Answered3 years ago
Do you have to pay import duty on laptops shipped to Thailand from the US?
If you buy laptop from US online that ships to Thailand using FedEx, do you have to pay import duty?
It says no import duty on laptops but i want to hear about other people's experiences.
It says no import duty on laptops but i want to hear about other people's experiences.
Answer summary
When purchasing a laptop from the US to be shipped to Thailand, many users report that laptops are generally exempt from import duty, paying only the 7% VAT on the cost including shipping. However, experiences vary, and some have suggested that using courier services like FedEx may trigger unexpected fees. Others recommend using USPS for a better chance of avoiding additional duty. Discussions also highlight the fluctuation in costs based on how items are categorized by customs. Overall, while laptops are duty free according to some sources, others contend that hidden fees or higher assessments may still apply.
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Klaus ***********
Buy from Amazon often they ship all cost including
Colin *********
Just out of curiosity, does anyone if a Thai person were to buy a new PC or Laptop outside of Thailand and had it sent to Thailand via a Postal or Courier service, would they pay these import duties? What about if the PC or Laptop were a used one?
If all goes well, I'll move to Thailand to live in 2025 & will want a computer with decent power (gaming level machine, but not for games). I may upgrade my current PC or get a new one & thinking about asking my close Thai friend that lives close to me to send it to her house in Thailand if my plans go well
If all goes well, I'll move to Thailand to live in 2025 & will want a computer with decent power (gaming level machine, but not for games). I may upgrade my current PC or get a new one & thinking about asking my close Thai friend that lives close to me to send it to her house in Thailand if my plans go well
Andy ************
Yes just buy in a big box store and done.
Jhon *******
Always had trouble in the past getting laptops in Thailand with only English keys..has that changed ?
Dani *********
Dude. Tons of great and cheap laptops in Bangkok.
You will get FKD for import tax
You will get FKD for import tax
Rob ********
OP@Dani ********
no import duty on laptopsDani *********
@Rob *******
good luck with customs. I paid fees on a old pair of glasses mailed to meRob ********
OP@Dani ********
do you realize import duty is based on the type of item?Steve **********
Haven't stayed up on duty. Friend has shipped a few bottles of CA wines
as holiday gift ( unrequested, or would have refused ).
Is there still a duty ?
as holiday gift ( unrequested, or would have refused ).
Is there still a duty ?
Kristaps ********
What about buying from Singapore
Rob ********
OP@Kristaps *******
same thing it's more expensive there and they don't carry high end laptops.Ivan ************
I have imported a laptop and paid only 7% VAT, no duty, which is correct, as laptops are duty free. There will be a small handling fee from the courier, FedEx and DHL both charge 200B. Thai Post is 20B.
Many other items do have much larger duty, which is what people are confusing. Duty is item dependent, and it's zero on laptops.
Many other items do have much larger duty, which is what people are confusing. Duty is item dependent, and it's zero on laptops.
Daniel ************
yes sure
Craig *******
I had to replace my laptop this year while in Thailand. The exact same model was 25% more in Canada (CAD and US pricing is comparable). No shipping cost, no wait, plus I got the vat rebate. No brainer
Klee **************
Why wouldn’t you buy the laptop here, makes way more sense to me
Steve *******
You’ll still have to pay VAT and processing fees
Puggs **********
Remember that the standard voltage in Thailand (220 Volts) much higher than the voltage level of devices in the United States (110 Volts).
Ivan ************
@Puggs *********
99%+ of laptops support both voltages.Maxim ***********
A lot of good but also factually inaccurate reply. Electronics is 20-30% cheaper overseas compare to Thailand. So when you import electronics, either you will get charge 20-30% for shipping cost (Amazon, Ebay, etc, which will be the import tax equivalent), OR you will pay 20-30% import taxes upon delivery. The delivery man will come to your house to tell you to go to the office to get your package. The high tax is probably to protect Thai companies that sell the same product 20-30% more expensive. If it was so cheap to import electronics, nobody would buy from Thai store.
Daniel **********
@Maxim **********
again you are giving false information. There is no import duty on notebook computers.Ivan ************
@Ma***
it's 7% VAT only, no duty. I have imported a laptop and paid this. A company's shipping fees are their own business, they are not tax to the Thai government. You do pay VAT on shipping fees, but that's the same anywhere.Maxim ***********
@Ivan ***********
Which website did you buy the laptop from? Thailand has deals with many websites (including Amazon and Ebay), where they will charge 20-30% for delivery fees which replace the typical import taxes. A lot of people don't notice this upon buying online. So no, a company shipping fee is not only their "own business", it is country specific and based on many things depending on the product.Ivan ************
@Ma***
Amazon and eBay can estimate and pre-pay the tax. It's not a shipping fee then, it's tax. Amazon actually refunds you if the actual tax is less than they estimated. I have prepaid the tax with Amazon and they did refund. Shipping can be expensive from the US but that's a separate thing to tax.Many items do attract duty and it can bex10, 30, 60%, and you have the VAT on top of that. But laptops specifically are duty free. There isn't one rate for everything. If you got charged only 20-30% on clothes for example that would be an undercharge, as they are 30% plus 7% VAT = 39.1% (plus you pay this on the shipping too).
John ********
You’ll pay
Michael ********
You pay tax, VAT and tax on the shipping costs. Bit of advice have it shipped to a Thai friend.
Robert *********
different electrical power may cause damage and the plug is different.?
Ivan ************
@Robert ********
plug is the same here as the US and almost any laptop will come with a multi voltage adapter.Robert *********
@Ivan ***********
***************************************************
maybe in some places but not all. i was in chiang mia Bangkok koh chang korat never seen western style, just going by my experience and i was there in 2020Ivan ************
@Rob***
this is the most common Thai socket, it will take any of type A (North American 2 pin), B (NA 3 pin), C (Euro 2 pin) or E/F (Euro 3 pin- will only be grounded if you add a grounding pin in the hole). It generally works best in practice though with US over euro plugs, they stay in better.Sometimes you get 2 pin only sockets, but I can't imagine you ever had a socket you couldn't plug a regular North American 2 pin plug into. And you will generally have the third pin on most sockets, so they'll take 3 pin NA plugs.
Ivan ************
@Rob***
I live here, sockets that take US plugs are the most common. Most sockets are designed to take both US and Euro plugs, which is why they may look different from what you have in the US, but they do actually take US plugs and indeed the US plugs stay in better than the Euro ones. I have a mix of US, euro and UK/HK/Singapore plugs but MOST of my stuff is US plug as that's the plug that works best here.
Terary **********
I had a laptop shipped to me by a friend, the insured value $1000. I had to pay 60%, I think. It was significant. It may have been different if my buddy re-wrapped the box so that it wasn't obvious that it was a new laptop.
Daniel **********
@Terary *********
your friend must have used the wrong HS code. Laptops are duty free.
Rob *************
The way I look at it, if you’re willing to spend high end, does it really matter about the tax? Just saying……
Rob ********
OP@Nakednomads ***************
if you spend 8k on something do you like to spend another 4k on it for now reason?Rob *************
@Rob *******
just sounded like you were not buying local regardless because they don’t have what you’re looking for…thought that would be the reason since it comes with all the applied taxes…..apologies if I assumed wrong.
Erwin ********
No import duty on laptops, only 7% vat on the cost of the goods (the real cost, not some made up low figure) including shipping and insurance. If the CIF value is more than 40k Baht you’ll need to register for import, for which your shipper will ask your passport and some additional fees.
Please beware that if the laptop has a sim slot (or can be connected mobile) you need to make sure the same model is already registered in Thailand, otherwise you’ll have to add a few hundred k to get it certified and registered with the nbtc.
Please beware that if the laptop has a sim slot (or can be connected mobile) you need to make sure the same model is already registered in Thailand, otherwise you’ll have to add a few hundred k to get it certified and registered with the nbtc.
Rob ********
OP@Erwin *******
thx for the detailed answer. You mean they will find out the actual price by googling even if the specified price was lower?Erwin ********
@Rob *******
yes. Customs will assess the real value and tax accordingly, or they’ll slap you with a fine if your stated value is ridiculously low, or worse you say it’s a gift. And no, sending it back often isn’t an option if you disagree, your only choices to forfeit the goods. Oh, one tip; do not ship multiple types of goods together without clearly specifying each item separately with its price, or they’ll assess the entire shipment for to total cost on the item which has the highest duty.
Steve **********
@Erwin *******
yep...have been bitten
Martin **************
FedEx and Dhl have the highest % of paying duty fees. It’s always a gamble, you never know if they will charge them or not. Depending on where you get the laptop, you can ask to send as a gift which will help. If you can use usps or any other slower methods, you have higher % chance of not paying duty fees.
Rob ********
OP@Martin *************
if they charge import duty, can't you fight this because it's the law that there is no duty for laptops?Maxim ***********
@Rob *******
You can't fight it, delivery man will come to your house to tell you to go to the office to get your package.
Phil ******
@Rob *******
7%Vat
Ticha *****************
You cant say no import tax. But duty of electronic appliance is 0%+shipping cost you may have to pay for vat 7% from above
Maxim ***********
@Ticha ****************
That's absolutely not true. You will pay 25-30% overall taxes combine when you buy electronics overseas to cover the fact that the same electronic will be 25-30% higher in Thailand. Either you pay such taxes when buying the electronics or went receiving it.Ticha *****************
@Maxim **********
that is true 0% on electronic appliance. Check HS code and talkk to me later
Alan *******
@Maxim **********
Not true, there is no single category for all electronics. Laptops and monitors for example have no import duty.I brought a large computer monitor into Thailand at BKK airport, had it stopped and checked by customs as they thought it was a TV. When they saw it was a computer monitor they let it go, paid nothing.
VAT and duty on shipping might apply if over the de minimus, but certain product categories have no duty on them.
As for Amazon, I just added a Dell XPS 15 to my cart, put in a Thai shipping address, it qualified for free international expedited shipping, the import duties deposit was 7.62% of the laptop price.
No idea why it was more than 7% VAT but nowhere near 20-30% as you claim.
Also, “shipping costs for taxes” isn’t some agreement with Amazon.
Import duties have always included the cost of the item plus the cost of shipping plus the duty percentage based on the HS code of the item plus VAT.
Daniel **********
@Maxim **********
you are wrong and Ticha Karen Kelgnoht is correct. Notebooks are exempt from import duty.Ivan ************
@Ma***
laptops are duty exempt. I've bought a laptop and only paid the 7% VAT. Ticha is right. You can check this yourself on the Revenue website.Maxim ***********
@Ticha ****************
I am giving accurate and verifiable information. As proof of that, go to Amazon right now and try to buy a Laptop, you will see upon buying that the delivery fee will be 20-30%. So if you buy a 1k USD Laptop, you will get charged $200-300 USD in shipping cost. This is because Thailand have aggreement with such famous website to use shipping cost as taxes. But for websites without such agreement, they will charge you upon delivery. You can try yourself :). This is why electronics is 25-30% more expensive in Thailand.Ticha *****************
@Maxim **********
No you are giving fault informstion. People should know that the tax for expecially laptop is only 0%. Not what you said. There are thousands of HS code that you must pay 30%+7% taxes to protect local business. And upon delivery you eill get blue paper to inform about import duty by delivery company. You can also discuss with customs for this. If they must pay 25-30% on electronic appliance drom importing. They should know they dont know how to do business. And contact nearest shipping agent 😅Maxim ***********
@Ticha ****************
It's 25-30% taxes, these are facts based on literally everyone who order electronics from overseas 🙂 Ask around how much people pay, they will all say either 25-30% shipping deliveries (pre-tax cover, on Amazon or Ebay for example) or 25-30% upon delivery. The 25-30% is to protect local Thai businesses which sell the same electronic 25-30% more expensive.Rob ********
OP@Ticha ****************
7 percent is ok. Just hope no import duty.
Bob **********
Just buy here you can get whatever you want
Bob **********
My friend is an IT guy he’s bought many over here
Richard ********
@Bob *********
Without Thai characters?Bob **********
@Richard *******
not reallyRichard ********
@Bob *********
Maybe it's better now. It's been a while since I've bought one hereBob **********
@Richard *******
of courseRichard ********
@Bob *********
Harder to findRob ********
OP@Bob *********
not all laptops are available here.Steve **********
@Rob *******
then be prepared to pay dutyRob ********
OP@Steve *********
no duty on laptops..
Phil ********
37% import tax.
Jack ****************
What city are you in? In Phuket they are pretty aggressive extracting bribes with third party shipping. USPS seemed fairly immune, but I would never order anything else from USA with a non government shipper.
Rob ********
OP@Jack ***************
pattayaJack ****************
@Rob *******
I'd be pretty nervous doing it. But it might be fine. I do think that sort.of thing goes in waves. And some provinces are "cleaner"Activity
30 joined30
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