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Guides

Guides for starting and running a Thai company

Practical guides for Thai SME founders, written from the work we do for clients every month. Each guide answers one question end to end, gives timeframes as ranges, and says plainly which parts depend on the authorities.

Zura Labs & Business Hub Co., Ltd.

All guides
First hire: payroll and social security

Hiring your first employee in Thailand: employer registration, social security and payroll withholding

What a Thai company must do once it has staff: register as an employer with the SSO, enrol each employee, withhold payroll tax, file monthly and annual returns, and keep the right records.

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Foreign ownership: FBL or BOI

Foreign ownership above 49% in Thailand: comparing a Foreign Business Licence, BOI promotion and treaty routes

The lawful routes when a foreign shareholder wants a majority stake: a Foreign Business Licence, BOI promotion, or treaty rights — and what each route actually requires.

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Licences your business may need

After registration, which business licence do you still need? Check by activity before you start selling

A company affidavit is not an operating licence. This guide walks through which activities need which permit — food, cosmetics, tourism, transport, restaurants and online selling.

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Opening a corporate bank account

Opening a Thai corporate bank account: documents needed and why some applications are refused

The documents and steps for a Thai corporate bank account, for Thai and foreign directors alike, plus why banks ask for more or decline.

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How to register a Thai company

How to register a private limited company in Thailand: documents, steps and timing

The full path to registering a Thai private limited company with the DBD, from name reservation to the company affidavit, with the documents founders prepare and how long each step takes.

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Home address or virtual office

Can you register a company at your home address, or should you use a virtual office?

When a home or condo can serve as a company's registered office, the documents required, the risks founders overlook, and when a virtual office is the better call.

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First-year tax filings

Which tax filings does a new Thai company face in its first year?

The monthly and annual filings a newly incorporated Thai company faces, who files what, the usual deadlines, and the penalties you avoid by starting bookkeeping on time.

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How much registered capital

How much registered capital should a Thai company have, and what follows from it?

How to choose registered capital that matches the real business, what it means for credibility, lending, visas and work permits, and what happens when you increase it later.

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New company website checklist

The checklist before building a new company website that customers can find and act on

What to prepare and decide before building a new company website: page structure driven by real searches, machine-readable business information, speed, and measuring whether enquiries actually arrive.

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Sole trader or company

Sole trader or limited company in Thailand: how to decide

Comparing trading personally with incorporating a Thai limited company: tax, liability, credibility, annual upkeep and the point at which switching makes sense.

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When to register for VAT

When to register for VAT in Thailand: the threshold, the exceptions and the work that follows

When a Thai company must register for VAT, when registering early makes sense, what the filing requires, and the monthly obligations that start the day you are registered.

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Social security for your first hire

Hiring your first employee in Thailand: social security registration and the monthly routine

How to register as an employer with the Social Security Office, the 30-day deadline, contribution rates, monthly submissions and the payroll tax work that runs alongside.

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Withholding tax in practice

Withholding tax for small Thai companies: which payments, what rate and which documents

The payments a small Thai company must withhold on, the rates you meet most often, the withholding certificate, and the monthly returns.

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Changing the registered address

Changing your company's registered address in Thailand: who to notify and what to file

How to register a change of registered office with the DBD, notify the Revenue Department and Social Security Office, and update everything else that follows the address.

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Closing a Thai company

How to close a Thai company: dissolution, liquidation and tax clearance

Dissolving a Thai limited company step by step: the resolution, dissolution filing, liquidation, VAT deregistration and the liquidation financial statements, plus what drags the process out.

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Selling online: what to register

Selling online in Thailand: which registrations you actually need

When an online seller in Thailand needs a commercial registration, a company, or VAT, plus seller-disclosure duties and the tax work that follows.

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Foreign shareholders and work permits

Foreign shareholders and Thai work permits: structuring a company correctly

How foreign shareholding, restricted business lists and the conditions for a Thai work permit and business visa fit together.

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Choosing company objectives

Choosing your company objectives and business code so nothing blocks you later

How to write company objectives and pick the business code so they cover the work you really do and hold up for VAT, licences, bank accounts and tenders.

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What starting a company really costs

The real cost of starting a company in Thailand: one-time items versus every-year items

A line-by-line map of what it costs to open and keep a Thai company: government fees, registered address, monthly bookkeeping and the annual audit — who collects each one and which items are unavoidable.

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The company's 12-month calendar

A Thai company's 12-month compliance calendar: what is due when, and who signs it

One calendar for every recurring duty of a Thai limited company — withholding tax and VAT each month, the half-year return, the shareholders' meeting, the audit and the DBD filing — including who has to sign each set.

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Registration document checklist

Company registration document checklist, by case: Thai founders, foreign shareholders, home address or rented address

Everything to gather before filing a Thai company registration, split by the four situations we see most, with the items that most often go missing.

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Why registrations get sent back

Why a Thai company registration gets sent back: ten real reasons and how to avoid them

The reasons a Thai registration comes back for correction — names, address papers, signatures, objectives — and how to check for each one before you file.

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Keep it dormant or close it

Business on pause: keep the company dormant or close it? Comparing the real burden of each

A side-by-side comparison of keeping a Thai company alive with no trading versus dissolving and liquidating it: annual burden, what happens to the name, and what restarting costs.

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Changing accounting firm mid-year

Changing your accounting firm mid-year: what to hand over and what to ask for

How to move your bookkeeping to a new firm without missing a deadline: exactly what to request from the outgoing team, what usually goes missing, and a safe handover order.

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Registering a company in Khon Kaen

Registering a company in Khon Kaen: where to file, how long it takes, and what is specific to the province

A complete guide to incorporating in Khon Kaen: which provincial offices you deal with, using a registered address in the municipal area, which local sectors are growing, and what follows the affidavit.

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Registering a company in Bangkok

Registering a company in Bangkok: choosing a district, where to file, and how to pass on the first round

A complete guide to incorporating in Bangkok: choosing the district for your registered office, filing at DBD Bangkok Areas 1–6 or online, VAT registration and site checks, plus the mistakes that force a refiling.

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Registering a company in Chiang Mai

Registering a company in Chiang Mai: where to file, what to prepare, and the local pitfalls

A practical guide to incorporating in Chiang Mai: the provincial filing point, choosing a registered address in the city versus the outskirts, the tourism, cafe and digital businesses we see most, and what follows the affidavit.

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Registering a company in Chonburi and Pattaya

Registering a company in Chonburi and Pattaya: what EEC industrial work and tourism businesses must prepare

Incorporating in Chonburi and Pattaya: supplying EEC factories, tourism and rental property, registering for VAT so you can invoice plants, and the foreign-shareholding traps to avoid.

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Registering a company in Phuket

Registering a company in Phuket: what tourism, accommodation and foreign investors need to know

Incorporating in Phuket: the filing point, accommodation and tour licences, foreign shareholding limits, VAT for hotel work, and the bookkeeping load of a seasonal business.

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Registering a company in Nakhon Ratchasima

Registering a company in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat): where to file and what local businesses must prepare

Incorporating in Nakhon Ratchasima: the provincial filing point, contracting and public-sector work, agri-processing, VAT registration and the accounting that follows.

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Registering a company in Udon Thani

Registering a company in Udon Thani: cross-border Lao trade, retail and services

Incorporating in Udon Thani: the filing point, trading with Lao partners, export documents, VAT registration and bookkeeping when payments arrive in more than one currency.

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Registering a company in Nonthaburi

Registering a company in Nonthaburi: how it differs from Bangkok and where you should file

Incorporating in Nonthaburi: the filing point, choosing between a Nonthaburi and a Bangkok address, local online and warehouse businesses, and the tax duties that follow.

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Registering a company in Songkhla and Hat Yai

Registering a company in Songkhla and Hat Yai: cross-border trade, rubber and seafood exports

How to incorporate in Songkhla and Hat Yai: the provincial filing point, the address decision, the cross-border trade with Malaysia, rubber, seafood and Hat Yai service businesses, and the tax work that follows.

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Registering a company in Surat Thani and Samui

Registering a company in Surat Thani and Samui: accommodation, tours and palm oil

Incorporating in Surat Thani and on Samui: the provincial filing point, island versus mainland addresses, accommodation and tour licences, palm oil and rubber work, and what follows the affidavit.

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Registering a company in Rayong

Registering a company in Rayong: industrial estates, subcontracting and the EEC supply chain

Incorporating in Rayong: the provincial filing point, the address decision, subcontracting inside industrial estates, the documents factory clients demand, and the accounting that follows.

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Registering a company in Samut Prakan

Registering a company in Samut Prakan: factories, warehousing and airport-side import-export

Incorporating in Samut Prakan: filing point, address choice, warehousing and import-export beside Suvarnabhumi, factory licensing, and the accounting that follows.

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Registering a company in Chiang Rai

Registering a company in Chiang Rai: border trade with Laos and Myanmar, agri-processing and tourism

Incorporating in Chiang Rai: the provincial filing point, trade through Chiang Khong and Mae Sai, agri-processing such as coffee and tea, tourism, and the tax work that follows.

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Registering a company in Ubon Ratchathani

Registering a company in Ubon Ratchathani: government contracting, Chong Mek border trade and agriculture

Incorporating in Ubon Ratchathani: the provincial filing point, government procurement work, Chong Mek border trade, rice and agriculture, and the accounting that follows.

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Registering a company in Pathum Thani

Registering a company in Pathum Thani: warehousing, contracting and industrial-belt suppliers

How to incorporate in Pathum Thani: the provincial filing point, choosing a registered address that matches your business, the local sectors — warehousing and logistics, mid-sized manufacturing, subcontracting, education and student housing around the universities, building-material trade — and the accounting and tax work that follows.

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Registering a company in Ayutthaya

Registering a company in Ayutthaya: estate supply chains, tourism and contracting

How to incorporate in Ayutthaya: the provincial filing point, choosing a registered address that matches your business, the local sectors — contract manufacturing and parts supply, maintenance and contracting inside the estates, transport and warehousing, accommodation and restaurants in the old city, agricultural processing — and the accounting and tax work that follows.

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Registering a company in Chachoengsao

Registering a company in Chachoengsao: the EEC, supply chains and industrial land

How to incorporate in Chachoengsao: the provincial filing point, choosing a registered address that matches your business, the local sectors — parts supply and contract manufacturing, construction and contracting, transport and warehousing, property and worker accommodation, agriculture and freshwater fisheries — and the accounting and tax work that follows.

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Registering a company in Nakhon Pathom

Registering a company in Nakhon Pathom: food processing, wholesale and Bangkok-adjacent services

How to incorporate in Nakhon Pathom: the provincial filing point, choosing a registered address that matches your business, the local sectors — food processing and confectionery, agricultural and flower wholesale, mid-sized factories, transport and cold storage, education and campus-area services — and the accounting and tax work that follows.

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Registering a company in Krabi

Registering a company in Krabi: accommodation, tours, boats and restaurants

How to incorporate in Krabi: the provincial filing point, choosing a registered address that matches your business, the local sectors — accommodation and villa rental, tours and boat operations, restaurants and bars, resort construction and maintenance, retail and souvenirs — and the accounting and tax work that follows.

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Registering a company in Nakhon Si Thammarat

Registering a company in Nakhon Si Thammarat: agriculture, palm, rubber, public contracts and retail

How to incorporate in Nakhon Si Thammarat: the provincial filing point, choosing a registered address that matches your business, the local sectors — oil palm and rubber, public works and construction contracting, urban wholesale and retail, fisheries and seafood, agricultural transport — and the accounting and tax work that follows.

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This is general preparation information, not case-specific legal or accounting advice. Government fees, processing times and conditions change with official announcements. We review each guide on a schedule and show the review date on the page.

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