Thailand's Cabinet has approved a personal income tax exemption on capital gains from cryptocurrency and digital token sales, covering a five-year period from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2029.
The measure was published in the Royal Gazette under Ministerial Regulation No. 399, issued under the Revenue Code. It applies to digital asset sales through platforms licensed under Thailand's 2018 Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses and supervised by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"This is a key step in boosting Thailand's economic potential and a major opportunity for Thai entrepreneurs to thrive on the global stage," said Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat.
The deputy minister also framed the exemption as part of an effort to position the country as a global financial hub and among the first nations to implement well-formulated crypto taxation laws.
How the exemption is structured
The regulation treats capital gains from qualifying digital asset sales on the same terms as gains from securities listed on the Thai stock exchange, which carry no personal income tax obligation. For trades that meet the criteria, the effective rate is zero.
The single condition is channel: a transaction must go through an SEC-licensed operator to qualify. The licensed category covers regulated operators registered under the 2018 decree, including digital asset exchanges and brokers. That requirement ties the tax benefit to Thailand's supervised market rather than to crypto activity broadly.
A legal analysis published by Nishimura and Asahi said the measure is intended to stimulate Thailand's digital asset market and related businesses, and noted an explicit emphasis on transaction transparency and traceability through operators supervised by the Anti-Money Laundering Office.
The government's revenue math
Thailand's Ministry of Finance projects the exemption will generate about $1 billion in annual tax revenue, a figure that appears counterintuitive at a zero rate on qualifying gains. The ministry's reasoning is that removing the levy encourages higher trading volumes and more investment activity through licensed platforms, which in turn supports broader economic output and other tax streams.
Related businesses are expected to generate at least 1 billion baht in additional tax revenue during the exemption period. The Ministry of Finance described the expected outcome in similar terms, with market stimulation and foreign capital factored into the projection.
What falls outside the exemption
Trades on unlicensed platforms or overseas venues receive no benefit under the regulation. Standard personal income tax rates, which can reach as high as 38%, apply to gains from those channels.
Crypto income from sources outside the licensed trading framework, such as staking or airdrops, also falls outside the exemption's scope. The policy draws a firm line between gains from regulated market activity and income from other forms of crypto participation.
Investors who plan to claim the exemption should retain documentation such as trade records and exchange receipts to demonstrate eligibility if tax authorities request it.
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao posted about the policy on X, describing it as Thailand confirming 0% capital gains tax on Bitcoin and crypto. Community notes added to his post clarified that the benefit applies only to sales through licensed Thai operators and is limited to the period ending December 31, 2029.
🇹🇭 Thailand confirms 0% capital gains tax on Bitcoin & crypto. 👏
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) August 6, 2026
Thailand's earlier moves on digital asset taxes
The capital gains exemption is not the first tax adjustment Thailand has applied to digital assets in recent years. In early 2024, the country waived a 7% value-added tax on cryptocurrency gains. Before the Cabinet's approval of the current regulation, Thailand had also capped personal income tax on profits from holding digital tokens at 15%.
The regulation under Ministerial Regulation No. 399 extends the government's stated objective of building a digital asset hub. Thailand's SEC currently supervises licensed operators under the 2018 framework, a structure the government now uses as the basis for determining who qualifies for the new tax benefit.
Tanya Petrusenko
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