Deduction of three times wage expenses

In March 2020, the Cabinet approved several tax measures to help boost the economy during the COVID-19 outbreak. One of those tax measures was a deduction of three times wage expenses for employers. On 24 June 2020, the Revenue Department issued further clarification regarding this deduction.

Keywords: Mazars, Thailand, Tax, COVID-19,Revenue Department, SMEs, Tax deduction, Wage expenses

17 July 2020

Under this tax measure, SMEs who are still hiring employees and paying wages can claim a tax deduction of three times the wage expenses paid during April through July 2020 when calculating their corporate income tax. However, the following criteria must be met:

1. The entity must be a company or legal partnership having income in the last twelve-month accounting period not exceeding THB 500 million, where the last day of the accounting period ended on or before 30 September 2019.

2. The entity must have not over 200 employees.

3. The entity must continue to employ the employees insured with the Social Security Fund and pay wages of not more than THB 15,000 per person a month.

4. The total number of insured employees from 1 April 2020 to 31 July 2020 must not be less than the total number of insured employees as of the last day of March 2020.

SMEs that meet these criteria can register to claim the deduction under this tax measure on the Revenue Department’s website from the date that the system is activated until within 150 days of the last day of the accounting period.

Official notification regarding this tax measure has not yet been issued.