Payroll Outsourcing Services in Bangkok, Thailand

This is the part employers most often get wrong, usually by underestimating how much of it is monthly rather than annual. Figures below are current for 2026.

Withholding tax (PND 1)

Employers deduct personal income tax from salaries each month and remit it to the Revenue Department on form PND 1. The deadline is the 7th of the following month for paper filing, or the 15th if you file electronically.

Thai personal income tax is progressive across eight bands:

0 – 150,000 THB — 0%

150,001 – 300,000 THB — 5%

300,001 – 500,000 THB — 10%

500,001 – 750,000 THB — 15%

750,001 – 1,000,000 THB — 20%

1,000,001 – 2,000,000 THB — 25%

2,000,001 – 4,000,000 THB — 30%

Over 4,000,000 THB — 35%

Deducting the right amount means applying each employee’s allowances correctly — spouse, children, parents, insurance, provident fund contributions and others. Under-deducting leaves employees with an unexpected bill in March; over-deducting is an interest-free loan to the Revenue Department that they have to reclaim.

An annual summary, PND 1 Kor, is filed by 28 February (paper) or 8 March (electronic) for the preceding year.

Social security

Employer and employee each contribute 5% of monthly wages. The contribution ceiling rose on 1 January 2026 from THB 15,000 to THB 17,500, taking the maximum monthly contribution from THB 750 to THB 875 on each side. The minimum wage basis for contributions is THB 1,650.

The ceiling is scheduled to rise again: THB 20,000 from 2029 and THB 23,000 from 2032.

Contributions are submitted to the Social Security Office by the 15th of the following month. They fund healthcare, sickness and maternity benefits, disability and death benefits, and old-age pension for employees with sufficient contribution history.

If your payroll provider is still calculating against the THB 15,000 ceiling, your contributions are wrong. It is worth checking.

Provident fund

A provident fund is voluntary, not statutory — but it is common enough among established employers that candidates ask about it, and its absence is noticed when hiring at senior levels. Employer and employee each contribute at a rate set within the fund’s rules. Contributions are deducted through payroll and reported to the fund manager, and employee contributions are deductible against personal income tax.

Workmen’s compensation

Separate from social security, employers contribute to the Workmen’s Compensation Fund, which covers work-related injury and illness. This is an employer-only contribution, assessed annually, with the rate depending on the risk category of your industry.

Leave entitlements are a payroll question as much as an HR one, because they determine what has to be paid and when.

Annual leave — a minimum of 6 working days per year after one year of continuous service. Most employers offer considerably more; 10 to 15 days is normal for professional roles, and 6 days will cost you candidates.

Public holidays — a minimum of 13 paid public holidays per year.

Sick leave — up to 30 paid working days per year. A medical certificate can be required for absences of three consecutive days or more.

Maternity leave — changed in December 2025. The Labour Protection Act (No. 9) B.E. 2568 increased maternity leave to 120 days per pregnancy. The employer pays the first 60 days at full salary; social security covers a further 45 days at a capped rate. This replaced the previous 98-day entitlement, and many employers have not yet updated their policies or their payroll calculations.

Paternity leave — new in December 2025. The same amendment introduced 15 days of fully paid leave for the spouse or partner, to be taken within 90 days of the birth. This is a new statutory cost that did not exist before and should be budgeted for.

Personal leave — 3 days per year for necessary personal business.

Military service leave — up to 60 days per year.

If your employee handbook was written before December 2025, it is out of date on two counts.

Foreign employees add complexity in three places, and payroll is where all three show up.

Tax residency. An individual present in Thailand for 180 days or more in a tax year is a Thai tax resident and is taxed on Thai-sourced income, plus foreign income brought into Thailand under current rules. Below that threshold the treatment differs, and payroll has to reflect which applies.

Work permits. Salary levels for work permit purposes vary by nationality and role, and the figure on the work permit application needs to be consistent with what payroll actually pays. Inconsistency between the two is a common and entirely avoidable problem at renewal.

Double taxation. Thailand has treaties with most major economies. Where an employee is taxed in two jurisdictions, relief usually exists, but it has to be claimed correctly and the payroll record has to support the claim.

We handle mixed local and expatriate payrolls routinely, including split-payroll arrangements where part of the package is paid outside Thailand.

Switching payroll providers has a reputation for going wrong. It goes wrong when the transfer happens in one step with no verification. Ours does not.

1. Assessment. We review your current payroll: headcount, pay structures, allowances, benefits, provident fund arrangements and any non-standard elements. We identify anything that looks incorrect before we take it on — and we usually find something.

2. Blueprint. We agree the monthly calendar in writing: your cut-off date for changes, our processing window, when reports come back for approval, and when payment instructions are issued. Everyone knows who is responsible for what.

3. Data transfer and testing. Employee records, year-to-date tax figures and social security history are migrated and checked. Getting year-to-date figures right at transfer is what prevents year-end problems.

4. Parallel run. We run one full cycle alongside your existing process and reconcile the two, line by line. Any discrepancy is resolved before go-live, not after.

5. Go live. We take over, with your named contact and an agreed escalation route.

Mid-year transfers are entirely normal — you do not need to wait for a new tax year.

These get confused, and choosing the wrong one is expensive.

In-house payroll makes sense when you have the volume to justify dedicated, trained staff and the appetite to carry the compliance risk yourself. Below that point it usually means someone doing payroll as a secondary duty — which is where errors come from.

Payroll outsourcing suits companies that already have a registered Thai entity and employ their staff directly. You remain the legal employer. We process, file and report. This is the majority of what we do.

Employer of Record (EOR) or PEO suits companies with no Thai entity, or who want to hire in Thailand before committing to incorporation. The EOR is the legal employer; your staff work for you day to day. This is a different service — see our staff outsourcing and PEO page.

The deciding question is simple: do you have a Thai legal entity? If yes, you need payroll outsourcing. If no, you need an EOR.

How much does payroll outsourcing cost in Thailand?
Pricing is normally per employee per month, on a tiered basis, so the per-head cost falls as headcount rises. There is usually a one-off setup fee covering data migration and the parallel run. Ask for a quote based on your actual headcount and pay structure — a per-head figure quoted without seeing your setup is not a real number.

Do we need a Thai company to outsource payroll?
Yes. Payroll outsourcing assumes you are the legal employer, which requires a registered Thai entity. If you do not have one, you need an Employer of Record instead.

Who is liable if a filing is late or wrong?
The employer carries the statutory liability. That is precisely why the choice of provider matters, and why you should ask any prospective provider what happens — in writing — if they miss a deadline.

Can you handle both Thai and foreign employees?
Yes, including work permit salary consistency, tax residency treatment and split-payroll arrangements.

What happens to our payroll data?
It stays confidential and is handled under Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act. Access is restricted to the assigned team, records are retained per statutory requirements, and we can walk you through the controls before you commit.

Can you work with our existing accounting system?
Yes. We provide journal entries in the format your system takes. Tell us what you use and we will confirm before we start.

Do you handle provident fund administration?
Yes, where you operate a registered scheme — deductions calculated through payroll and reported to your fund manager.

What about year-end?
We prepare the annual withholding tax summary and the individual withholding tax certificates your employees need for their personal tax returns.

Can you take over mid-year?
Yes. The critical part is migrating year-to-date tax and social security figures accurately, which is a standard part of our transfer process.

For a step-by-step breakdown of costs and compliance, see our payroll outsourcing checklist for employers in Thailand.