Short answer
A doctor fee (DF, ค่ามือ) is what a Thai clinic pays a doctor per case: a percentage of the bill, a fixed amount, or a tiered rate. Withholding follows the contract: a doctor practising in their own name under a written fee split (Section 40(6)) has 3% withheld by a company clinic, on PND 3; employees and per-job doctors go on PND 1.
Key points
- On one case at 30%, the DF can swing by 1,500 baht (2,100 to 3,600) depending on the base.
- Calculate after discount. On list price, a 2,000 baht discount overpays the DF by 600 baht per case.
- The contract decides the income type, not the label: 40(6) is 3% on PND 3; 40(1) and 40(2) go on PND 1.
- Paying through e-Withholding Tax cuts the 3% to 1% for payments in 2026 and 2027.
- File and pay within 7 days of month-end. Late tax carries a 1.5% a month surcharge.
What is a doctor fee (DF), and how is it different from a salary?
A doctor fee (DF, ค่ามือ, literally "hand fee") is money paid to a doctor for work actually done: per consultation, per procedure, or as a percentage of what the patient paid. It rises and falls with the doctor's caseload, where a salary stays the same each month.
The rate is a commercial matter between the clinic and the doctor. What has to be in writing is the base it is calculated on, the rate or amount, when it is paid, and how the doctor works with the clinic. That last point is the one the Revenue Department cares about, because it decides the withholding.
Clinics that sell courses often pay two things on one sale: a sales commission (ค่าขาย) to whoever sold the package, and the DF to whoever performs each session. When those are different people, keep the two rules separate from day one.
Doctor fee calculator with Thai withholding tax
Enter the price, the discount and your DF rule, then say how the doctor works with the clinic. The calculator returns the DF, the tax to withhold, what the doctor actually receives and what the clinic keeps. It starts on a filler case: 12,000 baht list price, a 2,000 baht discount, and a DF of 30% of the amount after discount.
The 3% rate applies when the clinic is a company or partnership and the doctor has Section 40(6) income. For an employee or Section 40(2) income the calculator gives no tax figure, because that tax is worked out from the doctor's whole-year income and allowances. If you are not sure which case you are in, read the tax section below first.
| Item | Amount (baht) |
|---|---|
| Patient paid (after discount) | 10,000.00 |
| Amount the DF is calculated on | 10,000.00 |
| Doctor fee (DF) | 3,000.00 |
| Withholding tax 3% | 90.00 |
| Doctor receives | 2,910.00 |
| Clinic keeps (before other costs) | 7,000.00 |
| Form to file | PND 3 |
The Revenue Department's rulings treat the whole fee (10,000.00 baht) as the doctor's 40(6) income. If your accountant withholds on that amount instead, the tax is 300.00 baht.
Rounded to the satang, halves up. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere. Use it to plan your rules, not in place of your accountant's advice.
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How do clinics in Thailand calculate doctor fees? Four rules on one case
Four rules are common: a percentage after discount, a percentage of list price, a percentage after material cost, or a fixed amount per case. Take one filler treatment: list price 12,000 baht, a 2,000 baht promotion, so the patient pays 10,000 baht. The filler itself costs the clinic 3,000 baht. The doctor's rate is 30%, or 1,500 baht per case.
Moving the base the 30% applies to is enough to shift the DF by 1,500 baht on a single case, from 3,600 to 2,100 baht. A contract that just says "DF 30%" leaves the most expensive question open: 30% of what?
| Rule | Working | DF |
|---|---|---|
| 30% after discount | 10,000 × 30% | 3,000 baht |
| 30% of list price | 12,000 × 30% | 3,600 baht |
| 30% after discount and material cost | (10,000 − 3,000) × 30% | 2,100 baht |
| Fixed per case | 1,500 baht, whatever the discount | 1,500 baht |
How does a tiered (step) doctor fee work?
A tiered DF (ขั้นบันได) raises the rate as the doctor's monthly total passes thresholds, for example 20% on the first 100,000 baht, 25% up to 200,000 and 30% above that. Doctors who bring in the most work earn a bigger share.
Settle whether the higher rate applies only to the slice above each threshold or to the whole month. On a 250,000 baht month, slicing gives 60,000 baht, as in the table below. Paying the whole month at the top rate gives 75,000 baht: a 15,000 baht difference in one month, for one doctor.
Also settle what counts toward the month: bills that have been paid, or bills that have merely been raised. Counting raised bills lets a doctor cross a threshold on money the clinic has not received.
| Slice of the month | Rate | DF on the slice |
|---|---|---|
| First 100,000 baht | 20% | 20,000 baht |
| Next 100,000 baht | 25% | 25,000 baht |
| 50,000 baht above 200,000 | 30% | 15,000 baht |
| Total 250,000 baht | 24% on average | 60,000 baht |
Before or after discount, and should material costs come off first?
After discount: that is the money the patient actually paid. Calculating on the list price means paying DF on revenue that never arrived; in the example, a 2,000 baht discount costs the clinic an extra 600 baht of DF on one case, and a month-long promotion multiplies that by every case. If you want doctor-given discounts to come out of the DF and clinic promotions not to, that works too, as long as the contract says so.
Where materials are expensive (filler, botulinum toxin, threads, or dental work with lab fees) agree whether cost comes off before the percentage, and which cost: a standard unit cost you set, the material actually used on the case, or a flat percentage of the bill. Each gives a different number.
Rates can also differ by doctor and by service: a flat fee per consultation, a percentage on procedures, a higher rate for a senior doctor. Once rules overlap, the contract has to say which one wins.
See SyncEdge Clinic for aesthetic clinics, with DF and course tracking together
How much withholding tax applies to a doctor fee in Thailand, and which form?
It depends on how the doctor works with the clinic, not on what the payment is called. Revenue Department ruling Kor Kor 0702/1703 of 4 March 2010 sets out the three cases. Pay arising from employment is Section 40(1) income. Pay for a position held or work done is Section 40(2) income. To be Section 40(6) professional income, the doctor must contract to use the clinic's premises and equipment to treat patients in their own name, with a written agreement to share fees with the clinic, even if the clinic collects the fees on the doctor's behalf.
Ruling Kor Kor 0811/4394 of 23 May 2002 applied the same line to private hospitals. Doctors with a premises-and-fee-sharing agreement earned 40(6) income; an outside doctor with no agreement who treated patients occasionally and was paid per job, in varying amounts, earned 40(2) income. The contract decides, not the label.
The withholding follows the income type. Section 40(1) and 40(2) income is withheld under Section 50(1): annualise the payment, take off the doctor's expenses and allowances, apply the personal income tax scale, and file PND 1. There is no flat rate. Ruling Kor Kor 0702/5760 of 6 September 2017 confirms the payer must do this every time it pays 40(2) income. For 40(6) income paid by a company, partnership or other juristic person, Revenue Department Order Tor Por 4/2528, clause 7, sets 3%, filed on PND 3. If the doctor invoices through their own company, the recipient is a juristic person, so the 3% is filed on PND 53 instead.
Whichever form applies, it is filed and the tax paid within 7 days of the end of the month in which you paid the doctor, and you give the doctor a withholding certificate. Under the Revenue Department's withholding manual, a clinic that fails to withhold, or withholds too little, is jointly liable with the doctor for the shortfall.
| How the doctor works with you | Income type | How to withhold |
|---|---|---|
| Employee of the clinic, paid salary or DF as staff | Section 40(1) | Payroll method under Section 50(1), PND 1 |
| Outside doctor, occasional, paid per job, no premises agreement | Section 40(2) | Section 50(1) on every payment, PND 1 |
| Practises at your premises in their own name, written fee split | Section 40(6) | 3%, PND 3 |
| Paid through the doctor's own company | 40(6), company recipient | 3%, PND 53 |
Sources
- Ruling Kor Kor 0702/1703 (4 March 2010): doctors' income under Section 40(1), 40(2) and 40(6)
- Ruling Kor Kor 0811/4394 (23 May 2002): private-hospital doctors, 40(6) versus 40(2)
- Ruling Kor Kor 0702/5760 (6 September 2017): withholding 40(2) under Section 50(1) on every payment
- Revenue Department Order Tor Por 4/2528, clause 7: 3% on professional income
- Revenue Code, Sections 40 and 50
- Form PND 1 and its instructions for 40(1) and 40(2) income
- Withholding manual for PND 3 and PND 53
3% of the DF or of the whole fee? And the cases to take to your accountant
The rulings we found do not settle this directly. Kor Kor 0702/1703 and 0702/5760 say that for 40(6) income the doctor's income is the whole fee collected from the patient, not just what is left after the clinic's share. They do not say which amount the clinic's 3% is calculated on. In Kor Kor 0811/4394 the hospitals withheld 3% on the fees they paid to doctors, and the ruling did not comment on that base. So the calculator above withholds on the DF actually paid, and shows the figure on the whole fee alongside it for your accountant to choose.
If the clinic is owned by an individual rather than a company, clause 7 of Tor Por 4/2528 does not reach it: it binds companies, partnerships and other juristic persons. Payroll withholding under Section 50(1) is different; the PND 1 instructions list individual payers too. An individual-owned clinic paying 40(6) DF should have its accountant confirm whether it must withhold at all.
If you pay through a bank's e-Withholding Tax service, the 3% falls to 1%. On 16 June 2026 the cabinet approved extending that measure to payments from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027 (Revenue Department press release 14/2569). Have your bank or accountant confirm your payments qualify before you use the lower rate.
Doctors who are not tax-resident (in Thailand for less than 180 days in the tax year) follow different rules. The PND 1 instructions set 15% on each payment of 40(2) income to a non-resident, and the 3% in clause 7 applies to recipients domiciled or present in Thailand. A visiting specialist is a case for your accountant, not for this calculator.
Sources
- Ruling Kor Kor 0702/5760 (6 September 2017): 40(6) income is the whole fee
- Ruling Kor Kor 0811/4394 (23 May 2002): hospitals withholding 3% on doctors' fees
- Order Tor Por 4/2528, clause 7: juristic payers, recipients in Thailand
- Form PND 1 instructions: payers, and 15% for non-residents' 40(2) income
- Press release 14/2569: e-Withholding Tax at 1% extended to 2027
Where do clinics go wrong when paying doctor fees?
Mostly in the timing, not the formula: DF paid before the money arrives, or a refund going out while the DF stays put. Check these before the first payout.
Pay DF on a bill the patient is still paying off, and if they never pay the rest, the clinic loses both the fee and the DF; the contract should say DF is paid once the bill is settled, or pro rata to what was collected. Calculating on list price after a discount overpaid 600 baht on the single case above. For refunds, agree in advance whether the clawback is in full or in proportion to the refund.
For courses sold now and treated later, an unclear rule pays DF twice, or pays the doctor who sold the course while another does the work; if the patient stops halfway, you need to know whether the unused sessions were already paid. Employees and doctors with 40(2) income are withheld under Section 50(1) and filed on PND 1, not at 3%. Rounding tax per case and then adding up can differ by a few satang from rounding the whole round. And the Revenue Department's manual adds a surcharge of 1.5% a month on tax remitted late.
Common mistake
- Paying DF on a part-paid bill
- Using list price after a discount
- Refunding without clawing back DF
- Withholding 3% from every doctor
- Paying course DF at sale and at each session
- Rounding tax differently from round to round
Do this instead
- Pay once settled, or pro rata to what was collected
- Calculate on the amount after discount
- Deduct the clawback from the next round
- Withhold by each doctor's income type
- Pick one: DF at sale or at each session
- One rounding method, matching the certificate
How does SyncEdge Clinic calculate doctor fees?
SyncEdge Clinic calculates DF from paid bills automatically. Percentage and fixed-amount DF come with every plan, starting with Solo at 990 baht a month including VAT, for 8 users at one branch. Tiered rates, withholding and approved payout rounds come with Starter, 2,490 baht a month for 20 users at one branch.
Rules can be set per doctor, per service category or per service, as a percentage or a fixed amount, or tiered from Starter. A tier can be judged on the bill alone or on the doctor's running total for the month; on the running total, the bill that crosses a threshold takes the new rate in full, and earlier bills are not recalculated. The default base is the amount after discount, and on Starter material cost can come off first. Where rules overlap, the higher-priority rule wins, and two overlapping rules at the same priority cannot be saved.
DF is created only when a bill is fully paid; a part-paid bill earns nothing yet. A refund creates the clawback entry automatically. For courses, you can pay a sales commission at sale and the DF at each session used.
On Starter, withholding is deducted from each DF at a rate set per doctor, 3% by default, and the entries roll into payout rounds that move from draft to approved to paid. Manual adjustments need a second person to approve them. Each round can produce a withholding certificate PDF for the doctor.
What it does not do yet: it withholds at a flat rate per doctor, so it does not run the Section 50(1) payroll calculation for employees or 40(2) doctors, and it does not produce PND 1, PND 53 or a monthly PND 3 filing file for DF. The per-doctor DF report gives the DF, tax withheld and net amounts your accountant needs to file.
Sign up yourself at clinic.syncedge.tech/register for a 2-month free trial with no credit card. Set up your own DF rules and run them against real bills before you decide; choose Starter at sign-up if you need withholding or tiered rates.
Put these in writing before the first DF payout
- How each doctor works with the clinic: employee, occasional per-job, or practising in their own name
- The DF base: list price, after discount, or after discount and material cost
- The rate for each service, and which rule wins when two overlap
- Whether tiers apply by slice or to the whole month, counted on paid bills only
- DF paid only on settled bills, and which round absorbs a clawback after a refund
- Course DF earned at sale or at each session
- The withholding rate, the form, and a payout date that leaves time to remit within 7 days of month-end
Frequently asked questions
What does DF mean in a Thai clinic?
DF is the doctor fee, ค่ามือ in Thai: what the clinic pays a doctor for work actually done, per consultation, per procedure or as a percentage of the treatment fee. Unlike a salary it varies with the caseload. The rate is agreed between the clinic and the doctor in their contract.
Is the doctor fee calculated before or after the discount?
After, because that is what the clinic actually received. On a 12,000 baht case discounted by 2,000 baht, a 30% DF after discount is 3,000 baht; on the list price it would be 3,600 baht. Where materials are expensive, also agree whether their cost comes off before the percentage.
What is the withholding tax rate on doctor fees in Thailand?
3% when the doctor practises at your premises in their own name under a written fee split (Section 40(6) income) and the clinic is a company, under Revenue Department Order Tor Por 4/2528, clause 7, so a 3,000 baht DF has 90 baht withheld. For an employee (40(1)) or a doctor paid per job without that agreement (40(2)) there is no flat rate: you withhold like salary under Section 50(1).
Which form do I file for doctor fees: PND 1, PND 3 or PND 53?
PND 1 for Section 40(1) and 40(2) income. PND 3 for 40(6) income paid to a doctor as an individual. PND 53 when the doctor is paid through their own company. Each is filed, with the tax, within 7 days of the end of the month in which you paid.
Can I withhold only 1% through e-Withholding Tax?
Yes, under the measure the cabinet approved on 16 June 2026: payments made through the e-Withholding Tax system from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027 are withheld at 1% instead of 3%, so 30 baht on a 3,000 baht DF instead of 90. Have your bank or accountant confirm your payments qualify first.
What if the doctor is a foreigner who is in Thailand only part of the year?
Check their tax residence first. Someone in Thailand for less than 180 days in the tax year is non-resident, and the PND 1 instructions set 15% on each payment of 40(2) income to a non-resident. The 3% rate in clause 7 of Tor Por 4/2528 covers recipients domiciled or present in Thailand. Take a visiting specialist's contract to your accountant.
Is there a free doctor fee calculator?
The calculator on this page is free and needs no sign-up. It works out a percentage or fixed DF, the withholding and the doctor's net, one case at a time. To have DF calculated from every paid bill, SyncEdge Clinic does it from the Solo plan at 990 baht a month; approved payout rounds with withholding certificates come with Starter at 2,490 baht. Both prices include VAT, with a 2-month free trial.