How to sell a condo or house in Thailand as a foreign owner: process, taxes and getting your money out

In brief

As of 7 November 2026, selling a Thai condo as a foreigner is easier to start than to finish: the title moves in a day at the Land Office, but the buyer needs free foreign quota, and the money only leaves cleanly if you kept the FET form from your purchase. Government charges at transfer are the 2% transfer fee, then either 3.3% specific business tax (a sale within five years) or 0.5% stamp duty, plus withholding income tax; one source puts the total at roughly 3 to 6% of the price. Agree who pays what in the sale contract, because Thai law does not fix it. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

What you can sell, and to whom

A freehold condo owned in a foreign name is sold to either a Thai buyer or another foreigner. A foreign buyer needs room in the 49% foreign quota of that building, and the sources warn that the space can disappear between signing and transfer. That limits your buyer pool, which is why foreign-name condos often sell slower than Thai-name ones. See how the 49% quota works.

A house on leased land is different: you sell the lease, and the remaining term drives the price. For the legal options foreigners use, see leasehold and land for foreigners. If a house sits on land held through a Thai nominee, stop and read the nominee crackdown article before you list anything.

Documents to prepare before listing

Start two to three weeks before you list, because most delays come from paperwork, not from buyers.

• The title document of the unit, and your passport.
• Your FET form or the bank credit advice from the day your purchase money arrived. Without it, getting the proceeds out can be hard (see the money section below).
• A clearance letter from the building's juristic person showing that common fees and any special levies are paid.
• The mortgage release, if there is a loan.
• The sale and purchase agreement, which must say who pays each government charge.
• A legalised power of attorney if you will not be in Thailand on transfer day.

Who can act for you when you are abroad

Both seller and buyer must be present at the Land Department, or be represented by an agent with a power of attorney. Law-firm guides say a properly drafted and legalised power of attorney lets your representative sign the sale documents and register the transfer, so you do not need to fly in. Have the document drafted by a Thai lawyer for this one sale, with the unit and the price range stated, and keep a copy. Do not give a general power of attorney to an agent you met online.

Steps and timeline

The transfer itself is usually done in one day at the Land Department once documents, payments and approvals are in place. The sources give no reliable total from listing to transfer, so treat several months as a planning assumption of ours, not a quote.

• Step 1. Prepare documents and the common-fee clearance (two to three weeks).
• Step 2. List with an agent or privately; agree the commission in writing.
• Step 3. Offer, deposit and sale and purchase agreement.
• Step 4. The buyer's quota proof: sources mention an updated foreign ownership ratio printout 7 to 10 days before transfer, or a quota letter dated within 14 to 30 days.
• Step 5. Transfer at the Land Department, paying the charges.
• Step 6. Remit the proceeds with your FET paperwork.

Government charges at transfer

Sources agree on the core rules; they come from law firms and agents, and no Land Department page was read. Check the current rates before you sign.

• Transfer fee: 2% of the official appraised value. Who pays is not fixed by law; one source says half each, another that foreign buyers usually pay it all. Write it into the contract.
• Specific business tax: 3.3% (3% plus a 10% municipal surcharge) when you sell within five years of acquiring the property, or if you trade property as a business.
• Stamp duty: 0.5%, instead of the business tax, when an individual has held the property for more than five years. It is one or the other, never both. Sources generally put this cost on the seller.
• Withholding income tax: for an individual seller it is calculated on the official appraised value on the progressive personal income tax scale, with a deduction that depends on the years held. Sources disagree on the cap on years (8 in one guide, 10 in another), and one says it is credited against your annual tax. We found no non-resident-specific rule.

A rough illustration with our own assumption of an official appraised value of THB 5,000,000: the transfer fee at 2% is THB 100,000; stamp duty at 0.5% is THB 25,000, while the business tax at 3.3% would be THB 165,000. The illustration leaves out withholding tax. For the full tax list see Thai property taxes and fees, and for the principle that the country of the property taxes the sale first, see taxes when selling property abroad by country.

Selling just before the five-year line can cost you the difference between the 0.5% and the 3.3%. Check the date of your own title before you accept an offer.

Agent commission

We found no sourced figure for agent commissions in Thailand, so we do not give one. Ask for the rate in writing, say whether it is on the sale price, and say who pays any VAT on it.

Getting the money out: the FET form

This is the step that surprises sellers. The FET (Foreign Exchange Transaction) form is the name used today for the Bank of Thailand record of an inward foreign-currency transfer; older papers call it Tor Tor 3. Buyers need it to register a condo in a foreign name, and sources say it is the key document for sending sale proceeds abroad.

• Present the FET forms from your purchase to your Thai bank at the time of sale, then convert the baht proceeds.
• One source says that with the original FET you can remit the full sale price up to the original foreign-currency amount; without it, remittance may be difficult or limited to smaller amounts. What happens to a gain above the original amount we could not find.
• Sources differ on the USD 50,000 threshold and on whether a bank letter can replace the form for smaller amounts. One source lists a copy of the FET or credit note, the Land Office sale agreement and the Land Office tax receipt as the documents for remittance.
• If you paid for the property in baht from a Thai account, you may not have a FET at all. Ask your bank before you list.

If your passport comes from a sanctions-affected country

Thai banks run their own checks on the seller and on the destination of the funds, and your receiving bank abroad may do the same. We found no source about Russian, Belarusian, Kazakh or Ukrainian passport holders specifically, so ask both banks early. Keep the purchase contract, the FET, bank statements and the Land Office receipts together as your source-of-funds file. See bank checks for Russian citizens living in the EU and repatriating money after selling property abroad.

Common mistakes

• Selling without the FET and finding out when the bank asks for it.
• Missing the five-year line and paying 3.3% instead of 0.5%.
• Leaving the split of the transfer fee out of the sale contract.
• Accepting an offer from a foreign buyer without checking that quota space is still free on transfer day.
• Unpaid common fees blocking the clearance letter on the day.
• A power of attorney that was not legalised, or one that is too broad.
• Counting on an agent fee you never agreed in writing.

One-page checklist

• Week 0: find your FET and title documents; check the date of your title against the five-year line.
• Weeks 1 to 3: common-fee clearance, mortgage release, legalised power of attorney.
• Listing: commission agreed in writing; sale contract names who pays each charge.
• Before transfer: buyer's quota proof (7 to 14 days), final fee check.
• Transfer day: Land Office, pay charges, keep every receipt.
• After: remit proceeds with FET paperwork; keep the file for your home tax return. For the general order, see selling property abroad: steps, timeline and pitfalls and how to sell property abroad.

If you let the unit while you owned it, see rental income and tax for foreign owners in Thailand, property management for remote owners and buy where you vacation: Thailand. If you moved there, first 30 days in Thailand covers the status side.

FAQ

Can I sell a Thai condo without going to Thailand? Law-firm guides say yes, with a properly drafted and legalised power of attorney for a representative who signs and registers the transfer at the Land Department. Use it for this one sale only.

Who pays the transfer fee when I sell? Thai law does not fix this. Sources describe a half split, or the buyer paying all of it. Whatever you agree must be written into the sale contract.

What is the difference between the 3.3% tax and the 0.5% stamp duty? The business tax applies to a sale within five years of acquisition or to someone trading property; stamp duty applies when an individual has held the property for more than five years. You pay one, never both.

Can I take all the money out of Thailand? With the original FET form, one source says you can remit up to the original foreign-currency amount; without it, remittance may be limited. We could not find what happens to a gain above that amount, so ask your bank before listing.

How long does a sale take? No source gave a reliable figure. The transfer takes about a day, but the whole sale, from listing to money abroad, usually takes months; that is our assumption, not a quote.