Wasn't sure whether to put this here or in Thai Law.

I was just wandering what this is about as again it seems as my Wife is married to farang that we get charged more tax? My wife bought 1 rai in her name for her nothing to do with me yet they still wanted copies of my passport and me to sign some paperwork that they couldn't explain to me in English but had to sign to get the certificate. On top of that we were charge 18,000B Tax? where as the people who sold ud the land had bought 1 rai recently and were charged 5,600B??? and a Thai lady in the same office was charged 1,000B for a 1/4 Rai (Can't rmember what it's called). Again they couldn't explain to me why it was so high????

Anyone any ideas.... it's not nice being left feeling you have been ripped off when the purchase had nothing to do with me - it's my Wife's money she used to buy it and I am happy not to be involved.

HH

I don't know if anyone can give you a definitive answer to your question as there are many times that the officials discriminate against falangs for many different reasons!
That said,there is also the possibility that your transfer tax was legitimate to the actual appraised value of the land.Different parcels in different areas with different perceived amenities means different appraisal values!
We bought some riverfront land,which is appraised very high ,as is city property!We took a ''local'' with us that supposedly knew everybody at the land office!She told us to tell them that we paid half as much as we paid to save money on the transfer tax!We did,but the appraisal was still higher than the price we paid,therefore the tax was paid on the appraised value,not the purchase price!

How did they know you were Falang. If your wife Buys property let her go to the District Office alone and no questions will be asked. If they see you, Falang price will apply.

Since the actual constitution (Under Thaksin) was formed and so the old law (which allowed thai man to buy land if married to a foreign nat. but not allowed thai women to buy thai soil when they where married to a foreigner/of course many did by negociating their foreign husband at the land office-Krom teedin,but this was illegal,and disfavored common childrens) had been changed! Now.. every Thai national can buy land when married to a foreign nat. but he has to prove that the he or her buys by his own means and the foreign part has to sign a document to declare not to have any rights/possesion on the land especially in case of a divorce. It is not against thai-law to get 50% of the value back in case of a divorce! But in practice...try to get it! Still some Thai try to buy land without informing their partners,especially when married outside of Thailand, if married in Thailand informations gather in a common database,so they do at the land office!

Aardvark wrote:How did they know you were Falang. If your wife Buys property let her go to the District Office alone and no questions will be asked. If they see you, Falang price will apply.

Being legally married,my wifes last name is the same as mine!

BKKSTAN wrote:

Aardvark wrote:How did they know you were Falang. If your wife Buys property let her go to the District Office alone and no questions will be asked. If they see you, Falang price will apply.

Being legally married,my wifes last name is the same as mine!

This is one of the main reasons I wanted my wife kept her own name, also legally married!
( I'm not sure the spelling is correct?)

Stan, did you get my PM about Nong Khai?

Rudi1 wrote:

BKKSTAN wrote:

Aardvark wrote:How did they know you were Falang. If your wife Buys property let her go to the District Office alone and no questions will be asked. If they see you, Falang price will apply.

Being legally married,my wifes last name is the same as mine!

This is one of the main reasons I wanted my wife kept her own name, also legally married!
( I'm not sure the spelling is correct?)

Stan, did you get my PM about Nong Khai?

Legaaly,I didn't know we had a choice!

I don't have a pm from you.

BKKSTAN wrote:

Rudi1 wrote:

BKKSTAN wrote:

Aardvark wrote:How did they know you were Falang. If your wife Buys property let her go to the District Office alone and no questions will be asked. If they see you, Falang price will apply.

Being legally married,my wifes last name is the same as mine!

This is one of the main reasons I wanted my wife kept her own name, also legally married!
( I'm not sure the spelling is correct?)

Stan, did you get my PM about Nong Khai?

Legaaly,I didn't know we had a choice!

I don't have a pm from you.

I'll try again!

I made sure my wife kept her own name so she would'nt face prejudice in her own country, which I know to be a fact.

Aardvark wrote:I made sure my wife kept her own name so she would'nt face prejudice in her own country, which I know to be a fact.

I agree that her using her Thai name is the best way to go!

Normally, the land transfer tax is 2% of the purchase price or assessed value, whichever is higher. In most cases, payment of the tax is split 50/50 between the seller and the buyer, however this is negotiable. It may be that you paid 100% of the tax. Payment is due within 30 days of registering the sale.

That being said, unless you bought an extremely valuable of land, I would agree that B18,000 seems excessive.

If the land has not been held for at least 5 years since its last sale there is an additional 2.5% fee.

If the land has not been held for at least 5 years since its last sale there is an additional 2.5% fee.

I wasn't aware of that additional fee - it's good to know. So in this particular situation, if the land was held less than 5 years prior to this sale and the buyer paid 100% of the fees and taxes, the purchase price (or assessed value) would be 400,000 Baht.

hardhhhat, if your purchase price was equal to that amount, than your issue isn't with the land office, but with the seller. Unless your purchase contract specifically stated that you would pay 100% of the tax, the seller owes you 9,000 Baht.

trying to solve that, when married, i changed my name to the ex's name. i still keep the family name, so when me and Gem are out and about, if stopped by police, it doesn't look like i'm kidnapping a village kid.

i don't remember paying any tax when buying land, and i was sitting right there. then at land office paid the 3600 for tax on 30 year lease, which i know was accurate charge. went to local land office to see if any taxes required for past 5 years, none, but got charged 5 baht for paperwork, wasn't in the book, or couldn't find, so i made sure they added a page for me, just in case. showing i was there and made effort, though none need. no tax on less than so many rai, only have one.

Thanks for all the replies - yes it seems it's this under 5 years rule and the seller has offered to pay 9,000B so at least we have that sorted. It wasn't a very high priced piece of land but they have valued it for more than my Wife paid and it's not far outside the city limit of Udon Thani in a quite village.

As mentioned in other replies it's my Wife's change of name that they know she is married to a farang. I wanted to use her name when we married years ago but she wanted mine - ho hum!

Thanks for all the information it is very useful. Someone mentioned that 5 year thing to me but had said it was 3 years and they had the land for just over 3 years so didn't understand it. The 5 year rule makes sense but didn't see why my Wife should pay all the fees as it's the seller that makes the money not the buyer.

Thanks again,

HH