For decades, investors and property developers in Thailand have relied on indirect property transfers as a tax-efficient exit strategy. Rather than selling real estate directly, owners would transfer the shares of the company holding the property. Although the economic outcome remained largely the same, the legal structure created significantly different tax consequences.
Accounting & Legal in Thailand
Thailand's Long-Term Resident (LTR) Visa programme offers one of the few legal pathways through which qualifying foreign investors may acquire residential land in Thailand. Under Section 96 bis of the Land Code, eligible foreigners who invest at least THB 40 million in approved assets may apply to own up to one rai (1,600 square metres) of land for residential purposes.
Thailand’s Land and Building Tax (LBT) regime has entered a new phase. The temporary relief measures and transitional tax reductions that accompanied the implementation of the Land and Building Tax Act B.E. 2562 (2019) have largely concluded, placing property owners, developers, and investors under heightened scrutiny. At the same time, local authorities, particularly the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), have significantly enhanced their assessment capabilities through the use of satellite imagery, geospatial mapping technologies, and artificial intelligence-driven land-use analysis.
