Entity Formation in Thailand

Ready for a permanent Thai presence? We help you incorporate the right way, navigate the Foreign Business Act’s ownership rules, and stay alongside you for the accounting, payroll, and compliance that follow. Independent advice, including telling you when it is too early.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Honest timing

What incorporating in Thailand means

A Thai Limited Company is the standard vehicle for a permanent business presence, formed through the Department of Business Development (DBD) with at least two shareholders. Where foreign shareholding reaches 50% or more, the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999) treats the company as foreign for a wide range of activities, requiring either a Foreign Business License or BOI promotion to operate in many sectors. When you form the company, you become the legal employer and operator in Thailand, with full control and no per-employee EOR fees, in exchange for the ownership-structure decisions, the setup time, and the ongoing obligations.

01

Your own company

Your own Thai Limited Company makes you the legal employer and operator in Thailand, with full control of employment terms and a local brand presence.

02

Lower cost at scale

No per-employee EOR fees. For permanent, proven headcount, owning the entity is more cost-effective than ongoing EOR arrangements.

03

Setup takes time

Registration itself can move quickly through the DBD, but you cannot employ anyone until it completes, and the Foreign Business Act’s ownership rules have to be settled first if you are majority-foreign-owned. Timing the move matters, which is why many companies bridge with an EOR first.

How incorporating in Thailand works, step by step

From structuring the company to operating it compliantly.

01 — Structure & prepare

We confirm incorporation is right for you, settle the ownership structure against the Foreign Business Act, reserve the company name, and arrange your registered Thai office address.

02 — Capital & shareholders

There is no statutory minimum registered capital for a Thai Limited Company, but at least two shareholders are required (reduced from three by a 2023 Civil and Commercial Code amendment) and at least 25% of registered capital must be paid up. Foreign-employee work permits are tied to paid-up capital, commonly THB 2 million per permit, which is why capitalisation is planned around headcount, not just around the minimum the law allows.

03 — Register the company

The company is registered with the Department of Business Development, which has been moving registration onto its online Biz Regist platform; then registered for corporate tax and VAT (if applicable) with the Revenue Department, and for a Foreign Business License with the Ministry of Commerce if the ownership structure requires one, so you can operate and employ compliantly.

04 — Operate & stay compliant

Business bank account, then ongoing accounting, payroll, filings, and annual reporting, all of which we can run for you.

What incorporating in Thailand costs

Two kinds of cost: the one-off formation, and the ongoing operating obligations. Thailand’s formation cost is low; the real commitment is the ownership structure and the ongoing compliance. We give you a clear figure before you commit.

Share capital & formation

No statutory minimum registered capital, though at least 25% of whatever capital you register must be paid up, and foreign investors typically capitalise well above the minimum to support work-permit applications (commonly THB 2 million per foreign employee’s permit). DBD registration fees and standard formation costs are modest relative to that capital planning decision.

Corporate tax

Standard rate 20%. SME concessional rates apply for paid-up capital not exceeding THB 5 million and sales/service income not exceeding THB 30 million: 0% on the first THB 300,000 of net profit, 15% on the next band to THB 3 million, 20% above.

VAT

Standard statutory rate is 10%, currently reduced to 7% by Royal Decree through 30 September 2026 (a renewal Thailand has repeated annually since 1997, not a permanent rate). Registration is mandatory once annual turnover passes THB 1.8 million.

Ongoing obligations

Accounting, monthly payroll (income tax withholding and Social Security Fund contributions), corporate tax and VAT filings, and annual financial statements, all of which we can manage for you.

Why form your Thai company through Bradford Jacobs

Why companies incorporate in Thailand through us rather than a one-off formation agent.

We advise you on the best time to incorporate

We are independent: we assess what you actually need, place you with the right vetted partner, secure pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side to escalate or renegotiate. You get advice, not a product pitch.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

End-to-end, not just the paperwork

We do not disappear after registration. We stay on for the accounting, payroll, and compliance, so your company runs, not just exists.

  • Beyond registration
  • Ongoing compliance
  • One team throughout

The right specialists, in place

DBD, tax, and accounting partners we have vetted and worked with, coordinated for you, so the process moves and nothing gets missed, including the Foreign Business Act paperwork if your structure needs it.

  • Vetted specialists
  • Coordinated for you
  • Nothing gets missed

Two decades of formations

Two decades forming and running entities across global markets, with the local knowledge to keep you compliant and out of the common traps.

  • Incorporations
  • Legal & tax partners
  • Traps avoided

We run it after you form it

Incorporation is the start, not the finish. We stay on for accounting, payroll, tax filings, and annual accounts, so your company operates from day one without you building a local finance function.

  • Full back office
  • Accounting & payroll
  • Annual accounts

The Foreign Business Act line nobody explains

A growing business hits a good quarter and someone says, let us just set up a proper Thai company. It sounds responsible. It usually is not, yet, and the ownership split decided on day one shapes everything after it. Here is what people expect against what happens in practice.

Employment & payroll obligations

Ownership & work-permit obligations

Expectation: any ownership split forms the company the same way. Reality: at 50% or more foreign shareholding, the Foreign Business Act treats the company as foreign for a long list of activities and needs a Foreign Business License or BOI promotion, discovered only after the shares have already been allocated; and each foreign employee’s work permit is generally tied to about THB 2 million of the company’s paid-up capital, which quietly caps how many foreign staff a thinly capitalised company can sponsor.

Tax, filing & reporting obligations

Expectation: we can always reverse it. Reality: dissolving a company needs a shareholder resolution, creditor notification, and a winding-up period. And once it exists, the obligations do not stop: annual financial statements, monthly payroll filings, corporate tax and VAT returns, and (above defined size thresholds) a statutory external audit. None of this is a reason not to incorporate. It is a reason to do it at the right time, with the ownership structure and the right partners already in place.

Beyond incorporation, we can run the full back office for your company.

Compliant payroll

Compliant Thai payroll and employment administration, issued and maintained for you.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with income tax withholding and Social Security Fund contributions calculated, withheld, and filed each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: annual leave, sick pay, the enacted maternity and paternity leave, notice and the six-step severance scale.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on incorporating and running a company in Thailand.

How long does it take to incorporate in Thailand?

Registration itself with the Department of Business Development can move quickly once the name, capital, and shareholder structure are settled. You cannot legally employ anyone until it completes, and if you are majority foreign-owned you also need to resolve the Foreign Business Act position first, which is why timing matters and why many companies bridge with an EOR.

There is no statutory minimum registered capital, but at least 25% of whatever you register must be paid up, and at least two shareholders are required. In practice, foreign investors capitalise well above the legal minimum, since each foreign employee’s work permit is generally tied to about THB 2 million of paid-up capital. The real cost is the ongoing accounting and compliance, which we can run for you.

Yes, but ownership at 50% or more foreign shareholding brings the company within the Foreign Business Act, requiring a Foreign Business License or BOI promotion to operate in many sectors; below that threshold, standard Thai-majority ownership rules apply. A minimum of two shareholders is required. You will need a registered Thai office, which we arrange.

Incorporate when you have permanent, proven headcount, a settled ownership structure, and want full control, and the per-head savings justify the ongoing costs. Use EOR while you are still validating the market or need people working quickly. Most companies start with EOR and incorporate later. We advise on the crossover.

Accounting, monthly payroll (income tax withholding and Social Security Fund contributions), corporate tax and VAT filings, and annual financial statements (plus a statutory external audit above defined size thresholds). We can run all of it so the entity stays compliant without you building a local finance function.

Yes, and it is how most companies use us. Beyond incorporation we provide ongoing accounting, payroll, and compliance, so your Thai company operates smoothly from day one without hiring locally for back office.

Ready to form your company in Thailand?

Tell us your plans for Thailand and we will tell you honestly whether now is the time to incorporate, then handle it end to end if it is, usually scoped within a day. No formation-mill upsell, just the right call.

Tax, company, and labour data verified July 2026 (Revenue Department, Social Security Office, the Department of Business Development, PwC). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your formation.