Companies and juristic partnerships can deduct 200% of employee training costs, including corporate AI training, under Royal Decree No. 437. The condition is that the Department of Skill Development (กรมพัฒนาฝีมือแรงงาน), part of the Ministry of Labour (กระทรวงแรงงาน), approves the course before the training date. HR's work comes in three steps. File the course-approval form (ยป.1) at least 30 days before the training. Report any changes at least 7 days before the training. Then submit the training results report (รง.1) within 60 days after the training ends, but no later than 15 January of the following year. This article summarises the steps under the Skill Development Promotion Committee (คณะกรรมการส่งเสริมการพัฒนาฝีมือแรงงาน) notice in force since 19 August 2025. It also covers the course conditions, the costs that count, and the most common ways companies lose the right to claim.
This article summarises the law and the official notices as of October 2026. It is not tax advice for any particular organisation. Before you claim, check with your organisation's accountant or auditor.
Where the 200% comes from
Employee training costs are already deductible as a normal expense at 100%. Section 4(2) of Royal Decree No. 437 (B.E. 2548) adds an income tax exemption equal to a further 100% of the cost of training the company's own employees. The total is why people call it the "200% deduction". A worked example of the net cost (a training cost of THB 100,000 comes to a real cost of about THB 60,000) is in our article how corporate AI training is priced.
Section 4(2) leaves the conditions to the Director-General of the Revenue Department (อธิบดีกรมสรรพากร). They are set out in the Notice of the Director-General of the Revenue Department on Income Tax (No. 148), and there are five.
- The course must be certified by the Ministry of Labour, and the cost per employee must follow the rates the Ministry of Labour approves.
- The training must benefit the business of the employing company.
- Trainees must be employees of that company, and the company must keep an employee register under the labour protection law as evidence.
- The company must set a condition that trainees return to work.
- Training materials and equipment must have their type, size and specification defined, so they are kept separate from items used in normal business.
The first condition is why everything has to go through the Department of Skill Development. Individuals and businesses that are not registered as juristic persons cannot use this section.
Filing steps under the notice in force from 19 Aug 2025
The new notice cancels the original 2008 notice and its two amendments (2021 and 2022). Filing is mainly electronic. If you cannot file online, file at the Department of Skill Development office in the province where your office is. In Bangkok, that is Skill Development Institute 13 Bangkok (สถาบันพัฒนาฝีมือแรงงาน 13 กรุงเทพมหานคร) or a Bangkok Area Skill Development Office (สำนักงานพัฒนาฝีมือแรงงานกรุงเทพมหานครพื้นที่).
| Form | When to file | Used when |
|---|---|---|
| ยป.1 | At least 30 days before the training | The organisation runs the training itself, or hires a provider to train its staff (lecture, live online, group activities or hands-on practice) |
| ยป.4 | At least 30 days before the training | You use a course that was approved before, or a course the Department develops or certifies |
| ยป.2 | At least 30 days before the training | Staff learn on their own through electronic media (e-learning) |
| ยป.3 | At least 15 days before the training | You send staff to training with an outside organisation (in Thailand only) |
| ปก.1 | At least 7 days before the training | You add trainees and the budget rises |
| ปก.2 | At least 7 days before the training | You change the schedule, venue or trainer |
| รง.1 | Within 60 days after the training ends, but no later than 15 Jan of the following year | Reporting the training results |
Once the request and documents are complete, the registrar (นายทะเบียน) must finish the review within 3 working days and give the result within 7 days after that. If documents are missing, the registrar sets a deadline to fix them. If you do not fix them in time, you are treated as not wishing to proceed, and the request is struck off the record. This is why you should not wait until the last day of the 30-day window. File early and you have time to fix your documents.
Two cases have a limit you should know. Clauses 10 and 11 of the notice say that for e-learning (ยป.2) and for sending staff to outside training (ยป.3), the registrar approves the course only to count trainees when assessing contributions to the Skill Development Fund (กองทุนพัฒนาฝีมือแรงงาน). If you intend to claim the tax deduction in either case, check with your accountant before you plan.
Course conditions
The course must develop employees' knowledge, skills or attitudes at work, and the content must be relevant and useful to the business. A skill-upgrading course, which covers most AI training for staff, must last at least 6 hours. An occupational retraining course must last at least 18 hours.
| Training format | Number of learners | Extra conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Classroom lecture | No more than 100 per cohort | — |
| Live online lecture | No more than 50 per cohort | Verify each learner's identity before starting; two-way video and audio at all times; record video and audio of every learner for the whole training and keep it for at least 2 years |
| Group activities | No more than 50 per trainer and no more than 100 per cohort | — |
| With hands-on practice | No more than 25 per trainer and no more than 100 per cohort | — |
| Self-study through electronic media | — | A separate user account per learner; no skipping content or speeding up; assessment per learner; a pass needs at least 60% and the full study time; keep the data for at least 2 years |
In every format with an instructor, a trainee must attend at least 80% of the total course time to pass. If the organisation hires a provider, the provider must be an educational institution, a higher-education institution, a state training centre, or a training unit that is a foundation, an association or a juristic person (clause 6). TRAINIAC is registered as a juristic person under the name Trainiac Co., Ltd., so it falls in this group.
Costs that count
Clause 5(3) of the notice lists 16 items. If the organisation hires a provider, the fee paid to the provider is estimated from the same list.
- Instructors and course. Trainer fees, course licence fees, interpreter fees and document translation fees.
- Documents and media. Documents or textbooks, photocopying, photos and audio-video recording of the training, and producing or renting teaching media.
- Materials, equipment and venue. Materials and tools kept separate from those used in normal business, rental of tools or equipment, and rental of the training venue.
- Accommodation, food and travel. Accommodation, meals, drinks and snacks (except alcoholic drinks), travel between provinces for no more than two trips, hired shuttle transport, hired vehicles for study visits within Thailand, and the trainer's travel within Thailand. Travel between provinces and study visits do not include airfare.
The most common ways to lose the deduction
- Filing late. The 30-day window counts back from the training date. If the training is in early December, file within October to leave time to fix documents.
- Learners below 80% attendance. Anyone who does not attend in full does not meet the threshold, so keep the attendance list and times for every session.
- A live online cohort above 50, or no video and audio recording. If you have many people, split them into cohorts at the planning stage.
- Changing the date, venue or trainer without notice. You must file ปก.2 at least 7 days before the training.
- Forgetting the results report. รง.1 must be filed within 60 days after the training ends, and training that ends late in the year must be reported by 15 January.
- Trainees who are not the company's employees, or no return-to-work condition. This breaks Director-General's Notice No. 148.
A timeline that works in practice
- About 6 weeks before training. Settle the topics, hours, number of cohorts and the quotation with the provider.
- At least 30 days before training. File ยป.1 with the course details, schedule, venue, trainer information and cost breakdown.
- At least 7 days before training. The last day to file ปก.1 or ปก.2 if anything changes.
- Training day. Keep the attendance list and times. For live online training, record video and audio for the whole cohort.
- Within 60 days after training. File รง.1, and keep the receipts and all documents for your accountant.
What TRAINIAC prepares for you
We prepare every document HR needs to file: the course outline and schedule, trainer profiles, the attendance list and receipts issued by Trainiac Co., Ltd. We also keep the course length and cohort size within the notice's criteria from the quotation stage. See the details on our corporate AI training.
Sources
- Royal Decree on Tax Exemption (No. 437), B.E. 2548, section 4(2), The Revenue Department (กรมสรรพากร)
- Notice of the Director-General of the Revenue Department on Income Tax (No. 148), dated 23 November 2005, The Revenue Department
- Notice of the Skill Development Promotion Committee on course approval, related details and the list of expenses for skill-upgrading training and occupational retraining, dated 24 January 2025, Royal Gazette (ราชกิจจานุเบกษา) vol. 142, special issue 81 ง, pp. 28–34, in force 19 August 2025, Department of Skill Development
Read next
If you are comparing providers, read 7 criteria for choosing an AI training provider and how training runs from first contact to the end (in Thai). Or contact us for a quote, and we will design the course so you can file for approval in time.