khunPer

A foreigner can surely own a villa in Thailand – no problem...👍– but a foreigner cannot own the land under the villa if not entering on "investment visa". However, land can easily be rented...

I don't know the DTA between US and Thailand – I'm from Scandinavia, all DTAs are said to be slightly different – you should read it, it might answer your question.

This is the official answer... Make sure you have proof for your savings from before 1st January 2024, in case you are asked about origin of foreign fund transfers.

You shall file a tax return not later than 31st March. You can do it online with E-filling, if you already has a Thai TIN; otherwise, get a TIN and file online. Link to E-filling: https://efiling.rd.go.th/rd-cms/tax If you already have paid foreign income tax, you cannot claim deduction online at the moment, in that case you need to file an old fashioned tax return on paper in Thai language. Due tax can be paid immediately, or you can apply for tax-payment in three installments.

If you are living of savings from before 1st January 2024 or Thai savings, where tax is withheld on interest and dividends, you don't need to file a tax return. For foreign savings, you need to be ablt to show proof, in case being asked about origin of your foreign transfers.

Koh Samui, under Surat Thani Province.

Thanks for your reply. It seems to be slightly different from office to office, what they demands or request. Where I live, we must make a new TM30-notification if being outside the province. Other places it is if outside the kingdom, and there was a police order stating that if you returned to same address, you don't need to file a new TM30-notofication, even if you have been abroad.

Actually your need to file a tax return form – I've even had a meeting this week with the Revenue Office director where I live about it – but you don't need to pay tax of the first 500k baht if you are retired and 65+ years old. That is also what the official images I shared and your refer to, says. It is fairly easy to do it with online E-filling, as long as you don't have to offset already paid foreign tax, which the online system cannot handle (seems to be a system error, according to the revenue director, he was surprised that it didn't work).

However, I cannot extend my permission of stay for another tear, without showing a TM30-registration to the immigration officer, it's actually one of the required documents on the list...

To my knowledge, you will need to file a TM30 where you are living for approval of your extension of stay, which might be difficult when living in a container on a construction site; i.e., who is registered as host. Why not just rent a cheap room, where yoy can have your formal address; it won't stop you for having your assets in a container on the construction site a spend the night there. To my knowledge, you don't need to file another TM30 when sleeping elsewhere within the province.

If married the farang has some rights. If she dies, it is depending of marriage, and her eventual last will. For inheritance due to last will they don't need to be married. A farang can inherit property, but cannot keep it, if it is land or within a Thai 51% share – I however don't know, if it can be relocated to 49% foreign holdings, if space available – and need to sell or transfer the property within 12 month.

The official tax rules for foreigner's income tax...

Koh Samui is only one day, April 13th, if you stay away from the nighlife area in April 12th evening...😉

If beachfront: Lolita Bungalow, Wandee Byngalow (might be prebooked already), Moon Hut. You can use Google Street View to walk the beach and find accommodations of interest, and check prices and availability on website or booking platform.

What is "reasonable priced" for you; i.e., what price level are you looking for?

A really good idea, a working fire extinguisher can sometimes prevent a huge fire...👍

Thanks for your reply, you are welcome to ask questions. There can be a lot to consider when moving to a new country. Lifestyle: I changed lifestyle from my home country's four seasons to all year summer and barefoot Xmas. Further north you have winter, actually three seasons: Summer, rain and winter. Down south we only have two seasons: Summer and rain. Furthermore, I began living a life that I didn't have surplus – mainly time – to do, and might have missed when I was younger, being too busy to keep a self employment smaller company growing and surviving. Since I settled in Thailand I enjoy the nightlife, not bars, but beach parties and night clubs; I never danced before, I do now...😀 Thai language: I've never been good in language – still fighting being reasonable in English as second language – it might also be a question of where you settle, if you can manage with only being able to speak a tiny bit of the local language. I've decided for a tourist area where many locals speaks some level of English and prefers to try to speak English to you. Some times I manage with simple Thai words when shopping, which the Thai shop assistant understand, but answers in English. In more rural areas it's rare that someone speak, or just understand a bit of, English. I presume that if I had settles in a farmer village up north, learning more of Thai language would be a must. Spouse: I'm living together with a Thai girlfriend, who accepted to stay where I settled, and didn't try to make me settle in her village. I've already decided my move, before I met my girlfriend. Often a Thai lady dreams about a house in her home-village, both to make face – having a farang spouse – and to have a place when she gets old, as often the local spouse is the younger part. Bear in mind that family is important when one get old, as government support to elder people is very small and elder care homes are not normal in Thailand. Kind of age difference agreement between a foreigner and a younger Thai spouse can be like: "I take financially care of you now, in return you takes care of me when I get old." This is why I mentioned that where to stay also depends on having a Thai spouse, and budget. The latter, budget, is especially if you wish to build a home. Land prices and construction costs are lower in rural areas. A spouse's family might already have land or access to land at a very affordable price – a foreigner can own a house, but not the land under the house – while in major towns and tourist areas, land prices can be quite high, and construction costs also higher. An alternative is always to rent. Renting is the best in the beginning, when testing areas and the first periode when finding where to settle. It's easy to move on, if it was not the right choice. In long terms, to own one's home is cheaper than renting, but you need to look around 15 years ahead before an owned home – i.e. a condo that a foreigner can own – or construction costs and land arrangement for a house financially equals a rent. I built a house and owns it, and have a reasonable arrangement for using the land, under the house. Compared to rental price for similar in my area, investment equalled rent already after 10 years; so, I'm living almost "rent free" now, but still paying a tiny landtax on the land – a house for primary home is tax free for the first 10 million baht in value – and of course maintenance of a house. Depending of where you comes from and where you settle, things may last shorter time than you are used to at home. I live beach front, which can be slight hard on a house – things easily rust or corrode – than having a home further inland.

Your nephews are right...👍

800k baht bank deposit must be 2 month before application, 3 month after granted extension of stay.

Huge impact on my girlfriend – and also many of her friends that moved from rural farmland areas up in remote areas of Isaan down to "my island" to find a farang like me...🤣

Structured plan since the end on the 1980s: Back then I saw my auditor had a new smart suitcase with a carryable computer inside and a yellow monochrome monitor in the lid. My dream was that when I some day could pack my company into such a thing and remotely control it all – and my bank accounts – i would move to a tropical island and sit and do all that in the shadow of a coconut palm while a couple of beautiful young ladies brought me cool drinks... We – inlcuding everybody I told ab out my dream – all laughed a lot about that idea...🤣 15 years later I bought a coconut palm on a tropical island – young ladies and cool drinks was the easy supplement – and here I still sit, happily living my dream... The photo is my coconut palm view from a relaxing state during a hard days remote banking work...

The positive part of the story is that there is some official action when testing maximum distortion level of one's car-stereo after midnight...

No problem for me; so, we seems not to dine at the same places...

Like there are 50 shades of gray between black and white, there luckily is something similar between pale and red – I'm neither pale or red, I'm in one of the 50 other possible shades...

Sounds just like being exhibited in the smoking rooms in airports...😳 – perhaps it's better to just stay home the few religious nights in a year...