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Who pays the taxes on the purchase/ sale of property in Thailand?


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Before I ask our tin pot small time attorney I wanted to ask what taxes there are on the purchase of land/house. 4 years ago we bought a property (20% down and 80% loan) and we asked our attorney what the tax liability would be at the land office a few days prior to the settlement date. He gave an excuse as if it was too hard to accurately tell us. I was very surprised. Imagine being back in my home country and the attorney cant answer the question like that. Absolutely incompetence. 

 

Back then, in the contract with the seller it was stipulated that we pay all taxes together 50 / 50. But of course the guy refused to abide and we were right at the end and had to give in and pay it all at the land office. Or we pull out of the deal and he keeps our deposit. 

 

This time I want to know what the exact taxes are and who (normally) should be paying them in a purchase/sale agreement. 

 

Actually the old bat that is selling the land/old house we want is asking a very high price and not negotiating down on the price. I fear that she could also refuse to pay any taxes on the day of the transfer at the land office. 

 

Any suggestions how to deal with this issue is appreciated. 
 

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In my case the contract stated who pays the taxes. Usually it is 50:50 but it is up for negotiations. Someone has to pay it or deal isn't entered in the register. But you should not allow for situation where this isn't entered in the contract.

 

I've had a guy who gave me draft contract, but then I wanted to see real figures. He said 50:50 but failed to mention that he had the place under a year and he also split business tax 50:50. I walked away.

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21 hours ago, yeahbutif said:

Lets not get confused there is transfer fee normally 50/50. Of aprasil price not necessarily the price you pay.. about 2%.  Then taxes not a buyer's responsibility.

This is accurate from my experience, unless otherwise agreed on of course 

 

Appraisal is also negotiable ????

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On 11/28/2021 at 11:48 AM, jack71 said:

we asked our attorney what the tax liability would be at the land office a few days prior to the settlement date...

 

...Back then, in the contract with the seller it was stipulated that we pay all taxes together 50 / 50. But of course the guy refused to abide and we were right at the end and had to give in and pay it all at the land office. Or we pull out of the deal and he keeps our deposit. 

 

This time I want to know what the exact taxes are and who (normally) should be paying them in a purchase/sale agreement. 

I never understand why so many people like to complicate simple things. In Thailand there's no need for a lawyer to complete property deals. 

If you want to know exact figures simply take a copy of the chanot to the land office and they'll calculate for you the numbers on the spot. 

The responsibility for paying both transfer fees and taxes is the seller's. However, the land office doesn't care who pays what, so it's basically according to the agreement between buyer and seller. If you sign a contract which states you share these costs and one side decides not to honour the contract - that person is in breach of the contract so you wouldn't have lost your deposit if you were to walk away from the desk back then, but you would have probably had to take the seller to court which might have been a long and costly process. 

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On 11/28/2021 at 5:48 AM, jack71 said:

Any suggestions how to deal with this issue is appreciated. 

Normal procedure is that seller pays taxes - as it's part of seller's taxable profit - and buyer pays stamps and transfer fee; however it can be agreed different in the sales contract.

 

If you know the appraised value from the land office, and status of the property - i.e. how long time the previous owner owned the property, house book and if it was used as private home, or business - then it fairly easy to make a calculation. You can find a tax and transfer fee calculator HERE...????

Edited by khunPer
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Anything to do with transfer costs should be 50/50. Anything to do with personal tax on the sale is nothing to do with the buyer. If it’s being sold within 5 years the seller has extra “income” tax to pay. It’s not income, it’s CGT. I wouldn’t do it any other way and have bought and sold quite a few condos over the years.

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1 hour ago, LukKrueng said:

so you wouldn't have lost your deposit if you were to walk away from the desk back then, but you would have probably had to take the seller to court

so in other words you do lose your deposit!!!  because it will all go to court fees and attorneys

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The taxes and transfer fees are levied on the land department's valuation of the property, not the sales price or the disclosed price.  I bought my condo a few months ago below the land department's value.  They asked the seller if he was sure.  He paid all the taxes and fees.  He also gave them an envelope for having everything ready for us when we walked in at the appointed hour, no queu, no waiting, no disruptions.  I did not pay a deposit and we only drew up a paper contract because one is needed at the bank to certify the funds have been remitted to buy a property.

 

The rates are available on multiple legal websites.

 

 

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48 minutes ago, Hanuman2547 said:

It's a buyer's market right now in Thailand and has been for some time.  I would never put a deposit down in this country in this current climate.  

I agree with you for sure. But bc we need finance I believe the bank needs a signed contract with deposit having been paid. 

 

I cant see a way around this unless we have 2 contracts with the woman. 1 the fake bank contract and the other one say that 100% of funds paid at land office. No way she will go for this. She has already said. 'theres a chinese family who are interested. whoever pays the deposit will get the house first'. She said this 2 months ago and thus I dont believe her. she would not come down on the price then. Only now is she offering price reduction. 

 

 

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1 hour ago, thaibook said:

I did not pay a deposit and we only drew up a paper contract because one is needed at the bank to certify the funds have been remitted to buy a property.

thats correct. Last time we did this several yrs ago the bank needed to see a contract that a deposit had been paid. My question is.... didn't you have to give this to the bank to prove you were proceeding and that a deposit had been paid? If not how did you get around this. you said you didnt pay seller a deposit. 

 

I prefer not to pre pay a deposit as they can play games and pull out and keep the deposit

 

thanks

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14 hours ago, jack71 said:

so in other words you do lose your deposit!!!  because it will all go to court fees and attorneys

Sometimes a letter of intentions would convince the other party to comply with the contract. The OP said he used a lawyer for the contract...

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13 hours ago, jack71 said:

thats correct. Last time we did this several yrs ago the bank needed to see a contract that a deposit had been paid. My question is.... didn't you have to give this to the bank to prove you were proceeding and that a deposit had been paid? If not how did you get around this. you said you didnt pay seller a deposit. 

 

I prefer not to pre pay a deposit as they can play games and pull out and keep the deposit

 

thanks

The bank, Bangkok Bank, said it needed a contract.  There was no mention of it needing a deposit and the contract did not mention a deposit either.  If you do pay a deposit, make sure it is into an escrow account with an independent professional party such as a lawyer with a reputation for handling sales with farang.

 

If/when you decide to sell and repatriate the funds, the Bank of Thailand can always find out if you actually bought the property.  You could pay a deposit and still not buy, a deposit is not proof of purchase - only the registration at the land office is.  

 

 

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