What's The Average Thai Salary?

[Mosha]

Sorry if this link has been posted here. I got tired of reading every page.

http://www.boi.go.th/english/how/labor_costs.asp

Also gives minimum wage by location.

[zink]

Was reported last year that only 2.4% of Thais pay tax on their earnings.

The tax threshold is usually around 150,000thb p/a. 12,500thb p/m.

So 97.6% of Thais report their salaries to be less than that.

The real tax threshold is at least 240,000 thb per year, or 20,000 thb per month.

[hehehoho]

Was reported last year that only 2.4% of Thais pay tax on their earnings.

The tax threshold is usually around 150,000thb p/a. 12,500thb p/m.

So 97.6% of Thais report their salaries to be less than that.

The real tax threshold is at least 240,000 thb per year, or 20,000 thb per month.

You need to inform the Thai government.

They say personal earnings up to 150,000thb are exempt from PIT. Tax begins at 10% on earnings 150,001thb.

http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6045.0.html

[longstebe]

Though I think it's a rude question to ask, I once spoke with a Thai airline employee and she made out she was earning between 12-15000 Baht per month. This was going back about 5 years ago.

[Thakkar]

Though I think it's a rude question to ask, I once spoke with a Thai airline employee and she made out she was earning between 12-15000 Baht per month. This was going back about 5 years ago.

Surprisingly, I've found that it isn't rude. I have been shocked at how matter-of-factly people here talk about each other' salaries.

T

[SteeleJoe]

Though I think it's a rude question to ask, I once spoke with a Thai airline employee and she made out she was earning between 12-15000 Baht per month. This was going back about 5 years ago.

Surprisingly, I've found that it isn't rude. I have been shocked at how matter-of-factly people here talk about each other' salaries.

T

I have always found it quite common (though admittedly even more so when they are speaking to Farang) and it's frequently part of the process Thais so often routinely go through to determine relative position i the all pervasive and extremely important social hierarchy.

But interestingly if you ask a Thai whether its OK to ask, I believe most will say it isn't.

[soomak]

Was reported last year that only 2.4% of Thais pay tax on their earnings.

The tax threshold is usually around 150,000thb p/a. 12,500thb p/m.

So 97.6% of Thais report their salaries to be less than that.

The real tax threshold is at least 240,000 thb per year, or 20,000 thb per month.

You need to inform the Thai government.

They say personal earnings up to 150,000thb are exempt from PIT. Tax begins at 10% on earnings 150,001thb.

http://www.rd.go.th/...ish/6045.0.html

If you read the whole page, you can see there are many deductions and exemptions, so the real tax threshold is much higher than 150,000 baht per year.

[hehehoho]

Not to those who don't qualify for deductions and exemptions.

So no, it isn't.

[thaiIand]

All working class jobs, e.g. taxi driver, waitress, etc = THB 6000 - 10000

Waitresses at international hotels get a proportion of the service charge added to their wages and can often earn up to 15,000. On top of that, they get a share of the daily tips.

Taxi drivers can easily earn more than 10,000.

Food sellers in prime locations can earn as much as 30,000 per month, although (obviously) this is not all profit.

And then there are all the occupations which we're not supposed to discuss. Prostitutes and massage parlour employess (especially those which service Thai businessmen) can earn a fortune. Money lenders do well. Snooker hustlers do well. I've even heard of a man who works as a professional beggar and now owns his own house.

Some of these people out there earn a fair bit more than many foreigners realize.

try 100 000+

lol.

30 000 is profit for a small bbq stick vendor in an AVERAGE location.

[StreetCowboy]

Was reported last year that only 2.4% of Thais pay tax on their earnings.

The tax threshold is usually around 150,000thb p/a. 12,500thb p/m.

So 97.6% of Thais report their salaries to be less than that.

The real tax threshold is at least 240,000 thb per year, or 20,000 thb per month.

You need to inform the Thai government.

They say personal earnings up to 150,000thb are exempt from PIT. Tax begins at 10% on earnings 150,001thb.

http://www.rd.go.th/...ish/6045.0.html

However, an exemption of 40% of your salary is allowed, up to a maximum of 60,000, and there is a personal allowance of 30,000, so someone who was earning 240,000 baht of salary could deduct 60,000 salaries allowance, 30,000 personal allowance, and then pay 0% on the first 150,000 baht. THey could also deduct their spouse's allowance (30,000) and 15,000 for each child... 2,000 education allowance per chld, mortgage interest etc. (this based on my tax calc spreadsheet - might not be up to date)

The education allowance was nice, but did not go a long way against the million baht or so in school fees, which were taxed at 37%

SC

[wintermute]

The filthy rich in Thailand don't pay taxes since the country is run on crony capitalism. It's still an export orientated economy that relies on government concessions and high tariff driven monopolies given to well connected families. Domestic development of brands and competitive industry is weak. Name some competitive international Thai brands that don't rely on some aggro (agriculture or commodity) monopoly to exist. (crickets chirp) Most of the industrial "growth" is through piggybacking off multinational expansion in the developing world but yet that's the single largest contributor to the overall GDP. A lot of the holdings of the wealthy are also calculated through real estate holdings etc.. which SE Asia (and China) is going through a huge investment bubble at the moment.

Let's just put it this way, a lot of the money is still concentrated in the hands of the very very few. Thailand's gini coefficient is comparable with the U.S. but at least in the U.S. the GDP is so huge that even with a lot of the wealth concentrated with the rich there's still a large middle class. In Thailand the filthy rich essentially soak up all the capital and stifle Thai competitive development.

This the oldest story in SE Asia and why the only truly developed economy is the tiny city state of Singapore.

Edited August 30, 2011 by wintermute

[thaicbr]

But judging from those numbers we have seen, we can conclude that the average English teacher on a 25-35K salary is middle class in Thai terms....

Whoa, let's not jump the gun. Middle class income doesn't = middle class. Remember that a lot of these folks are effectively homeless and aren't really allowed to even live here. It's questionable whether the 'average' English teacher is even under a legal contract. Perhaps migrant worker class would be more apt? There are migrant workers getting paid $100 a day to pick apples and oranges in the US, but would we call them middle class?

If you have a work permit and pay tax here then you are allowed to live here....doh

[thaicbr]

Was reported last year that only 2.4% of Thais pay tax on their earnings.

The tax threshold is usually around 150,000thb p/a. 12,500thb p/m.

So 97.6% of Thais report their salaries to be less than that.

The real tax threshold is at least 240,000 thb per year, or 20,000 thb per month.

You need to inform the Thai government.

They say personal earnings up to 150,000thb are exempt from PIT. Tax begins at 10% on earnings 150,001thb.

http://www.rd.go.th/...ish/6045.0.html

However, an exemption of 40% of your salary is allowed, up to a maximum of 60,000, and there is a personal allowance of 30,000, so someone who was earning 240,000 baht of salary could deduct 60,000 salaries allowance, 30,000 personal allowance, and then pay 0% on the first 150,000 baht. THey could also deduct their spouse's allowance (30,000) and 15,000 for each child... 2,000 education allowance per chld, mortgage interest etc. (this based on my tax calc spreadsheet - might not be up to date)

The education allowance was nice, but did not go a long way against the million baht or so in school fees, which were taxed at 37%

SC

a million baht in school fees in one year....jeez how many kids have you got?

[Heng]

But judging from those numbers we have seen, we can conclude that the average English teacher on a 25-35K salary is middle class in Thai terms....

Whoa, let's not jump the gun. Middle class income doesn't = middle class. Remember that a lot of these folks are effectively homeless and aren't really allowed to even live here. It's questionable whether the 'average' English teacher is even under a legal contract. Perhaps migrant worker class would be more apt? There are migrant workers getting paid $100 a day to pick apples and oranges in the US, but would we call them middle class?

If you have a work permit and pay tax here then you are allowed to live here....doh

Just IMO, but those folks are in the minority. Same for the masses of scuba instructors.

[StreetCowboy]

...

However, an exemption of 40% of your salary is allowed, up to a maximum of 60,000, and there is a personal allowance of 30,000, so someone who was earning 240,000 baht of salary could deduct 60,000 salaries allowance, 30,000 personal allowance, and then pay 0% on the first 150,000 baht. THey could also deduct their spouse's allowance (30,000) and 15,000 for each child... 2,000 education allowance per chld, mortgage interest etc. (this based on my tax calc spreadsheet - might not be up to date)

The education allowance was nice, but did not go a long way against the million baht or so in school fees, which were taxed at 37%

SC

a million baht in school fees in one year....jeez how many kids have you got?

I take it you don't send your kids to international school, then?

The basic fees make up I think about 70% of this, and the remainder is school trips, extracurricular activities, and sundries.

The fees I pay are a bit more than what I would pay in the UK, if I could afford it, but less than the cost of boarding there.

Anyway, I shouldn't grumble; your children's future is probably a better investment than any other, and certainly better than relying on strangers' children (future taxpayers) for your pension

SC

[IanForbes]

I take it you don't send your kids to international school, then?

The basic fees make up I think about 70% of this, and the remainder is school trips, extracurricular activities, and sundries.

The fees I pay are a bit more than what I would pay in the UK, if I could afford it, but less than the cost of boarding there.

Anyway, I shouldn't grumble; your children's future is probably a better investment than any other, and certainly better than relying on strangers' children (future taxpayers) for your pension

SC

I have to agree with you there..The single most important thing in the world today is providing a good education and open ended opportunities for our children. Very litte else really matters but our children and their future. They are the ones who will develope the world in the future. Making a bank full of money isn't worth shit if your children turn out to be losers.

[andrewbkk]

The education allowance was nice, but did not go a long way against the million baht or so in school fees

a million baht in school fees in one year....jeez how many kids have you got?

I enquired about this at Harrow about 3 years ago. The enrolment fee (non-refundable) was 150,000 Baht.

Thereafter, fees were 150,000 Baht per term.

If you plan on sending your children to a top-ranking international school, it will cost a lot.

[soomak]

Not to those who don't qualify for deductions and exemptions.

So no, it isn't.

Every Thai citizen qualifies. Read it again.

- 40% deduction up tp 60,000 baht.

- Personal allowance for the employee + for the wife/husband + for the kids + for parents over 60.

My gf earns 31,000 baht a month, and she doesn't pay any income tax.

Someone said in this thread that only 2.5% of the Thais pay income tax. That's probably pretty accurate.

[johna]

You would be better of asking what is the median salary.

If Bill Gates walked into a homeless shelter containing 40 people their average worth would be 1 Billion dollars, but all you really have is 1 Billionaire and 40 homeless people.

[IanForbes]

You would be better of asking what is the median salary.

If Bill Gates walked into a homeless shelter containing 40 people their average worth would be 1 Billion dollars, but all you really have is 1 Billionaire and 40 homeless people.

Point well taken. That is why statistics are for losers. If you have one foot in boiling water and the other in ice water then the average says you should be comfortable. After checking with a LOT of average Thai people they seem to earn about 200 baht per day. That goes for the clerks, cooks and mechanics you see working around town.

[Tarric]

All working class jobs, e.g. taxi driver, waitress, etc = THB 6000 - 10000

Waitresses at international hotels get a proportion of the service charge added to their wages and can often earn up to 15,000. On top of that, they get a share of the daily tips.

Taxi drivers can easily earn more than 10,000.

Food sellers in prime locations can earn as much as 30,000 per month, although (obviously) this is not all profit.

And then there are all the occupations which we're not supposed to discuss. Prostitutes and massage parlour employess (especially those which service Thai businessmen) can earn a fortune. Money lenders do well. Snooker hustlers do well. I've even heard of a man who works as a professional beggar and now owns his own house.

Some of these people out there earn a fair bit more than many foreigners realize.

try 100 000+

lol.

30 000 is profit for a small bbq stick vendor in an AVERAGE location.

Indeed, the guy who sells Chicken, Rice and Soup out the front of my mothers drive way makes easy that and then some in profit. Although having a 30 storey office building entry/exit 20 metres away probably helps a great deal. My mothers maid's brother makes 10k profit per month just selling popcorn out the front of my driveway only on weekends. So needless to say street vendors in a good location can make a lot of money. The Chicken rice guy as we call him bought a new Toyota Hilux dual cab fully optioned with cash, so I think he's doing pretty well for himself.

Just because they dress like they are quite poor doesnt mean they are, I guarantee the Chicken Rice guy makes more money than many of us do even back in the West.

[thaiIand]

Yes. We own a restaurant(well owned, just sold) it's on an overcrownded street with too many restaurant and a huge food's market. First month we were in profits and we do have to pay: 15k rent, 15k second cook, 9k 1 helper and 2 8k helpers. We only sell a few basic stuff that could be found into small stands(granted it taste 10x better and its 10x healthier since its our own recipe with nothing that gives cancer but thais dont really seem to care)

before we sold it our cut was 50k to 100k baht per month on nothing more than a sort of somtam and soup stand put into a nice shophouse. There's 5 people selling somtam around us (none selling the same soup)

Can you imagine someone with a cart or whatever at one of the main food markets of thailand?

We had a bbq stick seller before, outside the food market. 30k per month

the woman who makes pancakes on a small cart next to family mart has a 5br house in phuket. (7mb minimum)

the woman who owns a few dvd rental spots has a brand new top of the line mercedes, a 10mb house, a peugeot and a couple expensive imported suvs)

the chicken and rice guy(one of the 4 who sells it) had enough loose $ to gamble away a few Million bahts.

could go on and on forever

[kerryk]

Yes. We own a restaurant(well owned, just sold) it's on an overcrownded street with too many restaurant and a huge food's market. First month we were in profits and we do have to pay: 15k rent, 15k second cook, 9k 1 helper and 2 8k helpers. We only sell a few basic stuff that could be found into small stands(granted it taste 10x better and its 10x healthier since its our own recipe with nothing that gives cancer but thais dont really seem to care)

before we sold it our cut was 50k to 100k baht per month on nothing more than a sort of somtam and soup stand put into a nice shophouse. There's 5 people selling somtam around us (none selling the same soup)

Can you imagine someone with a cart or whatever at one of the main food markets of thailand?

We had a bbq stick seller before, outside the food market. 30k per month

the woman who makes pancakes on a small cart next to family mart has a 5br house in phuket. (7mb minimum)

the woman who owns a few dvd rental spots has a brand new top of the line mercedes, a 10mb house, a peugeot and a couple expensive imported suvs)

the chicken and rice guy(one of the 4 who sells it) had enough loose $ to gamble away a few Million bahts.

could go on and on forever

Good point. Google grey or black market economy and one discovers 50 to 70% of the Thai economy is off the books. So, any wage information will be 50 to 70% guess.

[thaiIand]

Yes on the street only 1 restaurant is 'legal'.. The inspectors comes every few months but he starts eating and forgets to do his rounds then after.. too much work i guess

[driedmango]

I haven't seen anyone mention about if they include all the "cash" transaction in Thailand, bustling markets and food stalls EVERYWHERE, people with 2 jobs and tehn on sunday night go sell some handy crafts.

Like the girl that worked at my guesthouse, she works at the guesthouse and when not busy she sews these little diary things together that i guess are ordred faster than she can make them, on Sunday she has a little stand on walking street...

All I know is there isn't to many idle people in Thailand, like there is my Country where people can't find anything to do with their time..

In general, Thailand has a very very strong Economy, it is not based just on total dollar amounts and it is hard for them to travel sometimes on their wages, but at home they get to eat and dress good and can afford life there ..

As we know, the min wage is 300 bhat now right, people can stop BSing now, so if a person works a normal job we know what they have to be making..

It's all realitive but the poverty is much worse in the west, you have people that live on welfare and have no skills, and are depressed and feel useless and hopeless in life .. One thing about this area of the world (thailand) is the strikingly low unemployment and the ability to go open a micro buisness selling tshirts or food or something on the street and hold your head up high..

Some of the western world could take some examples of Thailand about how to not have so many lazy people or places where people want to work but can't..

[muythai2013]

That 6,000 - 8,000 figure sounds about right for the majority. I think if you count the number of motorcycles as opposed to the number of Mercedes, you will see the average wage is lower.

Make no mistake, there are some very, very wealthy folks in Bangkok and plenty of up and coming people as well.

A good friend of mine who has a bachelor's degree AND reads, speaks and WRITES English very well earns between 25,000 and 40,000. He quits jobs after a few years and ends up back at that 25,000 area. It doesn't take long for his salary to start climbing though. His major strength is that he can write well--both gramatically and organizationally.

im so surprised people are saying its bs, are they sure they have been out of the sukhumvit area, like you wrote it is exactly 8000bht to 12000bht, my wifes was an accountant for siam commercial bank, that was the figure she gave me.

she laughed hard when i said someone said 24000bht, have the people seen the apartments in Bangkok out of sukhimvit like in the dingy sois of samut prakhan that you can rent for 2000bht a month and sometimes less.

As an Accountant my wife was on 15000 bht and the job was only paying 12000 but she demanded more in the interview and got it.

15000bht was considered high amongst here friends who all have regular retail or marketing jobs.

their is a reason girls wander around walking st and its not because the average is anywhere near 24000bht.

they can get by on 8000bht surprisenly, but its not easy.

[StefanBBK]

Back to tbe ofiginal question, I would eztimate the avarage at about 20k. Here in Bangkok a bit more, in other parts less.

The norm is not a Mercedes, but a little bike or older pickup.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[muythai2013]

Yes. We own a restaurant(well owned, just sold) it's on an overcrownded street with too many restaurant and a huge food's market. First month we were in profits and we do have to pay: 15k rent, 15k second cook, 9k 1 helper and 2 8k helpers. We only sell a few basic stuff that could be found into small stands(granted it taste 10x better and its 10x healthier since its our own recipe with nothing that gives cancer but thais dont really seem to care)

before we sold it our cut was 50k to 100k baht per month on nothing more than a sort of somtam and soup stand put into a nice shophouse. There's 5 people selling somtam around us (none selling the same soup)

Can you imagine someone with a cart or whatever at one of the main food markets of thailand?

We had a bbq stick seller before, outside the food market. 30k per month

the woman who makes pancakes on a small cart next to family mart has a 5br house in phuket. (7mb minimum)

the woman who owns a few dvd rental spots has a brand new top of the line mercedes, a 10mb house, a peugeot and a couple expensive imported suvs)

the chicken and rice guy(one of the 4 who sells it) had enough loose $ to gamble away a few Million bahts.

could go on and on forever

so what your saying is thai people are all wealthy, okaaay.

[inthepink]

That 6,000 - 8,000 figure sounds about right for the majority. I think if you count the number of motorcycles as opposed to the number of Mercedes, you will see the average wage is lower.

Make no mistake, there are some very, very wealthy folks in Bangkok and plenty of up and coming people as well.

A good friend of mine who has a bachelor's degree AND reads, speaks and WRITES English very well earns between 25,000 and 40,000. He quits jobs after a few years and ends up back at that 25,000 area. It doesn't take long for his salary to start climbing though. His major strength is that he can write well--both gramatically and organizationally.

im so surprised people are saying its bs, are they sure they have been out of the sukhumvit area, like you wrote it is exactly 8000bht to 12000bht, my wifes was an accountant for siam commercial bank, that was the figure she gave me.

she laughed hard when i said someone said 24000bht, have the people seen the apartments in Bangkok out of sukhimvit like in the dingy sois of samut prakhan that you can rent for 2000bht a month and sometimes less.

As an Accountant my wife was on 15000 bht and the job was only paying 12000 but she demanded more in the interview and got it.

15000bht was considered high amongst here friends who all have regular retail or marketing jobs.

their is a reason girls wander around walking st and its not because the average is anywhere near 24000bht.

they can get by on 8000bht surprisenly, but its not easy.

Burmese maids in Chiang Mai are asking, and getting, a minimum of 300 baht a day nowadays, and most of them don't take time off, so I find it hard to believe that 6-8k is anywhere near accurate as an average for Thai people if the jobs they don't want to do are paying 8-9k a month.

I presume your wife was newly qualified on that salary...otherwise it sounds rather low (sounds a bit low in any case)

Edited January 28, 2013 by inthepink

[muythai2013]

That 6,000 - 8,000 figure sounds about right for the majority. I think if you count the number of motorcycles as opposed to the number of Mercedes, you will see the average wage is lower.

Make no mistake, there are some very, very wealthy folks in Bangkok and plenty of up and coming people as well.

A good friend of mine who has a bachelor's degree AND reads, speaks and WRITES English very well earns between 25,000 and 40,000. He quits jobs after a few years and ends up back at that 25,000 area. It doesn't take long for his salary to start climbing though. His major strength is that he can write well--both gramatically and organizationally.

im so surprised people are saying its bs, are they sure they have been out of the sukhumvit area, like you wrote it is exactly 8000bht to 12000bht, my wifes was an accountant for siam commercial bank, that was the figure she gave me.

she laughed hard when i said someone said 24000bht, have the people seen the apartments in Bangkok out of sukhimvit like in the dingy sois of samut prakhan that you can rent for 2000bht a month and sometimes less.

As an Accountant my wife was on 15000 bht and the job was only paying 12000 but she demanded more in the interview and got it.

15000bht was considered high amongst here friends who all have regular retail or marketing jobs.

their is a reason girls wander around walking st and its not because the average is anywhere near 24000bht.

they can get by on 8000bht surprisenly, but its not easy.

Burmese maids in Chiang Mai are asking, and getting, a minimum of 300 baht a day nowadays, and most of them don't take time off, so I find it hard to believe that 6-8k is anywhere near accurate as an average for Thai people if the jobs they don't want to do are paying 8-9k a month.

I presume your wife was newly qualified on that salary...otherwise it sounds rather low (sounds a bit low in any case)

so you think maids are getting that from burma do you.lmfao.

my wife was getting more then the others, they were getting 12000 she was on 15000, i repeat that part because you must have missed in in the post you replied to.

20000bht, thats so far of the mark, im starting to wonder if you have been to thailand at all, have you been around the average thai workers in real world jobs, or are you throwing out a wild guess.