Thailand's Revenue Department Is Reaching Out to Creators: What the 2025 and 2026 Signals Say

Thailand's Revenue Department has addressed creators directly several times since March 2025. This article traces what it and others have said publicly. It is general information, not tax advice; creators should check the department's guidance or consult a qualified adviser.

February 2026: a seminar for influencers

On 9 February 2026 the department published an invitation to a free seminar titled “Influencer ใส่ใจภาษี”, roughly “influencers, mind your taxes”. It was scheduled for 17 February 2026 at the Tax Collection Development Institute in Nonthaburi. The department described it as helping people understand which income is taxable and how to file correctly, covering income from product reviews, paid advertising, gifts and freebies, and online platforms, and aimed it at influencers, creators and page administrators.

2025: warnings to file

In March 2025, according to a Vietnam News Agency report, the department's Director-General, Pinsai Suraswadi, urged influencers and online sellers to file their annual income tax by the end of the month to avoid fines. He said many young earners, including e-commerce vendors, influencers and product reviewers, had never filed a return, and that the department can audit records up to five years back but that filing errors can be corrected. The report cited estimates of about three million online sellers on platforms such as Shopee, Lazada and TikTok and around two million full-time influencers and content creators.

In October 2025 the firm Expat Tax Thailand described what it called fresh warnings to influencers, live streamers and online sellers, and said the department is using AI tools, data from major platforms and its RD10X digital enforcement unit to identify undeclared online income. That is the firm's account rather than a department statement. The same article summarises the general framework: personal income tax rates from 5% to 35%, tax residency after 180 days in a calendar year, and VAT registration once annual turnover exceeds THB 1.8 million.

Why the attention

The scale explains it. The Vietnam News Agency report cited a study by Tellscore, FutureTales LAB and the Thailand Institute for Mental Health Sustainability that put the creator industry's contribution at at least 45 billion baht a year, and gave around two million full-time creators, rising to nine million when part-time creators and micro-influencers are included. Coverage of the 2025 Thailand Influencer Awards likewise valued the creator economy at 45 billion baht in 2024.

What it could mean for MCNs and agencies

This section is MCN Thailand's reading. Networks and agencies that pay creators create a paper trail, and the same is true of platforms that pay commissions. Creators paid through an agency should keep contracts and payment records, and agencies can help by being clear about what they pay, when and under what terms. As Thailand's consumer-protection draft on influencer disclosure shows, regulators are looking at creator income and creator advertising at the same time.