Thailand BOI Incentive Pyramid 2026
A1+ to B activity groups — every incentive a foreign-owned Thai entity can claim, with caps explained.
A1+ to B activity groups — every incentive a foreign-owned Thai entity can claim, with caps explained.
- BOI
- Board of Investment of Thailand — the agency that grants promotion (tax holidays + non-tax benefits) to qualifying projects.
- Tax holiday
- A period (3 to 13 years depending on the activity group) during which the promoted Thai entity pays 0% Corporate Income Tax instead of the base 20%.
- No cap
- The Corporate Income Tax exemption has no monetary ceiling — every baht of profit during the holiday is exempt.
- Capped
- The total Corporate Income Tax exemption is limited to the value of your project investment (capex excluding land & working capital). Once you've used it, you return to base Corporate Income Tax.
- EEC
- Eastern Economic Corridor — a Thai investment zone (Chonburi, Rayong, Chachoengsao) with extra incentive stacking.
- R&D
- Research & Development — qualifying R&D spend earns merit add-ons on top of the base holiday.
How to read the years column. The number (e.g. "8 yrs") is how many years your promoted Thai entity pays 0% corporate income tax after first revenue. The base Thai Corporate Income Tax is 20%, so an 8-year exemption is a real 20% margin uplift compounding for almost a decade.
- NO CAP — the Corporate Income Tax exemption is uncapped: every baht of profit during the holiday is exempt, no matter how big the project gets. Reserved for A1+ and A1 strategic / high-tech projects.
- CAPPED — the cumulative Corporate Income Tax exemption is limited to the value of the investment (project capex excluding land and working capital). Once the cumulative exemption hits 100% of investment, you're back to base Corporate Income Tax.
- None / base Corporate Income Tax — Group B gets no Corporate Income Tax holiday at all, but keeps the non-tax and import-duty benefits below (which alone are worth a lot for a Thai-listed manufacturing or trading operation).
Tax-side benefits per group
| Group | Corporate Income Tax holiday | Machinery import duty exempt | R&D inputs import duty exempt | Export inputs import duty exempt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1+ | 10–13 yrs · no cap | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| A1 | 8 yrs · no cap | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| A2 | 8 yrs · capped | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| A3 | 5 yrs · capped | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| A4 | 3 yrs · capped | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| B | None · base Corporate Income Tax | ✓ | — | ✓ |
Non-tax benefits — available to every group (A1+ through B)
- Land ownership for the promoted activity, including by foreign-majority entities (a Foreign Business Act exemption that normally takes a Treaty of Amity route or 51% Thai shareholding).
- Bring in skilled foreign workers and experts on streamlined visa + work permit, including dependents. Avoids the 4:1 Thai-to-foreign hiring ratio for promoted roles.
- Investment-study permission for site visits, feasibility, and pre-launch presence in Thailand.
- Free remittance of foreign currency abroad — repatriate profits, dividends, and capital without BOT approval.
Merit add-ons — stack on top of the base Corporate Income Tax holiday
A1–A4 qualifying large projects under BOI Announcement No. 3/2569 can layer extra incentives on top of the base holiday:
- 50% Corporate Income Tax reduction for 5 years after the Corporate Income Tax holiday ends (so an A1 effectively pays 10% Corporate Income Tax for years 9–13).
- Merit measures for R&D, HR development, skill upgrade — typically adds 1–2 yrs of Corporate Income Tax holiday + extra exemption ceiling.
- EEC zone (Eastern Economic Corridor), industrial-zone location, and decentralization zones each layer extra benefits depending on activity.
Sources: Thailand BOI Investment Promotion Guide 2025; BOI Announcement No. 3/2569 dated 15 January 2026; BOI Quick Guide 2026; PwC Thailand Tax Incentives summary; Pertama Partners updated 9 February 2026. Current as of June 2026 — confirm latest with motherducker.tech consultancy before relying on these terms for commercial decisions.
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