Buying property in Phuket from Singapore

Lyubov FortunovaFounder of Fortunova Capital Group. I have lived on Phuket for over five years and handle every purchase myself. About me

The Singapore conversation almost always starts from the same place: a second property at home costs 20% in additional buyer's stamp duty before you own anything at all. That is a real number, and it is why Phuket gets looked at. But the comparison only means something if you are honest about what you give up as well as what you save, so let me set out both halves — the tax, which is simple, and the asset, which is not.

Singapore taxes almost none of this

Foreign-sourced income received in Singapore by a resident individual is exempt. The Revenue's own guidance is explicit: all foreign-sourced income remitted into Singapore from 1 January 2004 is exempt under section 13(7A)(b) of the Income Tax Act — with the exception of income received through a Singapore partnership, where only specified foreign income is exempt and conditions apply. For an individual holding one apartment in their own name, Phuket rent is not taxed in Singapore.

• No tax on the rent for a resident individual not holding through a partnership.
• No capital gains tax. Singapore does not tax gains from the sale of assets that are capital in nature, foreign-sourced or Singapore-sourced. The section 10L charge on foreign asset disposals applies to entities of relevant groups, not to individuals.
• No estate duty. It was removed for deaths on and after 15 February 2008.

The Singapore–Thailand treaty, in force since February 2016, allocates in the usual way — Thailand may tax income from and gains on property situated there, and Singapore gives a credit. As with Hong Kong, the credit is of no practical use, because Singapore is not charging the income. I would rather tell you that than let a treaty do decorative work.

So the only tax is Thai, and here is what it is

The 15% figure that circulates is a withholding at source under section 50(3) of the Thai Revenue Code, not a final tax. Section 60 credits it against the liability computed on the Thai return, and that liability is the progressive scale applied after the 30% standard expense deduction for rent from a building. File, and much of the withheld amount comes back. Add Land and Building Tax, which is small for residential use and materially higher for anything assessed as hotel use.

The comparison you are actually making

At home, since 27 April 2023: a citizen pays no additional buyer's stamp duty on a first property, 20% on a second and 30% on a third or more; a permanent resident pays 5%, 30% and 35%; a foreigner pays 60% and an entity 65%. Seller's stamp duty was tightened on 4 July 2025 — the holding period went from three years to four, at 16%, 12%, 8% and 4% for each year held, for property bought on or after that date. Loan-to-value sits at 75% for a first housing loan, 45% for a second and 35% for a third, with total debt servicing capped at 55%.

Against that, a Phuket condominium costs a 2% transfer fee at the Land Office and nothing in Singapore. The arithmetic is not subtle. What it leaves out is everything that makes the two assets different:

• No mortgage, in practice. Thai banks lend for this only to borrowers with a work permit and local income, so you are paying cash, or using a developer's interest-free instalment plan during construction.
• A thinner resale market. Selling a Phuket apartment takes months rather than weeks, and the pool of buyers who can take your freehold is constrained by the building's 49% quota.
• Currency. Your rent is in baht and your life is in Singapore dollars. Over a decade that is a real component of the return, in either direction.
• Management is not optional. A let apartment eight hours away needs someone competent on the ground, and their fee is a permanent line in the model, not an afterthought.
• The building matters more than the island. Sinking fund, arrears, the juristic person's competence — that is what decides whether you still own something worth selling in ten years.

What Thailand takes, whatever your passport

This half does not change by nationality, and it is worth having straight before you look at the tax position at home.

• On purchase. A transfer fee of 2% of the appraised value at the Land Office. The reduced 0.01% fee that appears in Thai news coverage — extended, as reported, to 30 June 2027 — is limited to Thai nationals. A foreign buyer pays the full 2%.
• On the rent. Rent from Thai property is taxable in Thailand wherever it is paid. Where a tenant or agent pays a non-resident owner, 15% is withheld at source under section 50(3) of the Revenue Code. That is not a final tax: under section 60 it is credited against the liability calculated on the Thai return, and for most owners a large part of it comes back.
• The Thai calculation itself. The progressive scale runs from nil below THB 150,000 to 35% above THB 5,000,000, and rent from a building carries a standard expense deduction of 30% under Royal Decree No. 11, or actual documented expenses instead. The annual return is due by the end of March, with a half-year return for rental income by the end of September.
• While you hold it. Land and Building Tax, assessed by the municipality on the position at 1 January. On a residential unit that is not your registered home the rate sits in hundredths of a percent of appraised value; property assessed as hotel or commercial use is charged materially higher.
• On sale. 2% transfer fee again, plus specific business tax of 3.3% if you sell within five years of acquiring — or stamp duty of 0.5% if you do not, never both — plus the seller's withholding income tax, computed at the Land Office on the appraised value after a deduction that scales with the years you held it.
• On death. Thailand has an inheritance tax, but the threshold is high: THB 100 million per heir, with tax only on the excess, at 5% for ascendants and descendants and 10% for others. A spouse is exempt. The return is due within 150 days.

What to check before you commit

The foreign quota on your specific unit, in writing from the juristic person. The juristic person's accounts and sinking fund. Whether the building holds a hotel licence, if nightly letting is part of the plan at all — what the law allows on short-term rental explains why that is a criminal question rather than a house-rules one. And the money: it must arrive in foreign currency and be converted in Thailand, and the bank's evidence of that is what your freehold is registered against — the bank document the Land Office needs covers which document and how to ask for it.

For completeness: Thailand does have an inheritance tax, above THB 100 million per heir, and separately the Condominium Act decides whether a foreign heir may keep the unit at all. Singapore having no estate duty does not make that go away. how a Thai apartment passes to your heirs.

In short

For a Singapore-resident individual, a Phuket apartment is taxed in one place only, and the 2% entry cost against 20% at home is not a marketing line, it is arithmetic. The work is entirely in the asset: the right building, a verified quota, accounts that stand up, and a rental plan that is lawful. None of this is tax advice — if you hold through a partnership, a company or a trust, take it to a Singapore adviser before you rely on any of it.

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Lyubov Fortunova

Investment strategist and founder of Fortunova Capital Group. I have lived on Phuket for more than five years and run every deal myself: I select the property, calculate the net return, check the developer and hold the process together until the keys are handed over. Lawyers, visa and tax specialists come from my own circle.

“I count net, not dreams”

I am in Singapore and would like to compare specific units on real net numbers, not brochure yields

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