Payroll in Thailand

Payroll in Thailand means calculating gross-to-net salary, withholding the 5% Social Security Fund contribution from each employee, applying progressive income tax from 0% to 35%, paying the employer Social Security match plus a small Workmen’s Compensation levy, issuing payslips and filing the PND.1 withholding return with the Revenue Department each month. The key local issue is the Social Security cap: the 5% employee contribution applies only to a narrow monthly wage band, so almost every salaried employee pays the same flat THB 875 a month no matter what they earn, and your gross-to-net maths has to reflect that rather than a true 5% of pay.

Total employer cost for a ฿ 600,000 annual salary is about ฿ 610,980, around 2% on top of gross.

Our verdict: From your first hire in Thailand, opening a Ltd. (roughly $4,500 in setup costs and 4 to 8 weeks to complete) can work out cheaper than an EOR at $199 to $650 per employee per month. Use an EOR only when you need someone working before the entity is ready. Already running a local entity: standard payroll outsourcing is the cheaper route.

Use this page if you already have, or plan to set up, a Thai entity and want to know what running payroll actually involves. If you want to hire in Thailand without becoming the legal employer, an Employer of Record is the faster route.

No Thai entity yet? See our guide to EOR in Thailand.

Payroll in Thailand at a Glance

How Does Payroll Work in Thailand?

Thai payroll runs on a steady monthly rhythm. You calculate each employee’s gross salary, withhold their Social Security contribution and income tax to reach net pay, add the employer charges on top, then file and pay what is owed early the following month.

The tax side reports to the Revenue Department, Thailand’s equivalent of HMRC or the IRS. It collects income tax through the PND.1 withholding return and reconciles each employee’s year at filing time. Almost everything tax-related in Thai payroll eventually routes to the Revenue Department.

The social side reports separately to the Social Security Office, the SSO. The SSO runs the Social Security Fund, the state insurance scheme that funds healthcare, unemployment, maternity and pensions for employees. You register each new hire with the SSO and remit both the employee and employer Social Security contributions to it monthly.

The employer’s own cost is modest. You match the employee’s 5% Social Security Fund contribution, which is subject to the same cap, and you pay a small Workmen’s Compensation Fund levy, giving a typical employer load of roughly 5.2% to 6.0% of payroll.

The detail that catches foreign employers is the Social Security cap, covered in full below. Get it wrong and you over-deduct from staff and your filings stop reconciling.

Two filings carry the month: PND.1 to the Revenue Department for withheld tax, and the Social Security remittance to the SSO. Both fall due within the first week of the following month, so the run has to be finalised quickly.

What Payroll Taxes Apply in Thailand?

Three charges sit on a Thai salary: the employee’s Social Security contribution, progressive income tax, and the employer’s matching Social Security plus the Workmen’s Compensation levy. The Social Security cap shapes all of them, so it is worth understanding before the numbers.

Employer Payroll Contributions in Thailand

The employer pays two statutory charges. The first is the matching Social Security Fund contribution at 5% of wages, capped on the same monthly wage band as the employee side, so the most you pay per employee is THB 875 a month.

The second is the Workmen’s Compensation Fund levy, a small annual charge of roughly 0.2% to 1.0% of payroll that insures against work injuries. Together these give a typical employer burden of about 5.2% to 6.0%, far lighter than the 20% to 45% loadings common in Western Europe.

That low loading is the headline, but the cap is the catch: above a modest salary, your Social Security cost stops rising while gross pay keeps climbing, so the effective employer rate falls as salaries rise.

The true cost of employing in Thailand

Statutory employer rates; items can apply to different wage bases or carry conditions, so lines do not always sum to the total.

Thailand has no statutory 13th-month, holiday or profit-sharing bonus.

Sources: taxsummaries.pwc.com (employer contributions), mol.go.th (bonuses).

Employee Payroll Deductions in Thailand

You withhold one social contribution from the employee: the Social Security Fund at 5% of wages. The contribution applies only to a monthly wage band of THB 1,650 to THB 17,500, so the most any employee pays is THB 875 a month, or THB 10,500 a year.

This is the single most important number on the page. An employee earning THB 17,500 a month and one earning THB 150,000 a month both pay the same THB 875, because the 5% rate stops applying above the THB 17,500 ceiling.

Note for 2026: from 1 January 2026 the wage ceiling rose to THB 17,500, lifting the maximum monthly contribution to THB 875. The figures on this page reflect that 2026 cap of THB 875.

Income Tax on Salary in Thailand

Thailand applies progressive personal income tax (PIT) from 0% to 35%. The rate climbs in bands: nothing on the first THB 150,000 of net assessable income, then 5%, 10%, 15% and so on up to 35% on income above THB 5,000,000.

The base matters more than the bands. Tax is charged on net assessable income, which is gross pay after a 50%-of-income expense deduction capped at THB 100,000, then after the standard THB 60,000 personal allowance. Those two reliefs come off before the bands apply, which is why a moderate salary lands in the lower brackets.

Payroll Tax Example: Gross Salary to Net Pay

Here is how the charges stack up for a representative salary. The figures come from the rates above, calculated in the statutory order, with the Social Security cap applied.

Simplified illustration: Single resident employee, no dependants or extra allowances, on THB 600,000 gross a year, 2026 rules. SSF is capped so the employee pays THB 10,500 (THB 875 x 12), not 5% of gross. The employer WCF levy applies to annual wages capped at THB 240,000 per employee (not full gross), so at the lowest 0.2% risk rate it is THB 480. Each taxpayer gets a THB 60,000 personal allowance plus a 50%-of-income expense deduction capped at THB 100,000.

Read the two bold rows together. A worker on THB 600,000 gross takes home THB 568,000, while your total cost as employer is THB 610,980.

Both gaps are narrow, and that is the Thai payroll signature. The capped Social Security contribution keeps deductions and employer cost low, so net pay sits close to gross and your cost sits close to gross, unlike the heavy social loadings elsewhere in the region.

What Payroll Filings Are Required in Thailand?

Thailand splits monthly reporting across two bodies: the Revenue Department for withheld income tax and the Social Security Office for contributions. The tax filing is the PND.1, and the annual reconciliation is the PND.91.

What PND.1 Reports

The PND.1 is the monthly withholding tax return every Thai employer files with the Revenue Department. It reports the income tax withheld from each employee’s salary for the month, employee by employee.

At year end, the PND.91 is the annual personal income tax return that reconciles each employee’s full-year tax against what was withheld through the monthly PND.1 returns. Together they let the Revenue Department confirm the year ties out.

When PND.1 Is Due

The PND.1 is due by the 7th day of the month following the payment of income. Tax withheld on June salaries is filed and paid by 7 July. Filing online through the Revenue Department’s e-filing system usually extends the deadline by a few days, but the 7th is the date to plan against.

Who Files It

The legal obligation sits with the employer. In practice your payroll provider or accounting firm prepares and submits the PND.1 and remits the Social Security contribution on your behalf, or your in-house team files directly if you run your own Thai entity.

Either way, confirm in writing who presses submit each month. The liability for a late or wrong filing stays with you as employer regardless of who does the keying.

What Happens If Payroll Filings Are Wrong

Late tax filing draws a criminal fine of up to THB 2,000 for the PND.1, plus a surcharge of 1.5% per month on any unpaid tax. Late Social Security remittance carries a heavier surcharge of 2% per month on the outstanding contribution. Beyond the money, a return that does not reconcile against your payroll invites a closer look at the whole run, which is why getting the Social Security cap and the tax bands right the first time matters more than the modest headline fines suggest.

What Are the Payroll Deadlines in Thailand?

Most Thai payroll obligations land monthly, anchored to that 7th-of-the-following-month filing date. The exception is Social Security registration, which is event-driven: new hires must be registered with the SSO within 30 days of starting.

Late filing: Tax (P.N.D.1): A criminal penalty fine up to THB 2,000 for late filing. A surcharge of 1.5% per month on the tax amount due for late payment. Social Security: A surcharge of 2% per month on the outstanding contribution amount.

Payroll Operations Risk in Thailand

Employers in Thailand file with 3 separate agencies.

Sources: mol.go.th (compliance), bot.or.th (payments).

What Payslip and Employee Record Rules Apply in Thailand?

Thailand requires you to issue a payslip to every employee for each pay run, showing gross pay, each deduction and net pay. There is no single national payroll register on the scale of Romania’s REVISAL, but the Social Security Office registration takes its place as the record that has to be kept current.

The registration rule is the one that catches foreign employers. Each new hire must be registered with the SSO using the SSO 1-03 form within 30 days of their start date, and leavers must be reported too.

Miss the window and the contributions still accrue, but you face the 2% monthly surcharge on the arrears and a gap in the employee’s healthcare and benefit cover. Your payroll provider should produce compliant payslips automatically and keep SSO registrations in step with every joiner and leaver.

When you assess a provider, treat SSO registration timing as seriously as the tax filing: a clean PND.1 with a neglected Social Security register still leaves you exposed and your staff under-covered.

How Much Does Payroll Outsourcing Cost in Thailand?

There are two separate numbers in Thai payroll cost, and confusing them is the most common budgeting mistake. The first is your statutory employer cost, which is the matching Social Security contribution (capped at THB 875 per employee) plus the small Workmen’s Compensation levy.

11 of the 15 EOR providers we track publish Thailand fees; they range from $199 to $650 per employee per month.

Published list prices in USD: EOR fees are per employee per month, contractor fees per contractor per month. Providers that publish neither fee for Thailand are not shown.

According to Whichapp’s July 2026 analysis of EOR fees across 40 countries, providers charge $199 to $650 per employee per month in Thailand.

11 of the 15 providers we track publish Thailand EOR fees. The lowest published rate is $199 per employee per month and the highest is $650.

Contractor management fees in Thailand run from $6 to $49 per contractor per month.

The second is the fee you pay a provider to run the payroll for you. They are unrelated, and only the second is negotiable.

Managed Payroll Provider Fees

Managed payroll in Thailand is normally priced per employee per month, and most providers quote rather than publish a rate. The price turns on headcount, on whether you also need accounting, tax or HR support, and on how many of your staff sit near the Social Security cap, which affects how the calculation is set up.

The fee buys the gross-to-net calculation, the PND.1 filing, Social Security remittance and payslip production. It does not include the statutory contributions themselves, which you fund on top, so gather two or three quotes before committing.

What Payroll Provider Fees Usually Include

A standard managed payroll fee in Thailand should cover the monthly gross-to-net calculation, withholding of the 5% Social Security contribution, the progressive income tax, preparation and electronic submission of the PND.1 to the Revenue Department, the Social Security remittance to the SSO, SSO registration of joiners and leavers, and monthly payslips. Ask for that list in writing. If any of it sits outside the headline fee, you want to know before the first run, not after.

Extra Payroll Costs to Ask About

The gaps tend to appear at the edges of the standard cycle. Ask specifically about the annual PND.91 reconciliation, handling of allowances and the personal deduction, severance calculations on termination, correction filings when something has to be restated, and onboarding setup fees for taking on your entity. These are the line items that turn a tidy per-head quote into a larger annual number.

When Payroll Outsourcing Becomes Cheaper Than EOR

The choice between running your own payroll and using an EOR is mostly about headcount and how long you plan to stay. An EOR carries a higher monthly fee per person because the provider is the legal employer and absorbs the entity, but it saves you setting one up.

Running your own payroll through a Thai limited company is cheaper per head once you are past a handful of employees and committed to staying, because the entity and provider fee spread across more people. In our assessment, the more people you hire and the longer the horizon, the more the economics favour your own entity with outsourced payroll.

Payroll in Thailand vs EOR in Thailand

The line between the two routes is simple: standard payroll assumes you are the legal employer through a Thai entity, while an EOR makes the provider the legal employer so you do not need one.

Use payroll outsourcing if you already have a local entity or are hiring enough people to justify one. Use an EOR if you need to hire before setting up an entity.

If that second case is you, our guide to EOR in Thailand covers the providers, work-permit handling and costs in full. EOR pricing and provider ranking live there, not on this page.

Best Payroll Providers for Thailand

These providers all run payroll in Thailand, but they are built for different situations. Below is where each one fits and the local point to check before you sign. We do not list EOR prices here; for unpriced managed payroll, treat the fee as by quote and confirm it during your shortlist calls.

9 providers in Whichapp’s independent index cover Thailand. The top 5 by composite score:

1. Deel (9.1/10). From $599/month. Best for scale, automation and contractor volume. Runs its own Thailand entity.
2. Multiplier (8.5/10). From $400/month. Best for APAC expansion and mid-market value. Runs its own Thailand entity.
3. Papaya Global (8.2/10). From $650/month. Best for multinational payroll consolidation. Serves Thailand through a partner.
4. Horizons (8.0/10). From $199/month. Best for rapid Asian market entry. Runs its own Thailand entity.
5. Remote (8.0/10). From $599/month. Best for IP protection and owned-entity purity. Runs its own Thailand entity.

Rankings come straight from Whichapp’s provider index (coverage 30%, pricing transparency 25%, security and compliance 25%, integration depth 20%); see how we score.

Only 7 of 9 major EORs run their own Thailand entity; 2 more serve it via a partner.

Entity model as reported on provider websites, last checked 2026-06-06. An own entity means the provider is the direct legal employer; a partner model adds a third party to the chain.

Deel for Payroll in Thailand

Deel is a strong fit if Thailand sits alongside other Asia-Pacific hires you want on one platform, with a single dashboard and API across markets. Thailand watch-out: confirm whether your Thai payroll runs on Deel’s own local entity or a partner bureau, and that it files the PND.1 and handles SSO registration directly rather than handing it to a third party. Read our Deel review.

Remote for Payroll in Thailand

Remote runs much of its payroll through owned entities, which gives a cleaner compliance chain than a partner-network model. That suits employers who want a direct line of accountability for the PND.1 and Social Security filings.

Thailand watch-out: confirm Thai payroll is on Remote’s owned entity rather than a local partner, and that the Social Security cap is applied correctly in its gross-to-net engine. Read our Remote review.

Papaya Global for Payroll in Thailand

Papaya Global is built for consolidating payroll across many countries with finance-grade reporting and audit trails, so it earns its place when Thailand is one market in a larger stack. Its weakness is the opposite case: for a single Thai entity with no multi-country reporting need, the platform is heavier than the job requires.

Thailand watch-out: Papaya leans on local partners in some markets, so confirm whether your Thai payroll runs on its own entity or a third-party bureau, and how directly it owns the PND.1 filing. Read our Papaya Global review.

Rippling for Payroll in Thailand

Rippling appeals when you want payroll wired into the same system as HR, IT and device management, with automated journal entries. Thailand watch-out: it is platform-first, so confirm the depth of its Thai statutory handling, specifically the capped Social Security contribution and PND.1 filing, against what a local specialist would offer. Read our Rippling review.

Multiplier for Payroll in Thailand

Multiplier is the value option for multi-country payroll where price predictability matters, which fits smaller Thai teams. The trade-off for that price is depth: in tightly regulated markets it tends to carry less local specialist weight than a Papaya or an in-country bureau.

Thailand watch-out: confirm it files the PND.1 and registers staff with the SSO directly rather than through a reseller, and that its gross-to-net engine applies the THB 875 Social Security cap rather than a flat 5% before you anchor any salary offers on it. Read our Multiplier review.

Safeguard Global for Payroll in Thailand

Safeguard Global is a payroll-led specialist rather than an HR platform with payroll bolted on, which appeals when running the payroll correctly is the whole point and you do not need a wider people stack. That focus is also its limit: if you want integrated HR, devices and onboarding in one tool, it does less than Rippling or Deel.

Thailand watch-out: confirm its Thai coverage is run in-house rather than subcontracted, and that the service includes SSO registration and Revenue Department correspondence, not just the monthly calculation. Read our Safeguard Global review.

How to Choose a Payroll Provider in Thailand

The questions below separate a provider that genuinely runs Thai payroll from one that resells a local bureau without owning the detail. Ask them before you sign, not after the first run.

Can They Handle PND.1?

Confirm the provider prepares and submits the PND.1 to the Revenue Department directly through the e-filing system, files the annual PND.91 reconciliation, and ties the declaration back to the actual payroll and bank payments each month. Ask who presses submit and by when.

Do They Manage SSO Registration?

Check that joiner and leaver registration with the Social Security Office is handled within the 30-day window, and that the monthly Social Security remittance is paid on time. A provider that treats SSO timing as an afterthought leaves you facing surcharges and your staff with gaps in cover.

Can They Model Gross-to-Net Salary Accurately?

Thailand’s Social Security cap means a flat 5% calculation overstates the deduction for most salaried staff. A capable provider applies the THB 875 monthly ceiling correctly and models gross-to-net both ways, rather than just processing whatever number you hand over.

How Do They Update for Payroll Law Changes?

Thai payroll rules change, and the Social Security ceiling rose to THB 17,500 from January 2026. Ask how the provider tracks Revenue Department and Social Security Office changes and how quickly updates reach your payroll runs.

Who Is Liable for Payroll Errors?

The statutory liability stays with you as employer, but the contract should set out what the provider is accountable for if a miscalculation or late filing is their fault. Get the indemnity and correction process in writing.

Can They Support Multi-Country Reporting?

If Thailand is one of several markets, confirm the provider can consolidate reporting across them in a single view, so your finance team is not stitching country files together by hand.

What Support Do They Offer During Terminations or Audits?

Terminations and Revenue Department queries are where weak providers show their limits. Ask what support you get during a severance calculation or an audit, and whether a named contact handles it or you are routed through a ticket queue.

What Does Terminating an Employee Cost in Thailand?

Severance: Statutory severance pay in Thailand is a tiered lump sum payment based on the employee’s length of continuous service. The amount is calculated as a specific number of days of the employee’s last rate of wages, with the number of days increasing at set tenure milestones. This is mandated by Section 118 of the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998) as amended.

Statutory leave: 6 days of paid annual leave plus 13 public holidays a year.

Sources: mol.go.th (severance), mol.go.th (leave).

Thailand Payroll Checklist Before Hiring

• Confirm whether you need payroll or an EOR
• Check your local entity status
• Model gross-to-net salary for your offers
• Confirm employer contribution rate (employer SSF + WCF)
• Confirm employee deductions (SSF)
• Confirm income tax treatment
• Check who files PND.1 / PND.91 and by when
• Confirm SSO registration registration is handled
• Confirm the payslip process
• Check leave, sick pay and termination workflows
• Ask who carries liability for calculation errors
• Confirm provider pricing and any extra fees

Work through this before your first hire. The Social Security registration at point eight is the one foreign employers miss most often, because it runs on its own 30-day deadline separate from the monthly tax filing.

FAQs About Payroll in Thailand

Methodology and Disclosure

Contribution rates, the income tax bands, filing deadlines and penalty figures on this page come from Whichapp’s Thailand statutory dataset, grounded in Revenue Department income tax rules and Social Security Office contribution rules, and refreshed as rates change. The worked example is calculated from those rates and reconciles by construction.

Provider assessments reflect our independent editorial view of payroll fit for Thailand; we do not sell payroll, EOR or contractor services. Some provider links may carry affiliate referrals, which never affects our editorial judgement or the figures above.

Already hiring contractors instead of employees? See contractor management in Thailand, or start from the Thailand hiring hub for the full picture.

Primary sources

• Income tax and employee contributions: taxsummaries.pwc.com
• Employer contributions: bdo.th
• Minimum wage: mol.go.th
• Payroll filing deadlines: mol.go.th
• Notice periods and leave: mol.go.th
• Severance rules: mol.go.th