Thailand approves debt relief and tax breaks for flood victims

Thailand’s Cabinet has approved a Finance Ministry package of assistance, relief and recovery measures for people affected by flooding in 2026, finance permanent secretary Lavaron Sangsnit said on Tuesday (October 20, 2026).

The measures aim to ease hardship for residents and businesses in several provinces affected by floods since September.

They combine financial support through state-owned specialised financial institutions with tax measures administered by the Customs Department, Revenue Department and Excise Department.

Seven state-owned specialised financial institutions are offering support for people who cannot earn income but still have debts to repay.

Assistance includes suspending principal or interest payments, reducing interest rates and extending repayment periods as appropriate.

Businesses will receive six-month repayment holidays to ease their burden while their income has yet to recover.

Lavaron said the coordinated approach distinguished this package from previous measures, with all seven state financial institutions suspending repayments simultaneously for the first time.

Payment holidays will last at least three months, with some institutions, such as the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), offering payment holidays of up to one year.

Government Savings Bank, Government Housing Bank and Islamic Bank of Thailand are offering concessional loans for people whose homes have been damaged.

Loans of up to THB2 million per borrower are available for housing repairs or restoration, with interest rates of 0–1.99% a year and repayment terms of up to 40 years.

Government Savings Bank is also offering emergency loans of up to THB50,000 per borrower, with 0% interest for the first three months.

Lavaron also highlighted the interest rates, saying the concessional repair and recovery loans started at 0%.

He said such loans had never previously offered an initial rate of 0%, and that the government was now placing great emphasis on helping people facing real hardship.

For farmers, BAAC is offering loans of up to THB500,000 per borrower to provide liquidity and finance repairs to agricultural tools and equipment.

These loans are interest-free for six months, with repayment terms of up to 15 years.

For businesses, Government Savings Bank, Islamic Bank of Thailand and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand are providing loans of up to THB5 million per borrower, with annual interest rates of 0–3.25% and terms of up to seven years.

The Export-Import Bank of Thailand is providing temporary working capital of up to 20% of a business’s existing revolving credit facility, capped at THB2 million per borrower.

The original contractual interest rate will apply, with a term of no more than one year.

Businesses with loans guaranteed by the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation can defer payment of loan guarantee fees and guarantee management fees.

Government Housing Bank is offering debt workout arrangements lasting up to one year and six months, or arrangements assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Lavaron said further debt restructuring was available if borrowers still had difficulty repaying despite a payment holiday.

Government Housing Bank and Islamic Bank of Thailand are also offering a fast-track claims service for customers holding fire insurance policies.

For business recovery, Government Savings Bank has set up a THB30 billion soft-loan scheme to provide funds for commercial banks to lend to affected small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The bank will charge commercial banks 0.01% a year.

Borrowers will pay no more than 3.5% a year for the first two years and no more than 5% a year in years three to five.

Loans are capped at THB30 million per borrower across all institutions, with repayment terms of up to five years.

“State financial institutions can already look after their existing customers. But the government has also taken account of flood victims who are customers of commercial banks rather than state banks, so it has allocated this THB30 billion for loans of no more than THB30 million per borrower,” he said.

On tax relief, the Cabinet approved a temporary customs duty exemption for machinery, parts and equipment imported to replace or repair items damaged by flooding.

The measure applies to factory operators and operators of hotels or other accommodation that meet the legal eligibility requirements and are located in areas officially designated for emergency disaster assistance.

It will run until March 31, 2027.

Eligible imports can begin from the date the measure is published in the Royal Gazette.

The goods must be new and used in the eligible operator’s business.

Importers must be either the eligible operators themselves or dealers with sales contracts with them.

They must present a certificate confirming that the operator was affected by flooding, issued by the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, a provincial industry office or a local administrative organisation, to the Customs Department.

Under the personal income tax deduction measure, individuals whose property is damaged by flooding between May 15 and December 31 in officially designated emergency disaster assistance areas can deduct amounts actually paid in two expense categories.

Deductions for repairs and cleaning of buildings or condominium units are capped at THB100,000, while those for car or motorcycle repairs are capped at THB30,000.

Where several properties or vehicles are damaged, expenses must be combined within the respective limits.

The Revenue Department has extended deadlines for taxpayers in areas it designates.

Tax return filings, payments, remittances and applications to pay stamp duty in cash originally due between September 1 and December 29 will instead be due on December 30.

The extension covers personal and corporate income tax, withholding tax, value added tax and specific business tax, excluding specific business tax on commercial or profit-making sales of immovable property.

The Excise Department has extended the deadlines for industrial operators and service establishments in flood-affected areas to file tax returns, pay tax and submit monthly statements originally due in September–October to November 15.

Holders of licences to produce or sell alcoholic drinks, tobacco or playing cards that expire between September 1 and October 31 can also submit applications by the same extended deadline and will be treated as existing licensees.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, under the Ministry of Interior, and the Office of Insurance Commission have purchased group housing insurance covering about 30 million homes, with cover of up to THB100,000 per home.

They have also purchased group personal accident insurance providing up to THB2 million per person for death or total permanent disability.

The policies cover floods, windstorms and earthquakes from October 1, 2026 to October 1, 2027.

Claims can be submitted through www.thainatcat.org.