WingNut

Thank you, everyone, for your feedback. Sorry for my lengthy reply to follow, but I’ll do my best to address all your questions in one go and then share a few additional thoughts I’ve gathered after reading everything you’ve all written. Of course, anything I decide to do with my tax situation is based on my own circumstances and is not necessarily the right approach for others, so none of this is intended to be advice, just sharing my ideas. Now that I understand there’s no specific section on the tax form to claim taxes already paid on overseas-earned income (such as using section 11, line 13 to claim a foreign tax credit), I’ve now decided to avoid transferring any money this year that exceeds the tax-exempt threshold. Instead, I’ll transfer in only the maximum tax-free amount, as I did last year, and reassess the situation moving forward. I wouldn’t want to find myself in a situation next year where I unexpectedly owe a bunch of taxes on money I transferred in this year. Hopefully, by 2026, there will be clearer guidelines on how to claim foreign taxes already paid under double taxation treaties and then maybe I will bring in more again in the future. I now have a better understanding of what qualifies as non-accessible income. Since my income is not from a pension, it is entirely accessible. Additionally, while savings accumulated from prior years may be considered non-accessible and not subject to tax in Thailand, I wouldn’t personally attempt to claim money brought in as past savings to avoid taxation. That seems like a gray area I’d rather not try to navigate with the possibility of the claim being outright rejected, even with proper bank documentation, so I’ll avoid doing that going forward as well. It seems risky though not to file a tax return at all, especially for the next few years, even if all of one’s income is considered non-accessible. If I were in that situation, I’d still attempt to report a certain amount of it as accessible income if at all possible, keeping it below the taxable threshold, but in order to at least demonstrate compliance with filing and avoid drawing unnecessary attention otherwise. I’ve heard of people who exclusively use overseas debit cards and carry only cash in and out of the country, never using local banks or transfers. However, I don’t think that’s a viable long-term strategy either. Making inward transfers and declaring some income seems like the best approach, as otherwise, one might risk being questioned about how they sustain themselves in Thailand without any reported income at all, no local bank balances, and no inward transfers. Of course, there are legitimate reasons for handling finances this way that are not illegal, but I believe it’s a conversation best avoided by simply following expected standards, transferring some money in, and filing a tax return. That’s just my perspective and the approach I would take in that situation but again, everyone’s situation is different. As for the bank statements the tax officer suggested I submit, my bank only provides monthly statements, not annual consolidated ones. Initially, I only requested statements from the bank for the months with incoming transfers, assuming that would be sufficient. However, I later realized that submitting only selected months might raise questions later about whether I’m withholding information about incoming transfers from the other months not submitted. To avoid any suspicion, I’ll request the remaining statements from my bank and then submit all 12 months of statements as supporting documents when I file my tax return. I also decided not to request a tax refund for the interest withheld on my bank interest earnings in Thailand from last year. Given the small amount I’d receive, I believe it’s best not to draw any unnecessary attention in that area. In my opinion, the effort isn’t worth the potential scrutiny and diminishing returns. Regarding the language I used when speaking at the tax office, I conducted all discussions in Thai, as I’m fortunate to be proficient enough to do so. To be honest, I’m not sure how far I would’ve gotten though if I had been attempting to discuss these matters with them in English.

Thank you Sheryl. My income is not from a retirement income source or a pension, so I assume that is why my remittances are assessable. What types of income are generally non-assessable? If it were me I would still try to file by telling the tax office that you want to file a tax return in order to have a record of reporting the income you remitted into Thailand in 2024, thus to avoid any penalties in the future for not filing. It surprises me though that there is no way on the current tax forms to indicate non-assessable income. Although this all sounds tricky, there has to be some kind of solution for all of this as I assume many others will be facing the same issue.

Earlier this week, I visited my local district tax office to request filing a tax return for the 2024 tax year (Thai year 2567). I explained that I am a retired resident of Thailand and that I transferred some of my overseas income into my Thai bank account last year, which is the income I would like to report. However, the total amount I transferred in 2024 was below the minimum income threshold for tax liability, so no tax is due. The tax officer informed me that filing a return is now required if you reside in Thailand for more than 180 days during the calendar year, even if no tax is owed. While I was already aware of this new requirement, her mention of it confirmed that the district office is up-to-date on the changes to personal income tax reporting for residents, which we all know began as of last year. She further explained that filing, even without any tax due, is also beneficial in case I am questioned in the future. Having a copy of my tax return will serve as evidence of compliance and help avoid possible penalties for failing to file in the future in case any questions arise. It would also help to avoid possible problems with visa extensions in case the Immigration Department ever starts requiring copies of tax return filings in the future to obtain a visa extension on the basis of retirement. The first step was to cancel my old Thai tax ID number (which was issued about 15 years ago) and update it to match the Thai ID number on my new Thai pink ID card. This required filling out a form, submitting a few photocopies of passport, visa, and Thai pink ID card, and took about 20 minutes to complete. Next, she prepared my tax return for me based on the figure I provided to her for the amount I transferred into my Thai bank account in 2024. The officer recommended also submitting bank statements showing all of my incoming transfers for the calendar year. Although attaching the bank statements isn't compulsory, she said it could help avoid potential audits and save me time in the future. After finishing preparing the tax return, I then went to the bank to obtain the necessary statements for the months that I had incoming transfers. I now plan to return to the tax office to file the return, along with the newly obtained supporting bank statements. Since the funds I transferred in are from overseas income that has already been taxed, I asked if I could claim the tax already paid if, for example, I exceed the tax-free threshold with additional transfers in 2025. She confirmed that I could, as long as I provide documentation from the overseas income source showing the income and the amount of tax already paid/withheld. She also directed me to the relevant section on the PND 90 personal income tax form, which I believe is page 4, section 11, line number 13 where one can enter in the amount of tax credits and/or tax withheld overseas to apply to one's Thai tax liability in Thailand. This would help reduce or potentially eliminate any Thai income tax liability on overseas income transferred into Thailand which has already been taxed overseas. I'm still undecided about whether I'll transfer in more money this year than I did last year, which would then require me to include additional documentation for my overseas income source and taxes already paid if I do. I'll make a decision as the year progresses, but at least I now know they seem to honor the double taxation treaties. There's also a section on the tax form it seems (as noted above) where I can claim a credit for any taxes paid and withheld overseas. It's at least reassuring to know, if it comes to any of this, that I can potentially claim credit for any overseas income tax already paid.

About six months ago I picked up an "HJC i10 Robust". Really nice, full face helmet. Heavier than some, but that's a good thing in terms of safety. Excellent build quality. I got it for 4,700 Baht and it is Snell approved. Which means it's also track approved as well. Many of their other models are not Snell approved though. So if Snell is also important to you then the i10 Robust is a good choice. HJC is a Korean brand which now sells more helmets worldwide than any other brand. Top quality stuff in general and at reasonable prices. That's why they seem to dominate the world market now.

I recently changed tires again on my older Honda CBR250R. And since buying the bike new in 2011, I've had various sets of tires on there. First I had the original IRC tires on there that came with the bike, which, after a while, I discovered were awful, very slippery, and eventually turned hard as a rock after using them for not very long. I'm glad I got rid of them when I did. I felt like they were a liability and a danger driving on them after a while. Then I think my second set of tires were a pair of Michelin Pilot Street tires. They were fine, but nothing to write home about if I'm to be honest. And they even seemed a bit slippery at times too. After that, I switched to a Thai brand which were very inexpensive, a brand called Quick at the time. But they are no longer available as far as I know. I really liked those. Very sticky and really good quality IMHO. But then I had to switch brands again when that brand became no longer available. So after those, I switched to a pair of Corsa tires made in Indonesia, this was back in 2021. They were really good and I liked them. Drove around on those for a bit longer than 3 years, but I only put about 6000 km on them as I don't drive very often or far distances anyway. Then, eventually, they started to get a bit hard last year so then I decided to change tires again. Then, a few weeks ago, I was going to replace the existing Corsa pair with a new pair of the same tires, but when I checked the price now, the cost had risen by about 50%. Seemed like too much for Indonesian made tires. Maybe the import duty had gone up on them, but I'm not sure. So I started looking into other options for about the same price and I discovered that Continental, the German tire brand, started manufacturing tires locally in Thailand in their own factory for smaller bikes with a line of sport touring tires that they named ContiRoad tires. These ContiRoad tires were basically the same price as the Corsa tires from Indonesia. But these are made by a German company, which I prefer. I believe they started the factory up in 2021, so they're still fairly new to manufacturing tires here in Thailand. And I paid about ฿4000 for the pair, installed. Seems like good value. I've had them on the bike for a few weeks now. As I said, I don't ride very much, and mainly just locally, so I've only put a bit over 100 km on these new tires thus far. But they look really good. Meaning, the rubber is very nice, soft, and the treads look really high-quality in terms of design. They remind me of the high quality of the imported Continental tires I've had on my bigger bike for many years already. These new tires are still in what's considered to be the "break-in period" for the first 200 km, but last night I did do a bit of cornering on them to push them a bit more to see how they handle and they were fine. No slipping at all. Felt just perfect. I was wondering if anyone else has tried out any of these newer tires from Continental made in Thailand yet and can share any further thoughts on them?

Just wondering if anyone has any experience collecting a Thai passport from the Department of Consular Affairs office in CW? Are there normally long queues and waiting times to pick up a passport? Or any other things one can do to save time when picking it up? The passport is ready. So it just needs to be collected. I just want to make sure I go about it in the right way so I don't waste time making any mistakes. Thank you.

Pathetic.

The Indonesian tire brand I was referring to is called Corsa. Those are the ones I'm using and that I really like.

I'm not sure if Big Wing works on any bikes that are smaller than 500cc. They may also not stock any parts for bike models that they don't sell. But you can check with them first. You can send them a text via LINE directly to their service department. Their LINE ID: bigwingbkk You can also call the service department at 02-790-3940.

When I bought my Honda 250 they came with IRC. Hardest and most slippery tires I've ever drove on. Awful in my opinion. I now avoid them like the plague. Since then I've had a set of Michelin Pilot Street tires on the bike. Not so outstanding either. Overpriced in my opinion. Then I had a Thai brand on the bike for a while, which was very inexpensive but really grippy and I liked them. Eventually I had to replace them, but they were no longer available. Now I've got a set of Indonesian tires I've had on the bike since late 2021. They were also very inexpensive. I think I like these the best so far. They have been on the bike for almost 3 years now and, if they are still available in the future, then I'll probably go with those same tires again when I need to replace them the next time.

Thanks for the insight on the Brembo fake fluid. I discovered that Motul and Shell both have their own official stores on Lazada. So presumably nothing fake from them. Dot 4 fluid is around 200 Baht for half a liter from either of those two brands. Motul also offers an LV Dot 4 fluid, which has lower viscosity and possibly better for ABS systems. It also has a higher boiling point than the Honda Dot 4 fluid. Higher boiling point might also be advantageous in a hot country like Thailand. Yes, Big Wing is good. Mechanics are good and aren't hacks. They know what they are doing from my experience. Labor isn't cheap though at Big Wing like it is at the other small Honda dealers. Big Wing charges 535 Baht an hour for labor. So they might let you bring your own fluid because they will still make a few hundred Baht changing it out for you. When they changed my oil, oil filter, brake fluid, and coolant back in 2021, they charged me 800 Baht just for the labor alone.

I just found my receipt from the last fluids flush they did in 2021 and the coolant sold by the dealership is also 60 Baht a liter. So not worth buying it elsewhere I think. Maybe I'll just take it from them again I'm thinking. But 600 Baht for half a liter of Honda Dot 4 brake fluid is too much when I can buy it myself for around 100 Baht. I will likely order half a liter of that Brembo Premium Dot 4 fluid I linked above and use that for the brake fluid flush.

Thanks, I wasn't aware there are fake plugs for sale on Lazada. I see now that most of the Lazada sellers are selling the NGK plugs for 300-360 Baht each. Can I assume those are real? Also, I want to do a fluids flush soon on brake fluid and coolant. The last time Honda charged me 600 Baht for half a liter of their Honda branded Dot 4 fluid, which seems expensive. And I forget how much they charged me for the coolant they used. This time though I want to buy the fluids myself and only pay them for the labor as I think it will work out lower cost that way. I think I'll need .5 liter of brake fluid again. Would either of these 2 Dot 4 fluids on the links below be good? https://s.lazada.co.th/s.pZAlV https://s.lazada.co.th/s.pZAMX Also, for coolant, I believe I need around 2.5 liters for my bike. I also read that I need an ethylene glycol-based coolant that is silicate-free and designed for use in aluminum engines. I'm not sure, but I've seen Honda branded coolant for about 65 Baht a liter on Lazada. Will this one on the link below work? https://s.lazada.co.th/s.p0Z0w

Thanks. I don't know much about plugs and batteries. The plugs they put in were from the Honda dealer. So I assume they are up to snuff. But if it makes a big difference, then I'll go for iridium plugs next time. The ones they put in there this time are the Denso U27FER9 plugs. For my bike, I think the Denso IUH27 Iridium Power plugs would work too, but not sure about availability of those in Thailand. The NGK Iridium IX CR9EIX plug would also fit my bike and they are only 100 Baht each (or less) I think. So I will go for those the next time they are due for replacement. On the battery, I put in a FB FTZ10S battery, which was the one recommended to me by the dealer. FB is an aftermarket battery brand made in Thailand, but seems quite reliable. I'm not sure if any Lithium Iron Phosphate motorcycle batteries are available here. I doubt it. They would probably be quite expensive though if they were available because seemingly not much market demand. So, on batteries, I think I'll stick with the one I have in there and replace it every 2-3 years as recommended. They are only 1,500 Baht a pop.

Finally got a chance last night to take the bike out for a full send after the spark plugs were replaced and after I dropped in the new battery a couple of days ago. The power is amazing now. I think there might have even been some low-key spark plug issues for 5-6 years already because there were times when I would be driving at higher speeds, get on the throttle, and then there were some slight pauses in acceleration. But all of that is gone now. In the past I had thought that maybe the acceleration delays were occurring because I was trying to accelerate too quickly when in higher gears and with low revs. But I realize now that this wasn't the issue at all.