Recently, the National Legislative Assembly passed the Land and Building Tax Act.

The new law will replace both the House and Land Tax and the Local Development Tax when it takes effect on January 1, 2020.

The bill alters land and building tax laws in Thailand by placing property into four distinct legal categories: agricultural, residential, commercial, and vacant.

Each property type has its own tax rates based on the appraisal value.

For agricultural use, there are five tax rates:

1. 0.01% for land valued between 1 million and 75 million baht;
2. 0.03% for land valued between 76 million and 100 million baht;
3. 0.05% for land valued between 101 million and 500 million baht;
4. 0.07% for land valued between 501 million and 1 billion baht; and
5. 0.1% for land valued at more than 1 billion baht.

Agricultural land worth less than 50 billion is exempt from taxes if it is owned by a sole individual.

For residential use, there are four tax brackets:

1. 0.02% for land valued between 1 million and 50 million baht;
2. 0.03% for land valued between 51 million and 75 million baht;
3. 0.05% for land valued between 76 million and 100 million baht; and
4. 0.1% for land valued more than 100 million baht.

For first-time home-owners, a tax-exemption of up to 50 million baht is available.

For commercial use, there are five tax rates:

1. 0.3% for land valued between 1 million and 50 million baht;
2. 0.4% for land valued between 51 million and 200 million baht;
3. 0.5% for land valued between 201 million and 1 billion baht;
4. 0.6% for land valued between 1 billion and 5 billion baht; and
5. 0.7% for land valued at more than 5 billion baht.

For vacant or unused property, there are five tax applicable rates:

1. 0.3% for land valued between 1 million and 50 million baht;
2. 0.4% for land valued between 51 million and 200 million baht;
3. 0.5% for land valued between 201 million and 1 billion baht;
4. 0.6% for land valued between 1 billion and 5 billion baht; and
5. 0.7% for land valued at more than 5 billion baht.

The tax rate on vacant lands and buildings will increase by 0.3% each year but will not exceed 3%.