{"id":1710,"date":"2026-02-19T11:14:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T04:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/doing-business-living-bangkok\/?p=1710"},"modified":"2026-02-19T11:14:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T04:14:57","slug":"how-thai-companies-can-receive-foreign-dividends-100-tax-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/doing-business-living-bangkok\/how-thai-companies-can-receive-foreign-dividends-100-tax-free\/","title":{"rendered":"How Thai Companies Can Receive Foreign Dividends 100% Tax-Free"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Understanding Royal Decree No. 384 Under the Thai Revenue Code<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>As Thai businesses expand overseas \u2014 particularly into Singapore, Hong Kong, and other regional hubs \u2014 one key tax question arises:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Will profits earned abroad be taxed again when brought back to Thailand?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The good news is that under <strong>Thailand\u2019s Revenue Code (Royal Decree No. 384)<\/strong>, Thai companies can receive dividends from foreign subsidiaries <strong>completely exempt from Thai Corporate Income Tax (CIT)<\/strong> \u2014 if certain conditions are met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This creates a powerful and fully legal tax optimization opportunity for Thai groups expanding internationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The 100% Corporate Tax Exemption Rule<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Dividends received by a Thai company from a foreign subsidiary are <strong>fully exempt from Thai Corporate Income Tax<\/strong> if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Minimum Shareholding Requirement<\/strong><br>The Thai parent company holds <strong>at least 25% of the shares<\/strong> in the foreign subsidiary.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Minimum Holding Period<\/strong><br>The shares must be held for <strong>at least 6 months<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Minimum Foreign Tax Condition<\/strong><br>The foreign subsidiary must be subject to tax in its home country at a rate of <strong>at least 15%<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>When these three conditions are satisfied, the dividend income received in Thailand is <strong>100% exempt from Thai CIT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why This Matters for Thai Businesses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Thailand\u2019s corporate income tax rate is 20%. Without this exemption, foreign dividends could be subject to additional Thai taxation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Royal Decree No. 384 prevents this \u201cdouble taxation\u201d and allows Thai companies to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Repatriate overseas profits efficiently<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid unnecessary group-level tax leakage<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Centralize regional profits under a Thai parent company<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strengthen balance sheets with tax-free dividend income<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For Thai service companies, holding companies, and regional operators, this exemption can significantly improve after-tax group returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Practical Example<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine a Thai company owns 100% of a Singapore subsidiary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Singapore company earns profit and pays Singapore corporate tax (17%).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dividends are declared to the Thai parent.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Because Singapore\u2019s tax rate exceeds 15%, and the Thai parent owns more than 25% for over 6 months, the dividend received in Thailand is <strong>fully exempt from Thai corporate income tax<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Result:<br>Profits earned abroad are not taxed again in Thailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Strategic Planning Opportunities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This exemption makes Thailand an attractive location for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Regional holding company structures<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ASEAN expansion strategies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Investment structures involving foreign subsidiaries<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Group-level profit consolidation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, proper structuring is critical. Shareholding percentages, holding periods, and foreign tax compliance must be carefully managed to ensure eligibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Businesses should also consider withholding tax implications in the foreign jurisdiction and broader international tax rules when designing their structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Royal Decree No. 384 provides Thai companies with a clear and legitimate pathway to optimize cross-border tax efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Thai businesses planning international expansion, understanding and properly applying this exemption can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reduce overall tax burden<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increase retained earnings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improve regional competitiveness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhance long-term group profitability<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>With the right structure, Thailand can serve not just as your operating base \u2014 but as a tax-efficient regional headquarters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can now set up your foreign company from Thailand. Find out more at: <a href=\"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/ASEAN-Business-Gateway\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/ASEAN-Business-Gateway<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Understanding Royal Decree No. 384 Under the Thai Revenue Code As Thai businesses expand overseas \u2014 particularly into Singapore, Hong Kong, and other regional hubs \u2014 one key tax question &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1711,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-doing-business-in-thailand-foreigner-locals"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/doing-business-living-bangkok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/doing-business-living-bangkok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/doing-business-living-bangkok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/doing-business-living-bangkok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/doing-business-living-bangkok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1710"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/doing-business-living-bangkok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1712,"href":"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/doing-business-living-bangkok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1710\/revisions\/1712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/doing-business-living-bangkok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/doing-business-living-bangkok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/doing-business-living-bangkok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionspace.co.th\/doing-business-living-bangkok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}