Thailand's THB1,000 Departure Tax Is Still a Draft - Finance Says Not Yet

By Erik Lind · 28 October 2026

The Revenue Department floated a THB1,000 air departure tax for everyone leaving Thailand. The Finance Minister has put it on hold for now. What is real, what is not, and what long-stayers should actually watch.

In late September 2026 the Revenue Department opened a public consultation on a draft Departure Tax Act. The draft would charge every person leaving Thailand by air THB1,000 per trip, Thai and foreign alike. On 22 October 2026, Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas told reporters the ministry would defer introducing it for now, to keep tourism momentum. As of 28 October 2026 it is not law, and nobody is collecting a new exit levy at the airport.

Our take

For retirees and long-stayers the practical question is not “is this scary?” It is “does this change how I plan re-entry and airfare this winter?” Short answer: not yet. Watch the Royal Gazette, keep your visa paperwork tidy, and do not rearrange winter flights around a tax that has not commenced.

What the draft actually says

The Revenue Department published bilingual principles for a draft Departure Tax Act (ภาษีการเดินทางออกนอกราชอาณาจักร). The hearing on law.go.th opened on 30 September and the consultation closes on 29 October 2026. Under those principles:

• The tax would apply to all persons leaving Thailand, regardless of nationality.
• The initial rate for air departures would be THB1,000 per trip.
• A statutory ceiling of THB5,000 per departure would sit in the Act; the actual rate would be set later by ministerial regulation.
• In the first phase, land and sea departures would be exempt.
• Airlines or their ticketing agents would collect the tax with the fare.
• The Act would take effect 180 days after publication in the Government Gazette.
• Tickets bought before the Act comes into force would be exempt.

Those points come from the Department’s consultation PDF. They are draft principles for comment - not a signed Act, and not a Royal Gazette notice.

What Finance said on 22 October

According to Nation Thailand (22 Oct 2026), Minister Ekniti said the ministry had discussed the file with the Revenue Department and “probably will not proceed with it for now” because tourism should keep moving forward after the recent IMF and World Bank meetings in Thailand. Nation also notes the delay does not cancel a separate proposed THB450 entry fee. Do not merge the two.

We have not seen a Royal Gazette publication of a Departure Tax Act, and we have not seen Immigration or airport operators instruct passengers to pay a new exit levy.

What this means for you

1. Do not rearrange winter flights around a tax that is not in force. If you already hold tickets, or you are booking the next hop out, price the trip as you would today. The draft itself says tickets bought before commencement would be exempt - and commencement has not started.
2. Watch the Gazette, not the rumour mill. A real Act would show up in the Royal Gazette, then (under this draft) wait another 180 days. Until you can point to a Gazette page, treat “from next month” posts as noise.
3. Budget the round-trip, not just the exit. If the tax eventually lands at THB1,000 per air departure, a couple who leave Thailand twice a year is looking at roughly THB4,000 a year - annoying, not catastrophic. Pair that, in your head only, with whatever entry-fee talk is still floating.
4. Land borders stay interesting for now - visas still matter more. The draft would exempt land and sea in phase one. That does not make a land visa run automatically smarter. Overstay rules, TM30, and your specific visa type still come first. See our retirement visa guide and the DTV visa guide.
5. Keep day-one money rules separate. Cash declaration, ATM strategy, and bank setup are still the bigger arrival costs for most people. See your first 30 days in Thailand and our earlier note on declaring cash at Thai airports.

If you want the living checklists we use ourselves - visas, banking, healthcare, and the quiet money rules - the Thailand Long-Stay Toolkit is US$49, or US$39 with code EARLY39 until 31 Dec 2026. Survival Thai is US$9 at launch (US$12 from 1 Jan 2027). Or join the newsletter and we will flag Gazette moves when they actually happen.

Official sources

• Revenue Department / law.go.th, Public Consultation on the Principles of the Draft Departure Tax Act (bilingual PDF)
• Thai PBS, Revenue Department opens hearing on THB1,000 departure tax (consultation window 30 Sep-29 Oct 2026)
• Nation Thailand, Thai Finance Ministry delays departure tax to sustain tourism growth (22 Oct 2026)

Checked on 28 October 2026.

Source: Nation Thailand, 22 Oct 2026

Disclaimer. This article is general information only. It is not legal, tax, immigration or financial advice, and it does not create any adviser-client relationship. Rules change often, sometimes without notice, and officials apply them differently. Amounts and rules are correct to the best of our knowledge on the date shown. Always check the official source and talk to a qualified, licensed professional before you act. See our full Disclaimer.