mynot

I'm on TOT GoldCyber 1024/512 and my upload rate is never any higher than 40 kbs

What a wonderful country with so much to be distrustful about.

Do they ever tell the truth about anything at all?

I am living in Cha Am and use Maxnet TT&T on a 512/256 broadband connection. When I use the "thaivisa" broadband speed test. My downloads are at an acceptable level of approx 300 to 400 kbs, but my uploads are capped at 30 kbs.

I have complained to TT&T with the response.. "we will look into it"...I have complained to the local shop with the explanation being that the 256 kbs upload speed is for local only not international.

If I upgrade to a higher plan or another ISP.... how can I be assured that what they advertise is what they deliver?

I wish to have my condo renovated. Does anyone have any recommendations for good tradesmen. I wish to have the bathroom renovated, so I would need an electrician, a plumber and a tiler. And after that, I need cupboards and kitchen cabinets done.

Every thai I ask, seems to have some friend or relative who just happens to be out of work and is "qualified" to do all the jobs.

Even the condo management have a local tradesman (handyman) whom I wouldn't trust with a leggo set.

I'm in the Cha Am area.

Thanks for the reply geoffphuket...... but the man who bought my condo, wanted a 90 day contract. I move to Cha Am on Sunday with the intention of putting a deposit on the new condo with the final payment in 30 days. So I need to transfer the funds here soon. Hence the excess funds fiasco. If I then tranfer it all out again, chances are, that I would lose quite substantially. So, I was just going to leave it here with a lesser percentage rate until I spent it

I am in the inevitable predicament you get when you sell a condo here. I have been informed that to buy another condo, I have to bring in "new money" from o/seas.

OK, if I do that, I will then have a surplus of Baht in my bank a/c. (sorry its taken so long to get to the question)

I will now be earning more than enough interest to make it taxable.

Since I am retired here, will this be classed as "earning income" or "working"...will it cause a problem with authorities?

On a sale of a property I know we have 2% transfer tax.

We also have 0.5% duty.

Also apparently we have witholding taxes of 3.5% but only if you have owned the property for less than a year I think ?? not sure on this one...anyone know for sure ?

The duty of 0.5% is not payable if you are paying witholding tax.

The Business tax is 3.3% and you are right that stamp duty is not payable if this tax is paid.

So presumably Witholding tax is only payable for properties sold within a year of ownership and this is because there is no capital gains tax, but it is in place to tax people who develop and sell land regularly but perhaps are not real developers.

As far as I know..... Business tax is paid, if you hold it less than 5 years..... but if you register as living there.... then only 1 year is required. Income tax is also payable.

I have a couple of questions...is the transfer and duty taxes based upon contracted sale price, asset value determined by the land office or ???

Duty is paid on the Land Dept estimation, which the real estate agent should make sure that you get 2 cheques.... one being the estimated price and the other being the difference between the estimated price and the actual price.

If by land office determination, how is it calculated ??

One of the mysteries of Thailand...... altho for a condo the price is based on an empty shell, so there is usually a good sized difference between the 2 prices.

If the witholding tax is based upon an income type rather than just a set government standard fee, then is it based upon the profit of the property only or the whole sale price in total. For example a property for sale for 15 million, the land was 5 and house 5, is it calculated on 5 million profit or on the 15 mil sale price ??

This is getting a little bit tricky now.... I am led to believe that there will be 2 formulas to work out your income tax, one for the land, which you may have owned for 4 years, and then the tax on the house which may have only been erected for the last 2 years.

This is a complicated formula and does not include the calculations to pay the Transfer fees/Stamp duty associated with the sale of the property.

The first thing that you have to understand, is that the number of years ownership is calculated so that each partial year is 1 year. Therefore, if you purchased your property in Dec ’04 and sold it in Jan ’05 (2 months), that is technically 2 years.

Formula A

Each year of ownership has its own percentage rate.

1yr 8%

2yr 16%

3yr 23%

4yr 29%

5yr 35%

6yr 40%

7yr 45%

8yr+ 50%

Formula B

Income Tax Rate

1 -100,000 baht 5%

100,001 - 500,000baht 10%

500,001 -1,000,000baht 20%

1,000,001 -4,000,000baht 30%

4,000,001 -and over 37%

Formula is:

Estimated price (declared by Lands Dept) x number of Years percentage (Formula A)

Divided by number of years.

An example:

If you owned your condo for 4 years and you sold it for 4 million (although the Lands Dept valued it at 2 million)

Formula

2million x 29% divided by 4 = 145,000 baht per year

using Formula B

Tax on 145,000baht is 5000 baht for first 100,000

And then 10% on balance 4,500 baht

Total Tax for each year = 9,500 x 4yrs

= 38,000 baht Income Tax owing for the sale of Condo.

It is my understanding that the Land Dept will issue you a receipt (or may have to ask for a letter) that allows you to transfer only that amount out of the country, that you have paid your taxes on.

So as far as I know, you pay the Transfer Fee (2%) + either Stamp Duty (0.5%) or business tax (3.3%) and then you have to pay Income tax based on the above formula.

Please note: That I have only acquired this info, cos I am selling my Condo. I am not a lawyer nor real estate agent, so there may be some inaccuracies in this

I am in the process of selling my condo now and wanting to buy another. I have been informed that I will have to transfer my money out of Thailand ( after I have paid the respective taxes) and then must retransfer new funds back into Thailand. Altho my funds are Aust dollars, I would have thought that all foreign funds would be treated the same.... so after you have paid all the fees associated with selling/buying, you then have to pay Income tax based on a complex formula (which I have if you require it). When this is paid, you can ask for a letter from the Lands Dept stating that all the taxes have been paid, then you can transfer the money out of Thailand.

Thank you for the info lopburi3

I have finally retired from the rat race and arrive in Thailand in June to live out my days in the sun. I qualify for a "over 50" and also a marriage visa. The money of either 400k or 800k is not an issue.

When I spoke to the Thai embassy in Aust, I was informed that they would issue me a 12 month "O" multiple entry visa.

After reading a lot of the threads here, I was under the impression that you are only issued a 3 month visa, and then you get a 12month extension.

Can my embassy here give me a 12 month visa, or do I still have to get an extension after 3 months?

Since I will also be shipping in some personal effects, it looks like I should apply for the "marriage Visa" so that I can avoid customs duty, or can I ship the stuff over in my wife's name?

Any advise as always is welcome

I've used "East Coast Real Estate" to buy a condo, and was very pleased with their service.

I found the code for "U1". It was an "Up country transfer". The money I transferred from o/seas, went into the main bank office in Bangkok. It was then transferred to my account in Pattaya.

I also found a letter from the bank in question stating that the money I had withdrawn was for a purchase of Condo.

Did passbook show a code for foreign transfer?

Yes, Foreign Telegraphic Transfer (FTT)

I looked in my deposit book as I have transferred money from o/seas to buy a condo here, and the only entry was "U1"next to the amount of money. Definitely not the "FTT".

Should I be asking questions?

I see you're a man of few words Mynot. This is the same post you used in a similar topic last year.

After your girlfriend was initially refused the visa to Oz you continued to apply, received a 3month visitor visa and she is now a resident. Did you apply for her residence in Oz? And, if so, can you understand why others have problems getting a visa from the Oz enbassy for genuine visits by girlfriends?

If I've misread your situation I'm sorry.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Its strange that you say that Old Croc.... cos i am only reiterating the truth. It was not copied and pasted as you may think. But when I did apply for residency for my g/f, it was applied for in Australia. Eventually we got married in Australia and applied for residency under the "spouse visa" ( i think it was called that)

I think that all the problems that ppl do have with the Oz embassy, is because the Oz embassy treats all relationships as not bona fide until proven.

The first time we applied for my g/f to come to OZ, it was knocked back..stating that they thought she was a risk in not leaving when required. You cannot appeal the decision, just pay another application fee. Which I did, pointing out that she had been allowed in heaps of other countries but not OZ.

The visa was allowed but only for 3 months.

It was a long and difficult battle ( I'm sure they put as many hurdles in your way to see how committed you are)..... but 4 years on my now wife and I think it was worth the effort.

It was very intrusive...we had to supply affidavits stating the relationship we had o/seas. Had to supply all our emails and phone records for their perusal.

I bought my condo 10 months ago. I was informed that a Tor Tor 3 form was not required anymore, but proof of the transfer of funds from o/seas was required. The particular condo was already owned by a foreigner, so I could buy it without any extra paperwork. The real estate agent suggested that I put it in my name only, so that I could sell it at a later date with a "Foreign Owned Title" again. They informed me that a condo with a foreign owned title will fetch a higher price than the same condo in my wife's name ( Thai owned).

A foreigner can own a condo without being married to a Thai.

Does Thailand allow my thai wife to hold dual citizenship. I know that my country allows it, but I am not sure about Thailands law.

If Thai law does not permit it, then she will not renounce her Thai citizenship. Any help will be appreciated before we start all the paper work.

Thanks guys...for the quick and informative replies

I am married to a Thai and also over 50 and expect to move to Thailand as soon as my finances come thru. I qualify with the funds required if I want a retirement visa and also own a condo in Pattaya.

I have read many threads here and most seem to state to get single entry O Visa and then get a 12 month extension.

But I am also wanting to return to Australia yearly to visit my family over here. So if I get a 12 month extension on a single entry visa, does that mean that I can't come back into Thailand when I return from Australia?

It sounds logical that I should get a multiple entry visa at the start, but I get so confused with each and every different rule I read.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I agree with Wanderer, it does look a prospective opportunity to buy at this site. I actually spoke to the sales office and they tell me they are in the process of getting new financial investment early in the New Year so that the Condos can continue. The sales lady wasn't really helpful. I was told to come back and look again in January.

I agree with Spee. I bought this dictionary for 425B. an excellent book and not that expensive

The Condo I bought, is not new. Its approx 7 years old. But we bought it last year off another farang, who already had the proper "foreign owned" title. So I was told by the Real Estate ppl that it would be better if the Condo was in my name only.As it would then be easier to sell later on to another farang.

I was under the impression that I was not to work under any circumstances. If I transfer money to Thailand and buy and sell condos, aren't I up for higher tax rate as a foreigner. My wife and I are not trying to bypass any taxation. Just want to be sure that we can buy and sell without any probs.

I will look into the Investment Visa.

Appreciate the advise.

Edit: If my wife bought and sold, then she could sell to a Thai national, whereas, I would have to make sure that I was under the 49% foreign owned rule.

I've read all the relevant threads regarding retiring in Thailand and now have some queries. Can someone offer advise.

My wife (who is thai) and I are hoping to retire to Thailand in the next 6 months. I am 54 , so I qualify for the retirement visa with enough funds. the fact that I am also married to a Thai, qualifies me as well. We also own a condo in Pattaya and plan to live there.

My wife mentioned that even though we are retiring over there, she wants to buy condos, do them up and resell them.

I know that there will be a problem if I buy and sell condos. But providing that everything is in my wife's name. Can anyone foresee this causing any problems with authorities.

Thanks.