Conditions on the tax deduction during Songkran

Keywords: Mazars, Thailand, Personal Income Tax, Revenue Department,  Songkran, Income Tax, VAT, PIT

4 August 2016

The deductible amount is equal to the amount actually paid or 15,000 baht (whichever is lower).

The Thai Revenue Department issued Notification of The Director-General on Income Tax (No. 268) in June 2016 setting out the conditions for taking this deduction. We set below a summary of this Notification:

• The deduction is available only for individuals. It is not available to a partnership, body of persons, or undistributed estate.
• For a married couple, if both the husband and wife derive assessable income, both persons may be entitled to the deduction on the basis that both individuals are the payers of such expenses.
• The payments must have been made from 9 through 17 April 2016.
• The payments must have been made to entities registered for Thai VAT.
• For tour package services, the activities must have taken place from 9 through 17 April 2016.
• The expenses for food and beverages must have been paid to entities conducting a restaurant business, or to a hotel holding a licence under the law governing hotels.
• The expenses for tour package services must have been paid to entities who received a licence under the law governing tour package service businesses. 
• The expenses for accommodation must have been paid to entities conducting a hotel business holding a licence under the law governing hotels.
• If the taxpayer is a VAT registrant and has claimed input VAT on those expenses, no tax deduction for such expenses is available for personal income tax purposes.

For more information, please read our payroll newsletter - April 2016.