Land and Building Tax is set under national legislation and collected locally.
Where Chiang Mai does make a difference is in the numbers plugged into those rules. Official appraised values vary by location, condo common fees vary enormously between buildings, and a city-centre condo can have a very different running cost from a suburban house even when both sell for the same price.
So when we talk about “Chiang Mai property taxes,” we are really dealing with Thai taxes applied to a Chiang Mai property.
| Cost | Who sets the main rule? | Typical calculation base | Chiang Mai-specific rate? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer fee | Department of Lands | Official appraised value | No |
| Mortgage registration | Department of Lands | Mortgage amount | No |
| Specific Business Tax | Revenue Code | Higher of sale price or appraised value | No |
| Stamp duty | Revenue Code | Higher of sale price or appraised value | No |
| Withholding tax | Revenue Code | Depends on seller | No |
| Land and Building Tax | National law, local collection | Official taxable value | No |
| Condo common fees | Individual condominium | Usually unit area | Yes, project by project |
How much is the normal transfer fee when buying property in Chiang Mai?
The normal Chiang Mai property transfer fee is 2% of the official appraised value, and that value can be lower than the price actually paid.
That distinction is easy to miss. If we buy a condo for THB 5 million but the Department of Lands appraises it at THB 4 million, the normal transfer fee comes to THB 80,000 rather than THB 100,000.
Who ultimately pays the THB 80,000 depends on the contract. Resale deals often split the transfer fee between buyer and seller, although there is no reason to assume a 50/50 split until it is written into the agreement.
For a buyer, “the transfer fee is 2%” answers only half the question. We still need the appraised value and the agreed cost split.
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Can Thai buyers still get the 0.01% property-transfer fee?
Yes. Eligible Thai buyers can still pay just 0.01% for both transfer and mortgage registration on qualifying homes, making this one of the biggest current differences between buyers in Chiang Mai.
The latest government extension keeps the reduced rates in place for another year. It covers qualifying houses, condominium units and certain residential or commercial buildings where the sale price and official appraised value are both no more than THB 7 million. For a mortgage to receive the reduced registration rate, the registered mortgage must also stay within the THB 7 million ceiling and be registered with the purchase.
The buyer must be an individual Thai national.
The savings are huge relative to the normal rates. A qualifying THB 5 million property with an appraised value of THB 5 million generates a transfer fee of just THB 500 at 0.01%. At the normal 2% rate, the same calculation gives THB 100,000.
The mortgage difference can be just as large. A THB 4 million mortgage normally produces a 1% registration fee of THB 40,000. Under the current 0.01% measure, that falls to THB 400.
| Amount | Normal rate | Normal fee | Current qualifying rate | Qualifying fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THB 2m transfer | 2% | THB 40,000 | 0.01% | THB 200 |
| THB 5m transfer | 2% | THB 100,000 | 0.01% | THB 500 |
| THB 7m transfer | 2% | THB 140,000 | 0.01% | THB 700 |
| THB 4m mortgage | 1% | THB 40,000 | 0.01% | THB 400 |
| THB 7m mortgage | 1% | THB 70,000 | 0.01% | THB 700 |
Do foreign condo buyers in Chiang Mai get the 0.01% transfer fee?
No. Foreigners buying Chiang Mai condos should budget for the normal transfer fee because the government’s 0.01% housing incentive is restricted to Thai individual buyers.
That nationality rule is especially relevant in Chiang Mai because freehold condominium units are the main form of residential property foreigners can own directly in their own name. Thai condominium law generally limits foreign ownership to 49% of the total saleable area of a registered condominium.
A foreign buyer can legally purchase a foreign-quota condo but will normally miss the fee subsidy available to an eligible Thai buyer.
Take a condo with an official appraised value of THB 5 million. The normal 2% transfer fee is THB 100,000. If the contract splits that fee equally, the foreign buyer would typically contribute THB 50,000. An eligible Thai buyer under the current scheme would face a total government transfer fee of only THB 500 on the same appraised value.
That gap is now too large to ignore when comparing the real closing cost faced by Thai and foreign buyers.
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Which Chiang Mai property taxes are actually paid by the seller?
Specific Business Tax, stamp duty and property-sale withholding tax normally sit on the seller’s side of a Chiang Mai transaction, while the transfer fee is the item most commonly negotiated between both sides.
This distinction saves buyers from adding every Land Office charge to their own budget.
A resale transfer can display several taxes at once, but the buyer does not automatically owe all of them. The purchase contract can shift some economic costs around, though, so we would still check the wording carefully before signing.
The dangerous wording is something broad such as “buyer and seller split all transfer taxes and fees equally.” If Specific Business Tax applies, that clause can expose the buyer to a much larger bill than simply splitting the 2% transfer fee.
| Charge | Normal rate or method | Usually linked to | What buyers should check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer fee | 2% of appraised value | Transaction | Who pays what share |
| Specific Business Tax | 3.3% | Seller | Whether buyer agreed to share it |
| Stamp duty | 0.5% where applicable | Seller | Whether SBT applies instead |
| Withholding tax | Variable | Seller | Seller type and ownership history |
| Mortgage registration | Normally 1% | Buyer/borrower | Whether reduced rate applies |
How expensive is Thailand’s 3.3% Specific Business Tax on a Chiang Mai sale?
Thailand’s 3.3% Specific Business Tax can easily become the biggest tax charged when a Chiang Mai property changes hands.
The Revenue Department calculates it as 3% Specific Business Tax plus a local tax equal to 10% of the SBT itself, giving an effective rate of 3.3%.
The tax base is the higher of the declared sale price and official appraised value. That can make the bill much bigger than the transfer fee even before we compare the percentages.
Suppose a condo sells for THB 5 million while its official appraised value is THB 4 million. The normal 2% transfer fee uses THB 4 million, giving THB 80,000. Specific Business Tax, if applicable, uses the higher THB 5 million figure and comes to THB 165,000.
That is more than twice the transfer fee in the same sale.
Specific Business Tax does not apply to every resale. The seller’s ownership period, use of the property and legal status can change the result, so it has to be calculated from the seller’s actual circumstances rather than simply added to every Chiang Mai transaction.
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Does owning a Chiang Mai property for five years reduce the tax when selling?
Often, yes. A private seller who has owned a Chiang Mai property long enough may avoid Specific Business Tax, but the familiar “five-year rule” is only part of the test.
Thailand’s tax rules contain exemptions for certain transfers by individual owners. Length of ownership is important, and residence registration can also affect whether a sale falls outside the Specific Business Tax regime.
This can change a resale negotiation by hundreds of thousands of baht.
If two THB 6 million condos have identical selling prices but one seller owes 3.3% Specific Business Tax and the other qualifies for an exemption, the potential SBT difference alone is THB 198,000 before we even look at withholding tax.
That is why we would never agree to share “all seller taxes” without first checking the seller’s holding period and whether the sale actually triggers SBT.
Do sellers pay both 3.3% Specific Business Tax and 0.5% stamp duty?
Usually no. A Chiang Mai property sale that pays Specific Business Tax is generally exempt from the 0.5% stamp duty charged on the same transfer.
The Revenue Department states that stamp duty on this type of property transfer is THB 1 for every THB 200, which works out to 0.5%. Its calculation uses the higher of the sale price and appraised value.
Where Specific Business Tax is due and paid, the corresponding stamp duty is not normally added on top.
The difference is sizeable. On a THB 5 million base, stamp duty comes to THB 25,000 while Specific Business Tax comes to THB 165,000. Adding both would overstate the seller’s tax by THB 25,000.
The same THB 5 million sale can therefore produce very different closing costs depending on the seller’s tax position rather than the property price alone.
| Tax base | 0.5% stamp duty | 3.3% Specific Business Tax |
|---|---|---|
| THB 2m | THB 10,000 | THB 66,000 |
| THB 3m | THB 15,000 | THB 99,000 |
| THB 5m | THB 25,000 | THB 165,000 |
| THB 7m | THB 35,000 | THB 231,000 |
| THB 10m | THB 50,000 | THB 330,000 |
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Is withholding tax on a Chiang Mai property sale always 1%?
No. The 1% property-sale withholding rate applies to corporate sellers, while individual sellers face a different calculation.
According to the Revenue Department, when a company or juristic partnership sells property, withholding is 1% of whichever is higher between the actual selling price and the Department of Lands appraised value.
For individuals, the Land Office calculation is more involved. It starts with the official appraised value, applies statutory deductions linked to how the property was acquired and how long it was owned, and then calculates tax under the relevant personal-income-tax rules.
The holding period is counted by calendar year for this calculation, with part of a year treated as a full year and a maximum of ten years used.
That is why an online calculator saying “withholding tax = 1%” can be badly wrong for a private owner selling a condo or house in Chiang Mai.
How much annual property tax do homeowners pay in Chiang Mai?
Annual Land and Building Tax on an ordinary Chiang Mai home is usually tiny compared with the purchase price, and many qualifying owner-occupied homes pay nothing at all.
Thailand’s residential Land and Building Tax rates start at very low levels. The published residential schedule begins around 0.02% for properties within the lower valuation bands.
Principal residences can receive much larger relief. An individual who owns both the land and building, lives there and is properly registered there can receive an exemption on up to THB 50 million of taxable value. Where the person owns the building but not the underlying land, the corresponding threshold is up to THB 10 million.
Investment homes and second homes do not receive the same principal-residence exemption.
Even then, the starting rate remains small. At a simple 0.02%, THB 5 million of taxable residential value produces THB 1,000 a year. THB 10 million produces THB 2,000 before considering the precise statutory bands.
For most normal Chiang Mai apartments and houses, annual property tax is one of the smaller ownership costs.
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Is vacant land in Chiang Mai taxed much more heavily than a home?
Yes. Holding unused Chiang Mai land can create a far higher annual property-tax bill than owning residential property of the same taxable value.
Thailand’s Land and Building Tax deliberately charges vacant or other non-residential land at much higher starting rates. The published framework begins around 0.3% for the lower band of this category, compared with roughly 0.02% for ordinary residential property.
The gap is about fifteen times at those starting rates.
On THB 5 million of taxable value, a simple 0.02% residential calculation gives THB 1,000 a year. At 0.3%, the same THB 5 million produces THB 15,000.
Vacant-land rates can also increase when land remains unused over time, subject to the legal ceiling.
That makes annual property tax much more relevant for someone holding a Chiang Mai land parcel for appreciation than for someone owning a normal condo.
What costs more in a Chiang Mai condo: property tax or common fees?
For many Chiang Mai condo owners, common fees cost far more each year than the government property tax.
A condominium’s juristic person charges co-owners for security, cleaning, lifts, pools, gardens and other shared expenses. The amount varies by project and is commonly quoted per square metre per month.
Consider a 40-square-metre condo paying THB 50 per square metre monthly. Common fees reach THB 24,000 a year. If that same investment property generated around THB 1,000 of Land and Building Tax, the building fee would be 24 times larger.
A more expensive development charging THB 70 per square metre would cost the same 40-square-metre owner THB 33,600 annually.
Buyers also need to check the sinking fund. New projects commonly charge an upfront contribution per square metre to build a reserve for major repairs. In older projects, we care more about how much money is left in that reserve and whether owners are facing a special assessment for lifts, roofs, façades or other large jobs.
For a condo investor in Chiang Mai, the health of the building’s finances can affect net returns much more than the annual residential tax.
| Condo example | Common fee | Monthly cost | Annual common fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 sqm | THB 40/sqm | THB 1,200 | THB 14,400 |
| 35 sqm | THB 50/sqm | THB 1,750 | THB 21,000 |
| 40 sqm | THB 50/sqm | THB 2,000 | THB 24,000 |
| 50 sqm | THB 60/sqm | THB 3,000 | THB 36,000 |
| 70 sqm | THB 70/sqm | THB 4,900 | THB 58,800 |
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What tax do Chiang Mai landlords pay on rental income?
Chiang Mai rental income is taxable in Thailand, and for a successful rental property the income-tax bill can matter far more than the annual property tax.
Rental income falls within Thailand’s personal-income-tax system. For buildings, individual landlords can generally use a standard 30% expense deduction or, where the rules permit, claim qualifying actual expenses instead.
Withholding can appear as well. When certain Thai companies or juristic persons pay rent to an individual landlord, the Revenue Department generally requires 5% withholding. That withheld amount normally works as a credit against the landlord’s eventual income-tax liability rather than becoming a separate 5% property tax.
Take a condo renting for THB 25,000 a month. Gross annual rent is THB 300,000. We cannot calculate the landlord’s final income tax by simply multiplying THB 300,000 by 5%, because deductions, allowances and the owner’s wider taxable income affect the final amount.
Ordinary rental of immovable property is generally exempt from VAT, which also keeps long-term residential letting different from many normal business activities.
For a buy-to-let investor, this is the recurring tax worth modelling carefully.
What fees does a foreigner pay for a long-term house lease in Chiang Mai?
A foreigner registering a long-term Chiang Mai property lease generally pays around 1% in lease-registration fees plus 0.1% stamp duty on the total registered rent and relevant upfront consideration.
This route comes up frequently because foreigners generally cannot own Thai land directly in the same way they can own a foreign-quota condominium unit.
According to Department of Lands guidance, registration of an immovable-property lease attracts a 1% fee based on the total rent for the registered term, including relevant upfront consideration or key money. Stamp duty is charged at another 0.1%.
If a lease represents THB 6 million of total contractual rent and upfront consideration, the simple calculation gives THB 60,000 in registration fees and THB 6,000 in stamp duty.
The fee percentage can look attractive beside the costs of a freehold purchase, but the legal position is different because the foreign buyer has acquired lease rights rather than ownership of the underlying land.
When comparing a Chiang Mai house with a foreign-freehold condo, we would therefore compare the rights being acquired alongside the fees.
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How much should a buyer budget for Chiang Mai property taxes and closing fees?
A Chiang Mai buyer can end up paying well below 1% or several percent on top of the purchase price, so there is no useful single closing-cost percentage that works for everyone.
The cheapest case today is an eligible Thai individual buying a qualifying property under THB 7 million and receiving the current 0.01% transfer-fee reduction. Government transfer costs can become almost negligible.
A foreign condo buyer normally sits much closer to the standard regime. If the official appraised value is THB 5 million, the normal transfer fee is THB 100,000. A 50/50 split would put THB 50,000 on the buyer before legal work, banking costs, condo adjustments and any other agreed expenses.
Seller taxes can push the overall transaction cost much higher, particularly if 3.3% Specific Business Tax applies. Whether any of that lands economically on the buyer depends on the contract.
Recurring costs tell a different story. Residential Land and Building Tax is usually low, while condo common fees, repairs and rental-income tax can easily become the larger expenses.
The practical answer is clear: Chiang Mai is not a special tax jurisdiction inside Thailand, but buyers can still miscalculate closing costs badly if they use one headline percentage. We need the buyer’s nationality, property type, official appraised value, agreed sale price, seller’s ownership history and the exact cost-sharing clause before the real bill becomes clear.
OUR METHODOLOGY
This analysis explains what property taxes and transaction fees apply to a Chiang Mai property by separating the charges that arise at purchase, sale, ownership, rental and long-term lease registration. Because Chiang Mai follows Thailand’s national framework, we focused on the rules that actually determine the amount paid rather than trying to estimate one citywide closing-cost percentage.
For each charge, we separated four things: the legal rate, the value used for the calculation, the conditions that make the charge apply or disappear, and the party that normally bears it. This is especially important for transfer fees, Specific Business Tax, stamp duty and withholding tax, where the same property price can produce very different bills depending on the seller and the contract.
Temporary measures were treated separately from the normal rules. The current 0.01% transfer and mortgage-registration incentive was checked against the Thai government’s latest extension, including the THB 7 million ceilings and the requirement that the buyer be an individual Thai national.
Official property values were treated as a separate input from the negotiated sale price. Where the law uses the Department of Lands or Treasury Department appraised value, we used that base in the examples; where the rule uses the higher of the sale price and appraised value, we applied the higher figure instead.
The numerical examples are controlled comparisons, not estimates of an “average” Chiang Mai deal. They are there to show how changing one factor — nationality, appraised value, seller status, holding period, mortgage amount or property use — changes the resulting fee or tax.
We prioritized first-hand Thai sources. Key sources include the Thai government’s notice on the current 0.01% transfer and mortgage measure, the Department of Lands fee and registration guidance, the Treasury Department’s official property-valuation system, Revenue Department guidance on property-sale taxes, the Revenue Department stamp-duty schedule, and the Land and Building Tax Act in the Royal Gazette.
For annual ownership and rental taxation, we also used Fiscal Policy Office guidance on residential and vacant-land tax bands and Revenue Department material on rental-income deductions, withholding and VAT treatment. We gave the most weight to current government material for time-sensitive measures and to the underlying legislation or department guidance for structural rules.
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