Getting a Tax Refund in Thailand: Income Tax Overpayment, Withholding Reclaim & Tourist VAT

Founder of BAANLYY · International real estate broker, investor & relocation specialist

Last updated 6 July 2026 · Last reviewed 6 July 2026

The one-line version

There are three refunds to know about. Overpaid income tax and withholding tax both come back through your annual PND.90/91 return — file it even when tax was deducted for you, because that’s how you reclaim the excess. The tourist VAT refund (P.P.10) is a separate airport process for visitors carrying goods out of Thailand. Keep every certificate and receipt — undocumented claims get cut.

Living Summary

Getting a Tax Refund in Thailand \u2014 living summary

Editorial analysis compiled and periodically refreshed by BAANLYY’s research team — not a live data feed.

Is the 7% VAT rate my refund is calculated on guaranteed to stay that way?
No — it is a standing temporary reduction, not the law's default. Thailand's statutory VAT rate is 10%, cut to 7% after the 1997 financial crisis and repeatedly extended by royal decree ever since. The Cabinet approved the latest extension in September 2025 (Royal Decree No. 799), keeping the rate at 7% through 30 September 2026. Every extension has to be renewed again before it lapses, so the 7% figure your P.P.10 refund is based on is reviewed roughly annually, not fixed permanently.
Do I still need a Customs stamp before I can claim my tourist VAT refund?
Often no, since a January 2024 rule change. If your goods plus P.P.10 form have a combined value of 20,000 baht or less, you can go straight to the VAT Refund for Tourists counter airside and claim without a Customs inspection queue — up from a 5,000 baht threshold before 2024. Above 20,000 baht, or for goods that must be carried as hand luggage for inspection, you still need to show the goods and forms to Customs before check-in as this guide describes.
What changed for the 2025/2026 shopping season?
More places to shop, not new math. Major retail chains — including Uniqlo, Zara and H&M — formally joined the VAT Refund for Tourists scheme for the 2025/2026 season, adding mainstream mall and high-street stores to what was previously more department-store-weighted. The core eligibility rules in this guide are unchanged: minimum 2,000 baht (VAT included) per store per day, a 5,000 baht minimum across all purchases, and goods must leave Thailand within 60 days of purchase.
What's the net pros/cons for someone claiming a refund today?
Pros: the January 2024 threshold change lets most tourist VAT claims skip the Customs queue entirely, more big-name retailers now participate, and PromptPay-linked income tax refunds can land in days rather than weeks. Cons: the 7% VAT rate underlying your refund is a renewable, not permanent, concession — worth rechecking before a big purchase near a renewal date — and the 2026 income-tax filing deadlines still bind: 31 March for paper PND.90/91, extended to 7 April for e-filing, with any tax due settled by 8 April.

Analysis last reviewed 2026-07-06.

Growth Trajectory

How Thailand's Tax Refund Rules Have Evolved

1992
VAT introduced in Thailand
Thailand replaces the old Business Tax with a Value Added Tax under the Revenue Code, set at a 10% statutory rate — the tax that, decades later, tourists reclaim on eligible goods carried out of the country.
2005
Revenue Department launches web-based e-services
The Revenue Department begins offering online services to taxpayers, laying the groundwork for the shift from paper-only PND.90/91 filing toward the e-filing system refund claimants rely on today.
Oct 2021
New e-filing & payment system launched
The Revenue Department rolls out an overhauled electronic filing and payment platform, widening what individuals can file and pay online — including the personal income tax returns used to claim overpaid-tax and withholding-tax refunds.
Jan 2024
VAT refund customs threshold raised to 20,000 baht
A rule change raises the combined-value threshold for skipping the Customs inspection line from 5,000 to 20,000 baht, letting most tourist P.P.10 claims go straight to the airport VAT refund counter.
Sep 2025
7% VAT rate extended through Sept 2026; major retailers join refund scheme
Royal Decree No. 799 extends the reduced 7% VAT rate (against a 10% statutory rate) through 30 September 2026, and chains including Uniqlo, Zara and H&M join the VAT Refund for Tourists program for the 2025/2026 shopping season.

Three different refunds — don't confuse them

“Tax refund” in Thailand can mean three quite different things, and mixing them up is where people go wrong. Here’s the map before we dig into each:

Refund	How it’s claimed	When it applies
Income tax overpayment	PND.90 / PND.91 annual return	Withholding exceeded your real liability after allowances
Withholding tax reclaim	Credited on the same annual return	Tax deducted at source on rent, interest, freelance fees
Tourist VAT refund	P.P.10 form, claimed at airport	7% VAT on goods carried out of Thailand by a visitor

The first two are for people with Thai-source income or tax residency and run through the same annual return. The third is for short-stay visitors and happens at the airport. If you live and work here, you’re almost always in the first two.

Refunding overpaid personal income tax

The most common refund. During the year your employer withholds tax monthly under PND.1, estimating your annual bill and remitting it in twelve slices. That estimate often overshoots — it can’t see the insurance you bought, the provident-fund top-up, the mortgage interest, or a mid-year job change. When you file your annual return and apply every allowance and deduction, your real liability is frequently lower than what was withheld, and the difference is refundable.

File the annual return — PND.91 for salary-only, PND.90 if you have other income too.
The return reconciles tax withheld against tax actually owed and shows a refund due if you overpaid.
Tick the refund option and give a Thai bank account (ideally PromptPay-linked to your TIN) to receive it.

For how the brackets, allowances and the return itself work, see our companion guide: Personal income tax — rates, allowances & how to file.

Reclaiming withholding tax (WHT)

Withholding tax is money taken off a payment before it reaches you — not just on salary, but on rent paid to a landlord, bank interest, dividends and professional or freelance fees. For most individuals WHT is not a final tax: it’s a prepayment credited against your annual bill. If the total withheld across all sources exceeds what you owe, the excess is refunded on your annual return.

Every payer who withholds must give you a withholding certificate showing the amount deducted and remitted — collect all of them.
Enter each as a credit on your PND.90; the return nets it against your liability.
Landlords renting out a condo often have tax withheld by corporate tenants — that credit is easy to miss if you don’t keep the certificate.

No certificate, no credit. The single biggest reason people lose a WHT refund is throwing away or never asking for the paperwork.

The tourist VAT refund (P.P.10)

This one is for visitors, not residents. If you’re a non-resident leaving Thailand by air, you can reclaim the 7% VAT on eligible goods you carry out with you — bought from shops displaying the “VAT Refund for Tourists” sign.

At the shop: spend at least the per-shop, per-day minimum, ask for a P.P.10 form plus the tax invoice, and show your passport.
Before check-in: take goods and forms to the Customs inspection point in the departures hall to get them stamped (high-value items get a second check airside).
Airside: claim at the VAT Refund counter — cash for smaller totals, or bank/credit-card transfer for larger ones, less a service fee.

It covers goods you take home only — never hotels, meals, tours or anything consumed inside Thailand. A total minimum spend across all your purchases also applies, so keep your invoices together.

How to actually file the claim

Get / confirm your TIN. You can’t file an income tax refund without a Tax ID — sort it at the Revenue Department or via your employer.
Gather certificates. Withholding certificates from every payer, plus receipts for all reliefs you’ll claim.
Pick the form. PND.91 (salary only) or PND.90 (any other income).
File online. The Revenue Department e-filing portal is the fastest path and usually allows a slightly later deadline than paper.
Nominate where the money goes. Provide a Thai bank account (PromptPay-linked to your TIN where possible) so a refund can be paid straight in.
Respond to any document request. If the Revenue Department asks for backup, upload it promptly — that, not the filing itself, is usually what holds a refund up.

Realistic timelines

How long you wait depends almost entirely on how you file and whether they verify:

Clean online income tax refund with a linked bank account — often a few weeks.
Paper filing or a verified claim — a few months, longer if documents are requested and slow to come.
Tourist VAT refund — cash on the spot at the airport for small amounts; a transfer landing days to weeks later for larger ones.

Filing online, attaching documents up front, and getting your bank/PromptPay details right are the three things that move a refund from months to weeks.

Documents you'll need

Tax ID (TIN) — required to file at all
Withholding certificates — one from each payer (salary, rent, interest, fees)
Proof of income — payslips, rental records, bank statements
Relief documents — insurance premiums, provident/SSF/RMF, mortgage interest, donation receipts
Thai bank account details — ideally PromptPay-linked to your TIN, to receive the payout
For VAT: P.P.10 forms + tax invoices, your passport, and the goods themselves for inspection

Common pitfalls for expats

Not filing because tax was already withheld — that’s exactly how the refund is claimed; skip it and you simply lose the money
Binning withholding certificates — no certificate means no credit, no refund
Forgetting reliefs (insurance, funds, mortgage interest) that would lower the bill and grow the refund
Confusing the tourist VAT refund with income tax — residents who live here use the income-tax route, not the airport counter
No Thai bank account / PromptPay set up, so an income tax refund has nowhere fast to land
Leaving Thailand without a TIN or copies of certificates, making a later claim far harder
Trying to VAT-refund services — hotels, meals and tours never qualify

Frequently asked

Can foreigners get a tax refund in Thailand?Yes. If you are a Thai tax resident or earn Thai-source income, you claim back overpaid personal income tax the same way Thais do — by filing the annual PND.90 or PND.91 return and requesting the refund of the difference between what was withheld during the year and what you actually owe after allowances and deductions. Separately, withholding tax deducted at source (on rent, interest or freelance fees) can be credited or refunded through that same return, and short-stay tourists can reclaim VAT on goods taken out of the country via the P.P.10 scheme at the airport. Each route has its own form, documents and timeline. This is general information, not tax advice.

How do I get back overpaid income tax in Thailand?Overpaid income tax is recovered on your annual return. You total all income and every allowance and deduction you qualify for, the return calculates your real liability, and if that is less than the tax already withheld from your salary or other income, the return shows a refund due. You request it by ticking the refund box on the PND.90/91 (and, in recent years, nominating a PromptPay-linked Thai bank account or accepting payment by cheque). The Revenue Department reviews the claim and pays it out — quickly if everything matches, more slowly if they ask for supporting documents.

What is withholding tax and can I reclaim it?Withholding tax (WHT) is tax deducted from a payment before you receive it — common on employment salary (PND.1), rental income, interest, dividends and professional fees. It is not a separate final tax for most individuals; it is a prepayment credited against your annual bill. If the total withheld over the year is more than your actual liability, the excess comes back to you as a refund on your annual return. You need the withholding certificates (the payer's proof of how much was deducted and remitted) to claim the credit, so collect and keep every one.

How does the tourist VAT refund (P.P.10) work in Thailand?Visitors who are not Thai residents can reclaim the 7% VAT on eligible goods bought from shops displaying the 'VAT Refund for Tourists' sign, when those goods leave Thailand with them. You ask the shop for a P.P.10 form and tax invoice at purchase (minimum spend per shop per day applies, and a minimum total across all purchases), show the goods and forms to Customs before check-in, then claim at the VAT Refund counter airside. Refunds come as cash for smaller amounts or by bank/credit-card transfer for larger ones, less a service fee. It applies to goods you take home — not hotels, meals or services consumed in Thailand.

How long does a Thai tax refund take?It varies. A clean personal income tax refund filed online with a linked bank account can be paid within a few weeks; paper filing or any claim the Revenue Department wants to verify can take a few months, sometimes longer if they request documents. Tourist VAT refunds are settled at the airport — cash on the spot for small amounts, or a transfer that lands days to weeks later for larger ones. Filing online, attaching your documents and making sure your bank/PromptPay details are correct are the biggest things that speed it up.

What documents do I need to claim an income tax refund?At minimum: your Tax ID (TIN), withholding certificates for every source of income (salary, rent, interest, freelance), proof of the income itself, and the certificates or receipts for every allowance and deduction you claim — insurance premiums, provident/SSF/RMF funds, mortgage interest, donations and so on. Reliefs and credits you cannot document are disallowed, which turns an expected refund into a smaller one or none, so keep everything for at least the period the Revenue Department can review.

Will claiming a refund trigger an audit?Filing for a refund is routine and is not itself a problem — refunds are a normal outcome of withholding overshooting your liability. The Revenue Department may ask for supporting documents to verify a claim, especially larger ones or first-time filers, but that is a document check, not a penalty. As long as your figures match your certificates and your reliefs are genuine and documented, responding is straightforward. Filing accurately and keeping clean records is the best protection.

Can I get a refund if I left Thailand mid-year?Possibly. If tax was withheld from Thai-source income while you were here but your total annual liability is lower — for example because you only worked part of the year, or had unused allowances — you may be owed a refund, claimed by filing the annual return for that year. You generally still file after the calendar year ends, so you may need a Thai bank account or a representative to receive the payment. Getting your TIN and keeping your withholding certificates before you leave makes this far easier.

Is the tourist VAT refund the same as an income tax refund?No — they are completely separate. The tourist VAT refund (P.P.10) returns consumption tax on physical goods you buy and carry out of Thailand as a short-stay visitor, processed at the airport. An income tax refund returns overpaid personal income tax to people with Thai-source income or tax residency, processed through the annual PND.90/91 return. You can be eligible for one and not the other. Resident expats who live and work here deal with the income-tax route; visitors on holiday use the VAT route.

Do I need a Thai bank account to receive a tax refund?For income tax refunds it helps a great deal. The Revenue Department increasingly pays refunds to a Thai bank account linked to PromptPay using your TIN/national-ID-equivalent, which is the fastest route; cheques and other methods exist but are slower and can be awkward for someone abroad. For the tourist VAT refund you do not need a Thai account — small amounts are paid in cash and larger ones to a credit card or overseas account. If you expect an income tax refund, sorting a Thai bank account and PromptPay link early pays off.

Keep going

Property Education Personal Income Tax Tax for Expats Getting a TIN VAT & Service Charge Glossary

Work out what you actually owe first

Before you can know whether you’re owed a refund, you need your real liability. Use our estimator to get a ballpark from your income and main allowances, then compare it to the tax that was withheld.

Income tax estimator Income tax guide

Sources & References

Primary and official sources are cited above. Government rules, fees and procedures in Thailand change over time and vary by office; always confirm current requirements with the relevant authority before relying on them. BAANLYY never takes paid placement in editorial content.

General information only — not tax, legal or financial advice. Thai personal income tax, withholding tax and VAT refund rules, forms, minimum-spend thresholds, deadlines and procedures are set by law and change over time, and what you can reclaim depends on your individual circumstances and residency. Confirm your own position with the Thai Revenue Department and a licensed Thai tax professional. BAANLYY never takes paid placement.

Getting a tax refund in Thailand: overpaid income tax, withholding reclaim & tourist VAT.