A Thai company keeps accounts from the day it is registered, goes through an audit by an independent auditor every year, and files its accounts with the Department of Business Development (DBD), the agency that registers companies and checks their filings — all of that even in a year with no turnover. These duties come from the Accounting Act B.E. 2543. The books are kept by a bookkeeper who meets the qualifications the DBD sets: under a notification in force since 1 January 2026, that means a member of the Federation of Accounting Professions (TFAC) who lives in Thailand and works in Thai, and anyone registering as a bookkeeper for the first time also sits the DBD's online test. Once annual turnover from taxable activity passes THB 1.8 million, roughly US$50,000, the company registers for VAT and files a return every month, in quiet months as well as busy ones.
Here is how we can help: our lawyers find you a qualified bookkeeper and an independent auditor, and check what has already been filed with the DBD and the Revenue Department. If your company is still on the drawing board, this can be built into the Company plus work permit package from day one.
In short
- Every Thai company keeps accounts from registration and goes through an audit every year, whether it traded or not.
- The bookkeeper must meet DBD requirements: under the notification in force since 1 January 2026, that is TFAC membership, Thai residence and working Thai, plus an online test for a first-time registrant.
- Once annual turnover passes THB 1.8 million (about US$50,000), the company registers for VAT and files the PP 30 return every month.
- Any staff on the payroll mean monthly withholding tax and social security contributions.
- The company and its directors stay responsible for the accounts and any penalties, even when an outside bookkeeper does the work.
Your home-country accountant is not enough
Many owners already have a trusted accountant at home, in the UK, the US or Australia, and assume that person can simply add the Thai company to their list. Thai law does not allow it. Under the DBD notification in force since 1 January 2026, a Thai company's bookkeeper must be a TFAC member, resident in Thailand and able to work in Thai. Separately, the annual accounts must be audited by an independent auditor licensed in Thailand. A foreign accountant, however well qualified at home, cannot take the place of either.
In practice the work splits into two tracks. The Thai entity's filings, from VAT to the annual accounts and the DBD paperwork, need a qualified Thai bookkeeper and an independent auditor licensed in Thailand, and we can help you find both. Your accountant at home keeps doing what only they can do: your personal tax return in your home country, using the Thai filings as the record of what the company did.
Annual accounts, audit and DBD filing
The table below sets out what an ordinary Thai company files and when.
| When | What the company files | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly, when the company has made payments subject to withholding | PND 1, PND 3, PND 53 — tax withheld from salaries and payments | Revenue Department |
| Every month, by the 15th (23rd if filed online) | PP 30 — VAT return, if the company is registered | Revenue Department |
| Monthly, on dates the agency sets | Social security contributions, employer and employee | Social Security Office |
| Mid-year, date confirmed by your bookkeeper | PND 51 — half of the estimated annual corporate tax | Revenue Department |
| Within 4 months of year end | AGM approves the audited accounts | Internal |
| Within 14 days of the AGM | BOJ 5 — the shareholder list | DBD |
| Within one month of the AGM | Financial statements via DBD e-Filing | DBD |
| After year end, date confirmed by your bookkeeper | PND 50 — the annual corporate income tax return | Revenue Department |
The Revenue Department sets the filing dates for PND 51 and PND 50 (corporate income tax); your bookkeeper confirms the exact dates for your company's financial year. Corporate income tax is 20%, with lower rates available to qualifying small companies.
The auditor is appointed by the shareholders, usually at the annual general meeting. The shareholder list in form BOJ 5 has to match who actually owns the company — our typical example, a DBD check that proved who the real shareholders were, shows how that gets checked.
It is a common and costly assumption that a company with no income has nothing to report. It does: the audit, the AGM and the DBD filing apply to every company, and a VAT-registered company with no sales still files a nil PP 30 every month.
VAT registration and monthly returns
Registration becomes compulsory once a company's annual turnover from taxable activity passes THB 1.8 million, filed within 30 days of crossing the threshold (Revenue Department, VAT). The rate is 7%: the reduced rate, rather than the standard 10%, is extended by royal decree, and the latest one (No. 807) keeps it at 7% until 30 September 2027.
Once registered, the company files the PP 30 return and pays the tax by the 15th of the following month, or the 23rd if filed online — an extension currently in force until 31 January 2027; whether it will be renewed has not been announced yet. The return is filed every month, including months with no sales. A company that pays a foreign supplier for services used in Thailand also self-assesses VAT and files it separately; ask your bookkeeper about the exact deadline.
Payroll, social security and work permits
A company withholds tax from salaries and pays it over on the PND 1 return. Your bookkeeper confirms the filing deadlines, which are set by the Revenue Department.
Since 2026 the salary band used to calculate social security contributions runs up to THB 17,500 a month (ministerial regulation). Employer and employee usually each pay 5%, so at most THB 875 a month per side, roughly US$24 or £19; your bookkeeper confirms the current rate. A new employee has to be registered with the Social Security Office soon after starting work; your bookkeeper confirms the deadline.
Illustrative example: a company with four Thai staff paid THB 15,000 a month contributes THB 750 for each of them, matched by THB 750 withheld from their pay — roughly US$21 or £17 per side. If the company's foreign director draws a salary of THB 50,000, the contribution is still calculated on the THB 17,500 ceiling, so it comes to THB 875 on each side.
Social security records are often asked for in work-permit applications and renewals. Our page on the Non-B visa and work permit covers that process.
Switching your accountant
You can change bookkeeper at any point in the year — we have found no rule against it. Your new bookkeeper confirms what needs to be filed for the handover. The auditor is changed separately: the auditor is appointed by the shareholders, usually at the annual general meeting.
We can help you find a qualified bookkeeper and an independent auditor, and check what has already been filed for the current year. For that, it helps to have:
- the DBD registration certificate and the current shareholder list;
- this year's accounting records and source documents;
- filed VAT, PND 1, PND 3 and PND 53 returns;
- last year's accounts and the auditor's report;
- access to the e-filing systems;
- bank statements for the current year.
That way, any gaps or arrears show up before the new bookkeeper files the first return. Early correction is usually treated more favourably; your bookkeeper will advise on how to correct them. If you have not registered a company yet, the accounting clock starts on the date of registration; the steps are set out in how to register a company in Thailand in 2026, and the service itself is on company registration in Thailand.
Fees
The fee for finding and checking your accounting is [price]. It depends on how many documents the company generates each month, whether it is VAT-registered, how many staff it has and how much audit work is involved. We fix the fee before the work starts, with no hidden charges. For a step-by-step view of the Company plus work permit package, see our typical example, a company and work permit in six weeks; the full route for setting up a business is on opening a business in Thailand.
How to get started
Tell us in the form below what your company does, whether it has staff, and whether it is VAT-registered. We will reply within 24 hours with the filings it needs, roughly what it takes to check or switch your bookkeeping, and what our fee will be. If you are not sure whether VAT registration applies yet, send us your turnover for the last few months and we will work out when it will.
