Tax Deductions for Caring for Parents Often Overlooked by Office Workers: In-Depth Look at 5 Key Conditions for Eligibility

Providing parents with monthly financial support

Many people transfer money each month to cover their parents' medicine, food, water, and electricity expenses. However, due to busy work schedules or complex legal conditions, many miss out on the "parental support allowance"—colloquially called the filial tax deduction—even though this right can save up to 120,000 baht per year.

Before claiming this deduction on your tax return, several points must be verified carefully. Well-meaning efforts to jointly care for parents within a household can unintentionally trigger retroactive fines from the Revenue Department without prior notice.

Which parents qualify for you to claim their names for tax deductions?

Currently, the law allows a deduction of 30,000 baht per parent (30,000 for father / 30,000 for mother). If your spouse has no income, you can also claim their parents’ names for an additional 30,000 baht each, totaling up to four parents and a maximum deduction of 120,000 baht under these conditions:

• The parent must be at least 60 years old in the relevant tax year.
• The parent must be a biological parent according to the law (adopted children cannot claim this right).
• The parent must reside in Thailand (but does not need to be registered at the same household address).

The parent's annual income must not exceed 30,000 baht.

However, “not working” does not mean having no income in the Revenue Department’s view. All income sources are counted. If parents receive more than 30,000 baht per year in total, the deduction is disallowed immediately.

• For example, the elderly allowance (monthly government pension for seniors counts as income).
• Government official pensions or social security old-age pensions.
• Interest from bank deposits or dividends from investments.
• Temporary special income such as selling inherited land or receiving high-value asset transfers that push income above the limit disqualify the deduction for that year. However, if no such income exists the following year, the deduction rights resume.

Sibling disputes over deduction rights: rules to clarify before filing

The law clearly states, “One parent’s deduction can only be claimed by one child.” For example, with three children, the eldest can claim the father’s deduction and the second child can claim the mother’s—this is allowed.

A common case the Revenue Department sees is all siblings claiming deductions for the same parent, thinking they are sharing care. The system immediately rejects such claims. The Revenue Department grants the deduction to whoever submits the tax form and document L.Y.03 first; others are disqualified. If caught retroactively, they must repay taxes plus a 1.5% monthly penalty (18% per year). This is why families should discuss and have the highest-income sibling claim the deduction to maximize savings.

Additional deduction tip: "Parents’ health insurance premiums"

Besides the 30,000 baht support allowance, if you purchase health insurance for your parents, you can deduct the actual premium paid up to 15,000 baht, with different favorable conditions:

• Parents under 60 years old qualify: as long as parents’ income does not exceed 30,000 baht per year, younger children just starting work who buy health insurance for parents can claim this deduction immediately without waiting for parents to turn 60.
• Deduction rights can be shared: unlike the support allowance, if siblings share the health insurance premium payments, they can split the deduction proportionally based on actual payment amounts.

Finally, before submitting your tax return simulation, don’t forget to have your parents sign form "L.Y.03" (Certificate for Deduction of Parental Support) to keep as proof.

Sources: Revenue Department, Thammanit Public Company Limited, Krungsri Bank

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