VAT Tax Refund in Bangkok, Thailand

Are you heading to Bangkok to shop? Or shopping elsewhere in Thailand? Regardless, most goods and services in Thailand have a 7% Value Added Tax (VAT). I will share how you can save some money by getting a VAT tax refund in Bangkok or Thailand in general. Read on to find out if you are eligible for this refund, and if yes, what you should do to get it.

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At Suvarnabhumi airport Bangkok

Eligibility for VAT Tax Refund in Thailand


Person

To get a VAT Tax Refund in Thailand, you have to be a tourist leaving Thailand from an international airport. You are not a tourist if you are an airline crew, carry a Thai/diplomatic passport, or stay in Thailand for more than 6 months in a calendar year with a foreign passport.

Goods

Not all goods purchased in Thailand are eligible for a tax refund. Refund is only for goods purchased from shops displaying the VAT Refund for Tourists‘ sign. Or you can simply confirm with the sales assistant. Department stores or shops of big brands (such as Apple) are usually eligible.

Even in participating shops, you have to purchase at least 2,000 THB (VAT included) in a day from a single shop to get a tax refund. I read in a few places that the total purchase must be more than 5,000 THB to get a tax refund. However, we managed to claim the refund even though our total purchase was only about 3,040 THB.

Thereafter, the goods should be taken out of Thailand within 60 days of purchase and not consumed in Thailand.


Process VAT Tax Refund at the Shop


At the Store

After your purchase, present your passport and request the tax refund application form (P.P.10) from the sales assistant or cashier. He or she will complete the form with it and attach the original tax invoice to the form. Check the P.P.10 form to ensure:

  • The date is the date of purchase.
  • The value of the purchase is at least 2,000 THB.
  • The passport number and name on the tax invoice are correct.
  • The name on the passport, original tax invoice, and P.P.10 form are the same.

Don’t leave the documents behind, you will need to present both the form and the tax invoice when you claim the refund at the airport.

Siam Square Gentlewoman

At the Department Store

For purchases in a department store, proceed to customer service to process your tax refund. Get a queue number and present your passport and tax invoices/receipts when it’s your turn. Please read the information in the previous section (At the Store), they are still relevant here.

At the Department Store (Downtown VAT Tax Refund)

When I was waiting for the staff to process my claim at the Central department store in CentralWorld, I learned that I could get instant cash for the tax refund. She told me there’s a service fee for this downtown VAT tax refund service. I asked how much and she said 7%. This is quite minimal for my 100 THB refund amount. Better to get the cash now in case we need to rush for the flight or if the queue gets too long at the airport.

However, there was a miscommunication. The fee was much more! More on this later.

Anyway, to get instant cash, I had to queue at another counter (get a new queue number for this). I also had to present a VISA/Mastercard credit card that does not expire within 6 months as a guarantee. My tax refund amount of 100 THB was deducted from my credit card. This amount will be refunded after my tax refund claim is processed at the airport. This is to ensure tourists get their forms stamped (see next section) and drop them off at the box at the airport.

The staff told me that after deducting the service fee, I would only be getting 60 THB in cash. I was perplexed, isn’t the service fee just 7%? Then I realised in hindsight that the lady who serviced me previously meant a 7% tax rate and not a 7% service fee. ZZZ. It’s tiered charging, and mine was 40 THB. So not worth it though… here’s the table of service fees (orange column) for your reference:

Downtown VAT Tax Refund Table (Central@CentralWorld)

After you have received the VAT Tax refund, you and the goods must depart from Thailand within 14 days from the date of claim. So if you are not leaving so soon, don’t use the downtown service. You can confirm with the staff processing your refund.


Process VAT Tax Refund at the Airport in Thailand


You need to reach the airport earlier to process your VAT Tax refund. Do account for the time needed to queue for the tax refund before and after immigration clearance.

To just queue once after immigration clearance like us, you might want to consider “breaking” up your purchases among your travel party to keep the total purchases per person to be below 5,000 THB.

Total purchases are less than 5,000 THB (per person)

After the immigration checkpoint, head to the VAT Refund For Tourist Office to claim the tax refund.

  • Queue and present your original tax invoices and the P.P.10 forms.
  • Otherwise, you can drop them into the dropbox in front of the counter.
  • Or mail the documents to the Revenue Department of Thailand.
VAT Refund For Tourist Office (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport)

Total purchases are 5,000 THB or more (per person)

Step 1: Before your airline check-in, present your goods, original tax invoices and the P.P.10 forms to the Customs officer for inspection. You will need to get the P.P.10 forms stamped by the officer.

Step 2: After the immigration checkpoint, head to the VAT Refund For Tourist Office to claim the tax refund.

  • Queue and present your original tax invoices and the P.P.10 forms.
  • Otherwise, you can drop them into the dropbox in front of the counter.
  • Or mail the documents to the Revenue Department of Thailand.
Sign and Box at VAT Refund For Tourist Office (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport)

Luxury Goods (Item worth 10,000 THB or more)

Luxury goods are any item worth 10,000 THB or more. Remember not to pack them into your check-in luggage. They do check the goods, especially if yours are luxury goods.

Step 1: Before your airline check-in, present your goods, original tax invoices and the P.P.10 forms to the Customs officer for inspection. You will need to get the P.P.10 forms stamped by the officer.

Step 2: Do not check in your luxury goods but hand carry them.

Step 3: After the immigration checkpoint, head to the VAT Refund For Tourist Office to claim the tax refund. Queue and present your original tax invoices and the P.P.10 forms. You have to show the luxury goods again at this office.


VAT Tax Refund Amount


For my purchase of 3,040 THB, I got a refund amount of 120 THB, which is about 4%. This table shows the tax refund amount you will get:

Source: The Revenue Department (Thailand)

The following are ways you can get the refund and other charges involved:

Source: The Revenue Department (Thailand)

Hope you get to save some money with these steps. Have fun shopping! If I miss out anything above, let me know in the comments box below. Love to hear from you. :)

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References: vrtweb.rd.go.th/82.html, www.tourismthailand.org/Articles/plan-your-trip-vat-tax-refund, www.siamparagon.co.th/tourist/Downtown-Vat-Refund-for-Tourists/113

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