Thai property terms, defined for the foreign buyer

โฉนด

A chanote, formally Nor Sor 4, is the red land title in Thailand, issued by the Land Department under the Land Code, showing surveyed boundaries, an area, and a parcel number, registered at the provincial Land Office.

น.ส.3 ก

Nor Sor 3 Gor is the green land title in Thailand, issued by the Land Department. It is a good title for a residential purchase, and the holder can apply for a red Chanote later.

สัญญาเช่า

Leasehold in Thailand is the right to use a property for a fixed term, typically 30 years, registered on the title at the Land Office, and is the standard foreign route to a villa because a foreigner cannot own land freehold.

การถือกรรมสิทธิ์

Freehold in Thailand is outright ownership of the title in perpetuity, available to a foreign natural person only for a condominium unit under the 49 percent foreign quota of the building under the Condominium Act 2551.

สิทธิเก็บกินครอง

A usufruct is a registered right under the Civil and Commercial Code to use and derive income from another person's land for a fixed period, typically for the life of the grantee, and is one alternative to a leasehold for a foreign villa buyer.

สิทธิเหนือพื้นดิน

Superficies is a registered right under the Civil and Commercial Code to own buildings on another person's land for a fixed term up to 30 years, separating ownership of the building from ownership of the land beneath it.

แบบแจ้งการนำเงินตราเข้า

A FET form, formerly the Thor Tor 3, is the Bank of Thailand Foreign Exchange Transaction form that records inward remittance of foreign currency into Thailand and is required to repatriate sale proceeds in foreign currency later.

สำนักงานที่ดิน

The Land Office is the Thai government authority, formally the Department of Lands, that registers all land and property transfers, leases, mortgages, and title upgrades, and collects the transfer fee and taxes at the point of transfer.

ภาษีธุรกิจเฉพาะ

Specific Business Tax, or SBT, is a 3.3 percent tax payable to the Revenue Department on the sale of property in Thailand held for under five years, calculated on the appraised value or the sale price, whichever is higher.

อากรแสตมป์

Stamp duty in Thailand is a 0.5 percent transfer tax on property where specific business tax does not apply, typically because the seller has held the property for five years or more, calculated on the appraised value or sale price.

ค่าส่วนกลาง

A common area fee is the monthly charge paid by a unit or villa owner in a gated estate or condominium to the juristic person for security, landscaping, shared facilities, insurance, and reserve fund contributions, set per square metre.

มูลค่าประเมิน

The appraised value is the reference value assigned to a property by the Thai Land Office for the purpose of calculating transfer fees and taxes, and is almost always below the actual sale price.