Tax term
Specific Business Tax
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.
Last updated 2026-07-26
Thai scriptภาษีธุรกิจเฉพาะ
In full
SBT applies where the seller has held the property for less than five years and is the commercial residential property tax under the Revenue Code. Where SBT applies, stamp duty is not also charged; the two are mutually exclusive. As of Q3 2026 the SBT rate is 3.3 percent, made up of 3 percent SBT and 0.3 percent municipal surcharge.
For a buyer the SBT matters because it is paid at the Land Office on transfer and reflects in the negotiation. A seller close to the five-year holding mark may prefer to wait to fall under the stamp duty regime, which is materially cheaper. Your due diligence should confirm which tax applies before you agree a price.
Common misunderstanding
SBT is not the buyer's tax. It is the seller's tax in law, but it is commonly split or passed to the buyer in negotiation. The statute does not require the buyer to pay it; the contract does. Read the cost-splitting clause before signing.