To promote employment stability during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Revenue Department has issued a reminder that SMEs are permitted to deduct up to 300% of their salary expenses for salaries paid to employees from April 2020 to July 2020. SMEs can register at www.rd.go.th from the date the system is available to use. The last day for registration is 150 days from the closing date of the current accounting period.
To be eligible for the deductions, the SME must meet the following conditions for the latest accounting period, ending on or before September 30, 2019:
1. The SME’s annual revenue in the last accounting period does not exceed THB 500 million.
2. The SME employs no more than 200 persons.
3. The salaries eligible for the deduction are no more than THB 15,000/person/month.
4. The total number of insured employees during the period from April 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020 must not be less than the total number of insured employees as of March 31, 2020 (previously, as of December 31, 2019).
Other tax relief measures that the Revenue Department has introduced to alleviate the financial pressures on SMEs include a 150% deduction on loan interest expenses incurred under the government’s soft loan program and a reduction from 3% to 1.5% of the withholding tax on service fees and professional fees for payments made from April 1 to September 30, 2020.
The deadline for annual corporate income tax filing and payment for non-listed companies is extended to August 31, 2020, while the deadline for mid-year corporate income tax filing and payment for non-listed companies is extended to September 30, 2020.