Yellow house book necessary to avoid condo tax

[Lorry]

Since last year, condo owners have to pay a tax.

No tax if you live in your condo. To prove this, you have to be registered in the yellow house book (in January of that year).

 

My district office was very angry when i asked for a yellow housebook. They gave me a long list of things I have to bring them to get a tabien baan.

First requirement that I have to bring them: tabien baan. (Not kidding. The list is in Thai and they ticked off, by hand, what they wanted to give me a tabien baan: first of all, they want a tabien baan)

They were not in the mood to answer questions. I am sure I will have lots of fun with them. 

 

Anyone knows more about the tax situation? Is the tabien baan really necessary?

Edited October 21, 2022 by Lorry

[Orinoco]

just pay the tax. its only a few baht.

[scubascuba3]

Yellow books are too much trouble for many, Pattaya City Hall as an example have a ridiculous list of requirements including dragging 2 Thais to the office who are in a blue book.

 

One reason for being difficult is they are pushing you to an agent who wants circ 5k.

 

I decided not to bother, life is too short. Property tax is very small anyway

[jcmj]

The tax is small if you own a condo in foreign quota, but still have to pay yearly. If it is in a company name condo or house they will charge you 12.5% tax on their appraised value. Been going through this for months now and they sent me a bill for the past 7 years. I guess they can’t go back further. I believe there are 2 types of taxes. The other one was very cheap. This was for a house in Company name and didn’t matter if we are living there or not. As a foreign director you must pay the 12.5% tax.  If it’s in a Thai name I believe it’s only like 1%. 

[nigelforbes]

You may want to point out to the District Office that they are required by law to know details of all foreigners who live in their district along with details of their address, this is one of the key reasons the yellow tabien bahn exists. But there again you may not wish to point that out, it may only make matters worse. FWIW I have the same problem with my district office who sent me away to compile a long list of documents etc. Once I gave them everything they had asked for they said we'll call you for an appointment, that was 8 months ago,

[ubonjoe]

Not visa and extension related. Moved to the Real Estate, Housing, House and Land Ownership forum.

[kennw]

2 hours ago, Orinoco said:

just pay the tax. its only a few baht.

Agree, the tax is small few hundred Baht, avoid the pain in the butt, includes letter from immigration, trip to the umper office with two condo officers, etc. 

[Henryford]

5 minutes ago, kennw said:

Agree, the tax is small few hundred Baht, avoid the pain in the butt, includes letter from immigration, trip to the umper office with two condo officers, etc. 

The tax is very small now and i just pay it. But i suspect, like in the west, they will see this as a cash cow and in the future ramp it up

[Peterw42]

A letter from the condo office would probably be acceptable as proof you are living in the condo, in the absence of a yellow book.

[scubascuba3]

36 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

A letter from the condo office would probably be acceptable as proof you are living in the condo, in the absence of a yellow book.

That won't help you avoid the property tax

[scubascuba3]

43 minutes ago, Henryford said:

The tax is very small now and i just pay it. But i suspect, like in the west, they will see this as a cash cow and in the future ramp it up

When the tax gets big enough it's probably worth the pain of getting the yellow book, now not worth it

[jippytum]

33 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

A letter from the condo office would probably be acceptable as proof you are living in the condo, in the absence of a yellow book.

A letter from condo manager will suffice for immigration but will not be acceptable to exclude you from the property tax. Your name must be registered in the blue property book .Foreign owners are not permitted  in the blue book and a yellow book is required.

I jumped through the many hoops required from City hall to obtain the yellow book but the cost and aggravation was not worth it .

[Robin]

I went through the process of getting a "Yellow Book" a few years ago, since CR immigration told me I should.  

Since then I have not found a single time when it has been needed, or wanted.  I have tried showing ti at SVB Immigration when entering, at local I/O whne doing TM30, 90 dy or normal extensions.  Nobody is interested in even looking at it, nor can anyone tell me why I need this book..

I do not live in a Condo, but in wife's house.

Theoretically, easy enough to get yellow Book, but so much fuss, not worth he effort.

[PFMills]

6 minutes ago, Robin said:

I went through the process of getting a "Yellow Book" a few years ago, since CR immigration told me I should.  

Since then I have not found a single time when it has been needed, or wanted.  I have tried showing ti at SVB Immigration when entering, at local I/O whne doing TM30, 90 dy or normal extensions.  Nobody is interested in even looking at it, nor can anyone tell me why I need this book..

I do not live in a Condo, but in wife's house.

Theoretically, easy enough to get yellow Book, but so much fuss, not worth he effort.

nor can anyone tell me why I need this book..

 

Seems to have been no use whatsoever to you, best you throw it in the bin. Put your waste of time down to experience. Keep smiling

[skatewash]

Judging from the OP you purchased a freehold condominium unit.  When you registered your ownership of the condo unit at the Land Office you should have been given a blue house registration book (tabian bahn).  This blue tabian bahn should list the address but will not have your name entered into it as you are not a Thai citizen.

Your name indicating you reside at your condo can only be entered into a yellow house registration book (tabian bahn for non-Thais).  To obtain your yellow tabian bahn your amphoe is requiring you to present your blue tabian bahn.  

This is not a Catch-22 situation.  You should have received a blue tabian bahn when you registered your condo unit with the Land Office.  You need to show that blue tabian bahn (and any other requirements your amphoe may have) when you apply for your yellow tabian bahn.

If you haven't received your blue tabian bahn you should first talk with your condo juristic person and then you may need to go to the Land Office and have it issued there.

I have had a yellow tabian bahn for years.  Even though I live in my condo unit (and that is the only place I live) I decided not to pursue the property tax exemption.  For me the property tax was a very small amount of money.  As a practical matter it did not seem worth my time to pursue the exemption.

The yellow book has been useful when dealing with the Land Transport Office (in lieu of a Residence Certificate from immigration) and when opening bank accounts it demonstrates place of residence, and is a requirement for getting a pink ID card.  So it has been a convenience, but not a necessity.  If you are finding the process of getting a yellow tabian bahn onerous you might want to consider if it's worth the effort.

Edited October 22, 2022 by skatewash

[scubascuba3]

20 minutes ago, skatewash said:

Judging from the OP you purchased a freehold condominium unit.  When you registered your ownership of the condo unit at the Land Office you should have been given a blue house registration book (tabian bahn).  This blue tabian bahn should list the address but will not have your name entered into it as you are not a Thai citizen.

Your name indicating you reside at your condo can only be entered into a yellow house registration book (tabian bahn for non-Thais).  To obtain your yellow tabian bahn your amphoe is requiring you to present your blue tabian bahn.  

This is not a Catch-22 situation.  You should have received a blue tabian bahn when you registered your condo unit with the Land Office.  You need to show that blue tabian bahn (and any other requirements your amphoe may have) when you apply for your yellow tabian bahn.

If you haven't received your blue tabian bahn you should first talk with your condo juristic person and then you may need to go to the Land Office and have it issued there.

If only it was that simple 

[crazykopite]

A yellow book doesn’t prove that you live there full time it just states that is the address your registered at this year for the first time in 18 years I had to pay property tax of 8,000 baht for the year it’s apparently a new tax based on those of us who live on beach front property The yellow book does have advantages so it’s worth pursuing it you should pay no more than 500 baht for it .

 

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, skatewash said:

Judging from the OP you purchased a freehold condominium unit.  When you registered your ownership of the condo unit at the Land Office you should have been given a blue house registration book (tabian bahn).  This blue tabian bahn should list the address but will not have your name entered into it as you are not a Thai citizen.

Your name indicating you reside at your condo can only be entered into a yellow house registration book (tabian bahn for non-Thais).  To obtain your yellow tabian bahn your amphoe is requiring you to present your blue tabian bahn.  

This is not a Catch-22 situation.  You should have received a blue tabian bahn when you registered your condo unit with the Land Office.  You need to show that blue tabian bahn (and any other requirements your amphoe may have) when you apply for your yellow tabian bahn.

If you haven't received your blue tabian bahn you should first talk with your condo juristic person and then you may need to go to the Land Office and have it issued there.

I have had a yellow tabian bahn for years.  Even though I live in my condo unit (and that is the only place I live) I decided not to pursue the property tax exemption.  For me the property tax was a very small amount of money.  As a practical matter it did not seem worth my time to pursue the exemption.

The yellow book has been useful when dealing with the Land Transport Office (in lieu of a Residence Certificate from immigration) and when opening bank accounts it demonstrates place of residence, and is a requirement for getting a pink ID card.  So it has been a convenience, but not a necessity.  If you are finding the process of getting a yellow tabian bahn onerous you might want to consider if it's worth the effort.

Thx.

Yes, I got the blue housebook from the seller (actually she wasn't aware of it, but I was), and my name is not in it.

So I can present it to the district office.

The other requirements seem manageable.

 

 

I know the tax is not much.

 

I know it exists (from the news), but I have no idea how to pay it.

And I really don't want problems for not paying or paying late.

Edited October 22, 2022 by Lorry

[scubascuba3]

Here are the requirements for Pattaya City Hall

[skatewash]

15 minutes ago, Lorry said:

Thx.

Yes, I got the blue housebook from the seller (actually she wasn't aware of it, but I was), and my name is not in it.

So I can present it to the district office.

The other requirements seem manageable.

 

 

I know the tax is not much.

 

I know it exists (from the news), but I have no idea how to pay it.

And I really don't want problems for not paying or paying late.

My experience is that I receive by mail a property tax bill from my local tessaban office (I believe in other areas it may come from the amphoe office).  Not surprisingly it is only in Thai, but Google Lens does a decent job of translating.  I've been paying this tax for three years.  I take my property tax bill and yellow tabian bahn to my local tessaban office (you may need to visit your amphoe office in your location).  There is a property tax room in the tessiban building in my case.  I go to that room and present my documents, am told what tax is due (also reflected on the documentation), and I pay that amount for which I receive a receipt.

The property tax started out very small as a large portion of it was waived (I believe in recognition of covid).  It was under 100 baht.  I am now paying the full amount, but it is still well under 1,000 baht.  I believe there is a nationwide framework for allowable property tax rates, but each locality is able to decide what the tax rates are for their locality so long as it is permitted under the national framework, that is, doesn't exceed the allowable national property tax rates.  There is a penalty for late payment but is a very small fee based on the amount due.

My experience getting my yellow tabian bahn:  I obtained mine from my local tessaban office (but I understand that in most areas one would have to go to their local amphoe office).  I was handed a printed booklet of requirements.  One of the requirements was having the blue tabian bahn for the property, which I had.  I did not have a lot of issues with translation because many things had been done previously by my developer on my behalf when I registered the ownership of my condo at the Land Office.  I did not have to get anything translated (I understand this is usually not the case) but was able to re-use the information from my Land Office documentation.  Some of what they were interested in is translation of your full name into Thai.  This had been done by my developer when the original Sales & Purchase agreement was written.  They also needed the names of my parents translated into Thai.  I was able to do this myself (using Google search) as there were standard Thai translations for my parent's first names.  Therefore I had no translation issues at my particular tessaban.  I did have to obtain a Residence Certificate from immigration (a bit ironic since I was getting a yellow tabian bahn to be able to skip needing to get Residence Certificates ???? ).

The most onerous requirements was the production of two Thai witnesses who knew me (and they needed to present their Thai National ID cards and blue tabian bahn books).  They had to appear for a formal interview at the Tessaban.  A written transcript was produced of the questions and answers which the witnesses had to sign.  Questions included how long the witnesses had known me.  How they knew where I lived.  My witnesses were people who worked for the developer in the condominium office.  It took several hours for them to appear as witnesses on my behalf.  I was expecting it to be quicker, but they didn't complain (at least to me).  There was no cost to getting the yellow tabian bahn, but I did give my witnesses small gifts in recompense for their time in appearing for me at the tessaban interview.

The process of getting a yellow tabian bahn differs (wildly) depending on your locality.  In some it is relatively easy (as it was in my case), and in some it is seemingly impossible.  You will only find out if you ask your local tessaban/amphoe office.

[skatewash]

20 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Here are the requirements for Pattaya City Hall

More or less the same requirements at my local office in Phuket.  My office was pretty lenient in terms of translations.  I was not required to get my passport translated into Thai (it was in English).  They also used documentation that was used to register my ownership of the condo at the Land Office (which included things like my name and parent's names in Thai).  So, in my case, the translation issues were relatively relaxed.  I was surprised at how formal the interviews of my two witnesses were, felt like a legal proceeding in court. ????

Edited October 22, 2022 by skatewash

[scubascuba3]

21 minutes ago, skatewash said:

More or less the same requirements at my local office in Phuket.  My office was pretty lenient in terms of translations.  I was not required to get my passport translated into Thai (it was in English).  They also used documentation that was used to register my ownership of the condo at the Land Office (which included things like my name and parent's names in Thai).  So, in my case, the translation issues were relatively relaxed.  I was surprised at how formal the interviews of my two witnesses were, felt like a legal proceeding in court. ????

The two witness thing is ridiculous, no way am i wasting their time for a yellow book

[BigStar]

28 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

The two witness thing is ridiculous, no way am i wasting their time for a yellow book

And no doubt they're happy not to waste their time with you. My witnesses, on the other hand, were very kind in offering me their support. We had some nice conversation in the waiting area and at the end I gave them some surprise gifts. Smiles, wais, and happiness all around.

 

Overall I had fun getting mine in Pattaya, joked around w/ all the ladies (gave my phone# to one--still waiting), met the Mayor and his cadres in his swank office overlooking Pattaya Nua, left with smiles and saluted the security guard on the way out, lol.

 

Now I did have go to the USA Embassy in BKK for the certified copy. Luckily I'm one who knows how to enjoy his time in BKK, and so I did. Pleasant memory. Maneerat translator handled the translation and MFA certs, piece o' cake.

 

And I use pink card often, hotel check ins, post office, bank, proof of address, avoiding Certificate of Residence at DLT, and of course not paying condo tax, as I prefer to use that money for other, more worthy purposes.???? OH--lest we soil our knickers--I don't NEED it, but I like the occasional convenience of having it.

 

Point of View is worth 80 IQ points. — Alan Kay
 

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2022 by BigStar

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, skatewash said:

My experience is that I receive by mail a property tax bill

If that's the case, all is well.

In my country nobody will tell you or write to you that you owe taxes.

You are supposed to know it by yourself. 

Very stiff penalties if you don't proactively pay because you don't know. 

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, skatewash said:

The most onerous requirements was the production of two Thai witnesses who knew me

Exactly.

I certainly won't approach any decent Thai person for this ridiculous waste of time (amphoe is far away, it will certainly take a whole day).

Juristic person sounds like a good solution. 

 

1 hour ago, skatewash said:

I was surprised at how formal the interviews of my two witnesses were, felt like a legal proceeding in court.

Good to know, thx.

I wouldn't have thought that.

 

[khunPer]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Here are the requirements for Pattaya City Hall

Normal requirement for Yellow House Book, mine was even more difficult, almost as applying for permanent citizenship but I however didn't need an interview in Thai language – I could use a translator – and I didn't need to sing the national hymn by heart (the staff at tessa ban shall be very happy that I didn't sing...????). Some places the requirements for Thai witnesses is that one shall be a neighbor and one shall be government employed...????
 

[scubascuba3]

10 minutes ago, khunPer said:

Normal requirement for Yellow House Book, mine was even more difficult, almost as applying for permanent citizenship but I however didn't need an interview in Thai language – I could use a translator – and I didn't need to sing the national hymn by heart (the staff at tessa ban shall be very happy that I didn't sing...????). Some places the requirements for Thai witnesses is that one shall be a neighbor and one shall be government employed...????
 

5) other documents showing mother and fathers name, again ridiculous requirement. This is for a poxy yellow book not citizenship 

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, BigStar said:

And no doubt they're happy not to waste their time with you. My witnesses, on the other hand, were very kind in offering me their support. We had some nice conversation in the waiting area and at the end I gave them some surprise gifts. Smiles, wais, and happiness all around.

 

Overall I had fun getting mine in Pattaya, joked around w/ all the ladies (gave my phone# to one--still waiting), met the Mayor and his cadres in his swank office overlooking Pattaya Nua, left with smiles and saluted the security guard on the way out, lol.

 

Now I did have go to the USA Embassy in BKK for the certified copy. Luckily I'm one who knows how to enjoy his time in BKK, and so I did. Pleasant memory. Maneerat translator handled the translation and MFA certs, piece o' cake.

 

And I use pink card often, hotel check ins, post office, bank, proof of address, avoiding Certificate of Residence at DLT, and of course not paying condo tax, as I prefer to use that money for other, more worthy purposes.???? OH--lest we soil our knickers--I don't NEED it, but I like the occasional convenience of having it.

 

Point of View is worth 80 IQ points. — Alan Kay
 

 

 

 

So you were happy to waste your time and your witnesses time and buy them off with gifts, fine, i hope you enjoy the benefit when you renew your driving licence every 5 years, wow 300 baht saved for residence cert

[keithsimmonds]

Using your Pink card at Pattaya DLT (instead of obtaining a Residence Certificate)will result in you not being allowed to drive outside the province of Chonburi.....as told to me 1st hand in August this year....maybe check the small print on the back of your DL?

Edited October 22, 2022 by keithsimmonds

[BigStar]

58 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

So you were happy to waste your time and your witnesses time and buy them off with gifts, fine, i hope you enjoy the benefit when you renew your driving licence every 5 years, wow 300 baht saved for residence cert

As noted, no one considered it a waste of time and I enjoyed myself. Presenting my witnesses with a gift in return for their kindness wasa token of my appreciation that I needn't have given at all, but I'm not ungrateful. Seems you only know P4P--wonder why that is. ????

 

Yep, as noted I enjoy the various benefits as they arise. And I've already used my yellow book to renew my DL, saving me having to gather documents and make that GAWD-AWFUL trip to Immigration we all hate so much, waiting, and perhaps having to come back the next day. I'll take that B300, too. ????

 

You keep plodding along and paying, Up 2 U.

Edited October 22, 2022 by BigStar