DriveHubCountry guide · Thailand
How long to keep mileage records in Thailand: no set period, but plan on five years
The short answer
For an individual filer, Thai law sets no retention period at all. The Revenue Code obliges an individual to make a daily record and to produce documents when summoned. It never says to keep them for a stated number of years.
The practical horizon is the summons limit in Revenue Code s. 19: "ภายในเวลาสองปี นับแต่วันที่ได้ยื่นรายการ" — within two years from the date the return was filed. On suspicion of evasion the Director-General may extend that, "แต่ต้องไม่เกินห้าปี" — but not beyond five years. And if you never filed, s. 23 removes the limit altogether.
So plan on at least five years from the date you filed each year's return (the ceiling of the s. 19 window), and keep any year you never filed with no time limit.
What the Code does ask of an individual
Two duties, and neither is a storage period:
- to make a daily record;
- to produce documents when the Revenue Department summons them.
For an employee's allowance, ruling กค 0702/1831 adds one condition. If your employer pays you a vehicle allowance within the officials' ceiling (4 baht per kilometre for a private car, 2 for a motorcycle), no receipts are required. You do need evidence that you were approved to travel for work, naming the work and the period, given before the journey: "หลักฐานการได้รับอนุมัติให้เดินทางไปปฏิบัติงาน". (A sole trader has no per-kilometre figure; see Thai sole trader: no 4 baht/km.)
The Revenue Department says five years — and cites nothing
The Revenue Department's own FAQ tells individuals to keep documents for five years. It cites no provision, because there is none. It matches the top of the s. 19 range, but it is guidance, not a statutory period.
Companies are different
A company keeps its books five years from the closing date of the accounts under the Accounting Act B.E. 2543, s. 14, extendable to seven. Its VAT records are kept five years from filing under Revenue Code s. 87/3.
Do not carry those periods over to yourself by default. Section 8 of the Accounting Act lists who is bound by it and contains no natural person, so a Thai sole trader is outside it. If you drive for a company, the company's own periods apply to the company's books, not to your personal records.
What it costs if you cannot produce the record
This is the part that makes the summons window matter. Under s. 21, if you fail to comply with a s. 19 summons, the officer may assess "ตามที่รู้เห็นว่าถูกต้อง" — as they see fit. And "ห้ามมิให้อุทธรณ์การประเมิน": the assessment may not be appealed.
It is not a fine. Separately, a travel allowance that does not meet the s. 42 exemption's conditions becomes assessable income.
So how long should you keep them?
Keep the log for the longest window that can apply to you:
- Filed returns: at least five years from the date you filed each year's return (the s. 19 ceiling, and the Revenue Department's own advice).
- Years you never filed: there is no time limit under s. 23, so do not discard records for a year with no return on file.
- Travel authorisations: keep each one with the log it supports. The log shows the journeys happened; the authorisation is the condition that came before them.
Keeping a log for extra years costs little. Not being able to produce it when summoned costs an assessment you cannot appeal.
How DriveHub helps with keeping the record
The record is only worth keeping if it is complete. With location access set to Always, DriveHub records every drive in the background — and if it ever misses one, it tells you. DriveHub files most trips as Business or Personal by your places, past routes and working hours, and asks you about the rest. A drive from home to your usual workplace is answered as Commute.
The trips are stored on your iPhone. With iCloud turned on, they also sync through Apple's iCloud, and a new or restored phone brings back the trips that had synced. Reports can be exported as PDF, Excel or CSV (the exports are part of DriveHub Pro), so a copy can sit with your own papers for as long as you choose to keep it. DriveHub does not set or promise any legal retention period. How long to keep the file is the decision above, and it is yours.
For an employee's allowance in Thailand, DriveHub prices the shorter of a routed shortest-path estimate and the recorded distance — see Thailand's claimable distance.
DriveHub is on the App Store for iPhone. Thailand's other rules are on the Thailand page, and setting up automatic tracking takes a few minutes, once.
This page states what the Revenue Code, the Accounting Act and Revenue Department ruling กค 0702/1831 say, and cites them so you can check. It is not tax advice. It can't account for your circumstances. Where money is involved, ask your accountant — and bring the records.
Do it in DriveHub
Recently Deleted, exported copies and deleting the full log.
The full rule for Thailand, with the instruments it comes from: mileage log requirements in Thailand.