Sheryl

I would not characterize a public statement buy the Director-General of the Revenue Department as an off-hand remark. It is pretty clear that the RD is proposing this, though the details of their proposal aren't clear. However quite true that it is not yet law, and there are many steps required for it to become so. Which makes now the time to make voices heard. Worth noting that the US, one of the few countries that currently taxes global income, does so only on its own citizens and permanent residents. Non-resident aliens are taxed only on US-derived income, regardless of how long physically in the US. So if Thailand were to tax the foreign income of non-residents (i.e. people with non immigrant visas, which is most of us), this would be pretty unusual.

A number of baiting/flaming posts and replies to same have been removed. Please keep it civil.

Moved to the finance forum as not really visa-related. The "new laws" you refer to are a proposal that has yet to be made into law. At the moment, the only tax implication is for money you remit into Thailand (money already on deposit in the bank doesn't matter other than the interest it generates). Your monthly remittances may be assessable in Thailand depending on their source and the terms of the UK-Thai Dual Tax Agreement (DTA). Offhand, I know that state pensions (life the old age pension) and private pensions are assessable in Thailand but not government pensions (military etc). Savings from earnings on income received pre-2023 are also not assessable in Thailand. If you pay any UK tax of this money, can claim a tax credit for it on your Thai return or vice versa. There are a number of threads in the finance forum on this and with details of the deductions allowed on Thai taxes, and tools to help you calculate your tax https://aseannow.com/topic/1324294-introduction-to-personal-income-tax-in-thailand/ https://aseannow.com/topic/1327622-thai-gov-to-tax-remitted-income-from-abroad-for-tax-residents-starting-2024-part-ii/ The new proposal, which has a way to go before becoming law (if it does), would also tax income not brought into Thailand (income, not savings) subject to the same considerations as above: whether the source of the income is exempted under the relevant DTA, anbd credits to avoid double taxation. Under both current rules and the proposed tax law change, you are only a tax resident if you are here 180 dfays of the year.

No. No difference to a non-tax residence.

There is nothing to restrict you from hiring any accountant from preparing your return. But indeed expensive if you need them to come with you to RD in your province. Where I live, at least, there is an RD office for my district and then a Provincial office. The district level doesn't seem to have any decision making role, just receive tax returns/help people complete them and then forward to the Provincial RD. They (district RD) are pleasant but beyond familiarity with the tax forms don'f seem to know much. Provincial RD office is the one that scrutinizes/questions. And for sure mine will not have a clue re DTAs or anything else foreigner specific beyond work permits. Took me 2 full days to convince them there is any such thing as retired foreigners living in Thailand, and I'm not sure even then that I succeeded as opposed to they just got tired arguing with me. I suspect many upcountry RDs will be similar.

I leave it to others to answer the currency exchange question. At the present time, some remittances are assessable and some are not, depending on the source of the funds and terms of the relevant Dual Tax Agreement between your country and Thailand. Entirely possible for part of a remittance to be assessable and part not. There have been/are several other threads running on this matter. Some including handy guides on estimating whether you owe tax. Please read these. If you have assessable income, you are required to file a tax return though in practice it seems no repercussions for not filing if you owed no tax, i.e. your assessable income, after deductions/ exemptions was below the threshold for tax. This thread is about a proposed future change that would tax foreign income regardless of whether remitted to Thailand.

1. There is a clear record of foreign remittances to my Thai Bank that will be many fold the declared income. 2. The declared income would be so low as to be unbelievable, without needing to know anything about my lifestyle. Of course, if there is no way to show (and then deduct) non-assessable income then I will have to do as you suggest but I think it eill be an immediate red flag.

First of all, there is no Medicare in Thailand so not sure why you include it in the title. Secondly the fact that she now needs emergency surgery for complications related to the first surgery does not in itself prove malpractice. With any surgery, some complications can occur, including delayed complications, without any fault on doctor's side. The pertinent factors would include: - what type of surgery, for what condition, using what surgical technique - exactly what problems/symptoms did she report to the doctor at her 7 day follow up and what did the doctor do/say in response? - did the doctor specifically tell her it was safe now to travel by bus/plane a long distance from Bangkok? You aren'f going to get this resolved through customer service. And of course you have to pay the other hospital now. IF (see above) there is reason to believe there was a mistake/malpractice in the first hospitalization, what you would need to do is hire a lawyer to send the hospital an official letter with copy to the Thai Medical Council outlining the damage done and its consequences (e.g. additional medical expenses and if applicable cost of longer stay in Thailand) and threatening to sue if appropriate compensation is not forthcoming. This will usually lead to a meeting with hospital administraton and, if you stand firm and your case is solid, often a negotiated financial settlement for not more than your actual incurred financial losses. May take time, and you'll have to pay the lawyer. You'd need detailed medical records as well as recepts from the Krabi hospital. If you want an opinion as to whether there may be a case for claiming malpractice, provide answers to the questions above, either in this thread or by PM to me . Note that opinions anyone on this forum may give, are just personal opinions and have no legal validity, but they may help you decide whether to take this matter any further.

Above all, enrollment in the government universal health care scheme. Would be a great benefit for expat retirees, especially the many who are unable to get private insurance. Very unlikely to happen tho. But the point can be made in dialogue with government policy makers to support the idea that global taxation should be limited to Thai citizens.

It will certainly matter if her insurance policy is in one name and her passport (and I assume Thsi ID card) another. You could look for a travel policy that covers temporary trips to country of nationality. Prior to becoming eligible for US Medicare I used to do this for my annual trips to US. Took some searching but I did find one. To be eligible, I had to confirm that altho I was a US citizen, my usual place of residence was outside US. But I am not sure in your wife's case that there is much point. Most doctors in Phuket are at Vachira even if they also work in one of the few private hospitals. And one can get a "special" private room at Vachira for a reasonable extra fee. You'd have to pay the difference between ward room snd private room out of pocket but the rest would still be free. Do find out which her primary hospital under the scheme is. Suggest she register for a patient number at Vachira (good to do in advance anyhow) and ask at that time. It might be Thalang hospital. In which case she must go there first and, if necessary, get written referral from them to Vachira. That referral letter is essential for getting care under the universal system.

I would add that not only can insurer not pay in such an instance, they can (and often will) void your entire policy. They can also come after you for any prior claim payments. Very bad idea to lie or conceal anything on a health insurance application. Not relevant now to OP as OP has already decided his wife will rely on the universal (aka 30 baht) government system, as most Thais do.

Point 1 - Correct. This is always the way changes to tax code are done. Made effective in a future tax year (typically the next one but could vary) and tax year filings are done by March of the year after a tax year ends e.g by March. Being in effect for 2025 income assumes (1) it goes through (not certain) and (2) it goes through before end if this year (even less certain) Point 2 - also correct to my understanding but I would say "if and until" . The change regarding remittances is now in effect and applues to remittances after 1 January of this year. If/when global taxation comes into effect it would render the remittance rule obsolete/irrelevant. People on this thread seem to assume this will happen, and be applicable to non-Thai citizens. Neither of these things is at all certain. It is still just a proposal, and would require change to tax law to be effective. It is certainly wise for people to be alert to the possibility, calculate what, if anything, it would cost them and develop a contingency plan. But should not treat this as a done deal. Would also be advisable to start making noise now, where policy makers will see it (e.g. letters to the newspapers) and to try to engage your Embassy by informing them of your concerns. This proposal was developed with wealthy Thais in mind and good bet no thought was given to the impact on resident expat retirees. But as this poll shows, that impact would be huge and in a way that completely undermines government efforts to attract retirees. Government needs to be made aware....and now, before anything is written and submitted for approval. They could certainly opt to either limit the change to Thai citizens (only fair given that resident expats aren't eligible for government benefits) or to exclude certain classes of foreigners (e.g. retirees).

Government hospitals in Thailand have different levels ranging from community hospitals to provincial hospitals to regional hosputals and university hospitals. The 30 baht scheme covers all of them but one has to use the hospital which covers the district where you are registered in a tabian ban, and to use a higher level hospital undrr the scheme , your registered hospital has to refer you. In Phuket, Vachira Hospital was recently upgraded to regionsl status. But you'd gave to find out if she can register there under the 30 baht scheme or has to go through one of the community hospitals. If the latter, she can still use Vachira but only if referred. (to use it for free, thay is. She can slways use it on a self pay basis).

As a Thai citizen she has access to free health care in Thailand under the Universal (AKA 30 baht) system. Thai private health insurance leaves a lot to be desired to put it mildly and few Thais bother with it. The main snag to the universal cover is the need to use the hospital which covers the area where she is registered in a taban ban. She'll be registered somewhere, but might be a childhood home in a province far fro mwhere you may be staying. Should look into getting that changed ti a place both more convenient and, hopefully, linked to a higher level hospital.

Wise rejected me as a client for no clear reason, years ago, so nto an option for me. For some reason my attempted first transfer (of equivalent to 800K baht, for visa purposes) was viewed as indicative of criminal activity leading to immediate suspension of my newly created account. I found them impossible to deal with/communicate with. This was Wise US, not UK. I have my SS directly deposited to my Thai account, no fees involved and produces a clear paper trail showing source of the funds -- not just that from US, but from SS, which could prove very important in the future.

Rats!!!! That means unless there is some revision to forms enabling me to state my non-assessable income, I am sure to be called in, and it will be a huge headache to say the least. Not a soul there speaks a word of English, all but very high level people have never heard of a foreigner retiring in Thailand (there are very, very, very few such in the province) and believe it is not possible/ no applicable visa category. None have any idea what US Social Security is, and I would be amazed if any will know anything about DTAs. If I have to hire an accountant familiar with DTAs to accompany me it will be very costly -- they would have to come from Bangkok or Pattaya (6 hour roundtrip in both cases). rats, rats, rats...

No, he meant start effective the 2025 tax year. Taxes on that would be due March 2026. And that assumes it not only goes through, but is enacted within 2024. It is a revision to the actual tax law so a bigger change that the last change on remittance was and will take time.

Above is correct if what you meant was tax on interest. Banks will take it out, unless you go through paperwork to prevent this. They do this neither knowing nor caring if you are tax resident. Even non-tax residents are subject to tax on income sourced within Thailand. Always have been. If what @Middle Aged Grouch meant was banks taking out taxes from remittances from abroad, not likely to happen. Not their job and too many factors go into w what if any tax might be owed on it (tax residence status/overall income/source of the funds etc etc.) Banks are not the Revenue Dept. However banks could, and well might,inform RD of remittances received from abroad.

Tax credit can certainly be applied if you are taxed in UK on this, but there is also a chance the wording of the UK-Thai DTA gives UK and not Thailand right to tax rental incomes from UK sources. Absolutely essential to read your DTA. Watching and waiting will nto tell you what is in it, and reports from people of different nationality and/or different financial position may not apply.

Exactly, and what I do. Which means I have to keep in the bank in Thailand 800K plus what I need to live on plus a small cushion to that. At any point o f time I have from 1.1 - 1.5 million in Thai banks, I am considering switching to the monthly income method as my SS has now reached the level where it is adequate for that. The drawbacks are (1) have to keep a close eye on exchange rates and be prepared to bring in additional money if the exchange rate drops enough, since the requirement is in baht; (2) have to worry about timing. My SS has arrived regularly between 1-4th of each month so far but I recall past reports of people who received their September payment on August 30/31 (because the 1st is a US holiday) and lost their extension accordingly because IO was rigid about transfer every calendar month. So it is a trade off. The money in the bank money forfeits interest but is about the surest, safest thing one can do. I currently get 5% interest in US and a little over that in Cambodia. So Thai rates are indeed very, very low. Made even worse by my IO not accepting fixed deposit accounts. So my 800k receives essentially no interest.

No, American mothers say this too. Or at least did whrn I was young.

What does the UK - Thai DTA say about rental income sourced in the UK?

@jonclark do you (or anyone else with experience filing Thai tax returns) happen to know if by filing online one bypasses the local (provincial) RD ofgice? Having previously spent 2 days arguing with mine about whether such a thing as a retirement visa/extension existed I would very much like to avoid any future dealings.

There have been reports that they are revising the forms and with specific mention of adding fields for tax credits.

Exactly what I do. But that means I have to bring in more money for living costs. In the good old days, I just topped up my account once a year then drew down on it for living. And yes interest rates here are lousy.