Four charges are settled at the Land Office on the day. Who pays which is negotiable — and the rate reduction you have read about does not apply to foreign buyers.
Transfer fee — 2% of the Land Department appraised value. Note "appraised", not the price you agreed: the appraised value is the government's own figure and is usually lower than the market price.
Specific Business Tax (SBT) — 3.3% of the higher of the appraised value or the sale price. It applies where the seller has held the property for less than five years, and to sellers transacting as a business. Where SBT applies, stamp duty does not.
Stamp duty — 0.5%, applied where SBT does not.
Withholding tax — calculated on the appraised value, on a sliding scale for individual sellers based on years of ownership, and at a flat rate for corporate sellers. For an individual it is a progressive calculation, not a single percentage, so ask for the Land Office's own figure rather than an estimate.
None of it is fixed by law as between the parties. Convention in a resale is that the 2% transfer fee is split 50/50 and the seller carries SBT or stamp duty and the withholding tax. Convention is not a rule, and on a new development the developer's contract will often push more of it to the buyer.
Settle this in writing in the sale and purchase agreement, in figures, before you pay a deposit. "Costs to be shared as per normal practice" is not a term — it is an argument scheduled for the day of transfer.
Thailand has periodically cut the transfer fee from 2% to 0.01% for homes and condominium units up to THB 7 million, as a stimulus measure, most recently for a window running to mid-2026.
The reduction has been restricted to Thai nationals. A foreign buyer of the same unit pays the standard 2%. Any calculator or agent quoting you 0.01% needs to be asked directly whether that rate is available to a foreign purchaser.
These measures are renewed, amended or allowed to lapse at short notice. Confirm the position in force on your actual transfer date, not the one in force when you signed.
A new-build purchase usually carries a sinking fund contribution — a one-off payment into the building's capital reserve — plus common area maintenance charged per square metre per month, payable annually in advance. Both are on top of the price.
If you are buying with a mortgage, there is a separate mortgage registration fee of 1% of the loan amount, capped, also payable at the Land Office.
Budget for independent legal review and a title search. On a resale, budget for the possibility that the outgoing owner is in arrears on common area fees — the juristic person will not issue the debt-free certificate the Land Office requires until those are settled, and that certificate is what allows your transfer to proceed.