Costs, itemised
Nobody publishes the whole bill in one place. The transfer fee is on one site, the sinking fund on another, the currency spread on none of them, and the answer to who actually pays each line is buried in a forum thread from 2019. This is all of it: the statutory rate, who is legally liable, and the catch on every line.
Updated for 2026 using the statutory rates in force. Rates change, and reduced-rate transfer measures are introduced periodically in Thailand — in recent years restricted by nationality and by a property value cap — so check whether one applies on your own transfer date. General information, not tax advice.
| Cost | Typical rate | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| Reservation deposit | THB 100,000-200,000 typically | Buyer |
| Takes the unit off the market for a stated period. Ask in writing whether it is refundable and under what conditions before you send it. The answer varies by developer, and this is usually the least negotiable moment in the whole process. | ||
| Legal and conveyancing | THB 30,000-80,000 for a straightforward condominium | Buyer |
| Optional in the sense that nobody makes you, and unwise in every other sense. Your lawyer is checking the title, the foreign quota position and the contract, none of which the developer's paperwork is written to check on your behalf. | ||
| Currency transfer | 0.5-3% of the purchase price, depending entirely on who you use | Buyer |
| The most-overlooked line here. A high-street bank's spread on a six-figure transfer routinely costs more than the transfer fee and the legal bill combined, and unlike them it is almost entirely avoidable. | ||
| FET form / credit advice | Usually free; occasionally a small bank charge | Buyer |
| Not a cost so much as a document, but it belongs on the list because it is the one piece of paper that cannot be produced retrospectively. Funds must arrive from abroad in foreign currency and be converted in Thailand, with the purpose stated. Without it, registering foreign freehold ownership — and later sending the sale proceeds home — becomes a problem. | ||
| Cost | Typical rate | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer fee | 2% of the appraised value | Either party; split 50/50 by custom |
| Charged on the government appraised value, not your purchase price, and the appraised value is usually the lower of the two. On a new build the developer often covers or splits it — get which it is in writing before you pay a reservation deposit, not after. | ||
| Stamp duty | 0.5% of the higher of appraised or declared value | Seller |
| Only applies when specific business tax does not. You will pay one or the other, never both. | ||
| Specific business tax | 3.3% of the higher of appraised or declared value | Seller |
| Applies when the seller has owned the unit less than five years, which is nearly always true of a developer. It replaces stamp duty and it is more than six times the size, so it matters a great deal who absorbs it in a resale negotiation. | ||
| Withholding tax | About 1% for a company seller; a progressive scale for an individual | Seller |
| The 1% figure quoted everywhere is the company rate. An individual seller is assessed on a progressive scale by ownership period, so a resale from a private owner will not match it. | ||
Numbers move with the appraised value, the seller's ownership period and who you use to move the money, so treat this as the shape of the bill rather than a quote. It assumes a 60 sqm unit, the transfer fee split down the middle, and a currency transfer at 1%.
| Purchase price | THB 5,000,000 |
| Appraised value the taxes are charged on | about THB 4,250,000 |
| Transfer fee, buyer's half | THB 42,500 |
| Legal and conveyancing | THB 50,000 |
| Currency transfer, at 1% | THB 50,000 |
| Sinking fund at THB 700/sqm | THB 42,000 |
| One-off costs on top of the price | THB 184,500 — about 3.7% of the price |
| Service charge, year one, at THB 60/sqm/month | THB 43,200 a year |
The headline is the part buyers get wrong: budget roughly 3-4% of the purchase price for one-off costs on a new build where the transfer fee is split, and closer to 6-7% on a resale where specific business tax lands and no developer is absorbing anything.
| Cost | Typical rate | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| Common area service charge | THB 40-80 per sqm per month in most buildings | Owner |
| The number that quietly decides whether a rental yield is real. On a 60 sqm unit at THB 60 that is about THB 43,000 a year before anything else. Branded and resort-managed buildings run higher, sometimes considerably higher. | ||
| Sinking fund | THB 500-1,000 per sqm, one-off at handover | Buyer |
| A capital contribution for major maintenance, paid once on a new build. Further top-ups can be voted in later by the co-owners' committee if the fund runs short. | ||
| Land and building tax | 0.02-0.3% of appraised value for residential use | Owner |
| Low by British or American standards. The rate depends on use and value band, and a second home is assessed differently from a primary residence. | ||
| Rental management commission | 20-35% of gross rent where a scheme runs the letting | Owner |
| Where a projection quotes a yield, ask whether it is stated before or after this. The difference between those two answers is most of the yield. | ||
| Cost | Typical rate | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| The same transfer taxes, again | 2% transfer fee, plus 3.3% or 0.5% | Split by agreement |
| If you sell within five years you are the one paying the 3.3% specific business tax this time. It is the strongest argument against buying anything you might need to exit quickly. | ||
| Agency commission | 3-5% of the sale price | Seller |
| Standard across the market, and negotiable at the top end. | ||
| Sending the money home | Bank spread, plus the paperwork trail | Seller |
| Straightforward if the FET form from the purchase exists and the proceeds go out through the same channel. Painful if it does not. | ||
Using these figures?
You are welcome to quote or reproduce this table with a link back to theexpatinvestor.com/costs/thai-condo-fees/. If you are a journalist or writer and want the working behind a figure, or want one checked before you publish it, email [email protected].
Budget about 3-4% of the purchase price on a new build where the transfer fee is split with the developer, and 6-7% on a resale where the 3.3% specific business tax applies. That gap is why the same condominium can cost noticeably more to buy from a private owner than from a developer.
The law does not fix it. Custom splits the 2% transfer fee 50/50, and on new builds developers frequently absorb or share it as an incentive. Stamp duty, specific business tax and withholding tax are the seller's by law, though a developer will have factored them into the price either way.
It is the bank's record that your purchase money arrived in Thailand from abroad in foreign currency and was converted here. You need it to register foreign freehold ownership, and again to send the proceeds out when you sell. It cannot be produced after the fact, which is the whole reason it matters.
The annual holding taxes are low by British or American standards — residential land and building tax runs between 0.02% and 0.3% of appraised value. The costs that actually bite are the transaction taxes at each end and the service charge in between.
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