Politics
Siam Mayor's Property Levy Policy Sets Rates Below Those in Neighbouring Municipalities
Siam property owners will pay a new annual levy from January 2027 to fund local roads and drainage, with the per-square-metre rate lower than the charges applied in two adjacent cities under the same national revenue rules.
How we reported this
The Siam City Council passed the mayor's Property Levy Policy on 15 June 2026. The measure requires every residential and commercial property inside municipal boundaries to pay an annual charge calculated by floor area.
National legislation passed in 2025 requires all municipalities to raise at least 30 percent of their infrastructure budgets from local sources. Siam officials completed their rate schedule last month after reviewing filings from the Finance Ministry.
Rate differences across cities
Under the policy Siam will charge 12 baht per square metre. Records from the neighbouring municipality of Nonthaburi show a rate of 18 baht per square metre, while the city of Ayutthaya adopted 15 baht. The Siam rate therefore produces a lower annual bill for an identical 120-square-metre house.
Local residents will see the change first in water-bill inserts mailed in December. A household in the Bang Rak district can expect an extra 1,440 baht per year. That amount covers one month of school transport fees for one child or two months of market vegetable purchases for a family of four.
The 2026 Siam Municipal Budget Paper records that the levy is projected to raise 120 million baht. The document allocates 65 million baht of that total to resurfacing 12 kilometres of secondary roads in the eastern wards and 40 million baht to new drainage pipes along the Chao Phraya canal frontage.
Payment schedule and appeals
Property owners must settle the levy by 31 March 2027 or face a 5 percent surcharge. The municipal revenue office will accept payment at its district counters or through the city website. Owners who believe their floor-area measurement is incorrect may file an appeal with the municipal tribunal within 30 days of receiving the notice.
City staff will begin door-to-door verification visits in August to confirm property records against the land department database. The verification round covers 48,000 parcels and is expected to finish by November.