Since 2018, income derived from holding digital assets and cryptocurrency trading has been subject to taxation. In 2022, Notifications No. 380 and No. 424 clarified the reporting requirements for such income.
Tax base and reporting
Tax residents must include cryptocurrency income in their total taxable income and report it in their annual tax return. The filing deadline is March 31.
The key rule is that taxable income is considered to be capital gain — i.e., the amount exceeding the acquisition cost of the cryptocurrency. However, there are several important nuances.
Withholding tax by exchanges
Personal income tax on digital asset income is 15%.
This tax is withheld by the exchange through which the transactions are conducted.
At the end of the year, the tax withheld by the exchange is credited against the total tax payable.
If it is not possible to determine the income from a specific transaction, the exchange does not withhold tax.
Deductible expenses
Expenses related to the transfer of cryptocurrency, incurred within the same calendar year, may be deducted from income, reducing the taxable base.
All transactions must be conducted through licensed exchanges registered in Thailand (the list is available on the SEC website).
Income calculation methods
One method for calculating income must be selected and consistently applied throughout the reporting period:
– FIFO (First In, First Out)
– MAC (Moving Average Cost)
Example:
You purchased one unit of cryptocurrency for 100,000 baht and another for 500,000 baht. You then sold one unit for 1,000,000 baht.
FIFO: assumes the first unit was sold → income = 1,000,000 – 100,000 = 900,000 baht
MAC: average cost per unit = (100,000 + 500,000) / 2 = 300,000 baht → income = 1,000,000 – 300,000 = 700,000 baht
Author: Alexandra Agapitova.
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