WingNut

I agree on this point. I don't think you've missed anything. As far as I know, it's not a compulsory part of the process.

For those who have been told they don’t need to file, that’s great news, less paperwork floating around with personal information and one less administrative task to worry about. However, as we’ve discussed throughout this topic, the unanswered question remains: could not filing potentially cause problems in the future if guidelines related to visa extension were to change? That’s the big unknown. If I were in a situation where I was told I didn’t need to file, but I either felt I should file or simply wanted to have a record of compliance with the new 180-day residency tax guidelines, I might consider visiting a different TRD district office within a reasonable distance of where I reside to see if their response was the same. It’s possible that different offices may interpret the requirements slightly differently, and getting a second TRD office opinion could provide added clarity or peace of mind.

I agree. When the TRD suggests submitting supporting documents to justify the income reported in a tax filing, it may simply be a procedural step, more about ticking a box than thoroughly scrutinizing the documents as you said. With millions of people in Thailand filing personal income tax returns each year, it’s hard to imagine that the TRD has the staff or resources to closely examine most individual filings. It’s likely that they only conduct deeper reviews when someone is requesting a large tax refund or if there’s something unusual about the reported income or expenses. In the end, all the extra effort of providing bank statements and evidence of incoming bank transfers or cash withdrawals within Thailand might ultimately prove unnecessary and end up being more paper that merely piles up in boxes somewhere and never gets looked at again. However, I believe it’s always best to follow common standards of practice if you can (without too much extra hassle to yourself) and provide a clear, transparent record of things when it comes to matters like this. Doing so may help avoid drawing unnecessary attention to yourself in the future, which could otherwise lead to additional scrutiny, wasted time, and potential aggravation for yourself down the line.

I set up a Revolut account recently and have a few questions about funding it. Since I registered the account with a U.S. address, I don’t have access to the EU SEPA transfer system. I had hoped to transfer euros into the account via SEPA, which would have been free, but that isn’t an option with a U.S. Revolut account. The only available method for depositing euros into a U.S. based Revolut account is via a wire transfer, which is costly, so I’d prefer to avoid it. Instead, I’m now looking for the fastest and most cost-effective way to deposit U.S. dollars into my Revolut account. Apple Pay & PayPal Debit Card I explored transferring USD via Apple Pay, but the only available payment method showing in the Revolut app (from all the cards already linked to my Apple Pay) is my PayPal debit card. Since I don’t currently have a balance in my PayPal account at the moment, I can’t do a test transaction on that yet. • Does anyone know if transferring money to Revolut using a PayPal debit card is instant? • Are there any fees from PayPal or Revolut for this transaction? • I believe Revolut might charge up to 1% for funding the account via debit card, can anyone confirm on this? Linking a U.S. Bank Account I successfully linked my U.S. bank account to Revolut, allowing me to pull funds directly via the Revolut app. However, the app indicates that the transfer will take five days to complete, which seems unusually long for an electronic transfer. • Does anyone know why it takes this long? • Are there any fees on either side (from my bank or Revolut) when pulling funds from a U.S. bank account directly into Revolut via the Revolut app? ACH Bank Transfer Another option is to transfer funds via ACH from my U.S. bank into Revolut. ACH transfers within the U.S. are free from my bank and typically take one to two business days. • Does Revolut charge any fees for receiving ACH transfers? • I believe there are no charges from Revolut for receiving an ACH transfer, but I’d like to confirm before proceeding. Wise Account & Debit Card Issues When Funding Revolut I also tried linking my Wise debit card to transfer money into Revolut, but Revolut doesn’t allow funding via a Wise debit card, neither by linking the card directly to my Revolut account or by using one of my Wise debit cards already setup in Apple Pay. It seems Revolut blocks debit card transfers from Wise, likely because they’re competitors. You’d think they’d encourage transfers from Wise into Revolut, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. I assume I could do an ACH transfer from my Wise account balance into my Revolut account, but I haven't tried that yet and Wise would charge at least 0.57% of the transfer amount as an AHC transfer fee. Basically, I’m aiming for the best balance between speed and low costs of getting U.S. dollars into my Revolut account. If anyone has insights or knows of other convenient and low to no cost ways to fund a Revolut account, I’d appreciate the advice.

Best wishes, I hope everything works out smoothly for you with the TRD with that type of income and transfer reporting. Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience bringing money into Thailand via ATM withdrawals, so I can’t offer any direct insight on that method. However, I strongly recommend scanning or photocopying your ATM receipts as soon as possible. Since these receipts are typically printed using a heat transfer method rather than ink, they tend to fade quickly over time. To avoid losing important records, it’s best to make copies before they become illegible.

I understand your concern. There are two possible solutions: 1 - Set up a second bank account at the same Thai bank you are using now, dedicated solely to incoming transfers. Once the funds arrive, transfer them to your older primary account for everyday spending. This keeps one account "clean," showing only incoming transfers on its statements. I use a similar setup already. My transfer account has no daily spending activity, just a few incoming and outgoing transfers to my other Thai bank accounts and some occasional interest. My main account handles all my regular transactions, keeping things organized and reducing the chance of the TRD scrutinizing other regular spending activities. 2 - Provide them funds transfer receipts instead of bank statements. Instead of submitting full bank statements, you can provide copies of transfer receipts from your sending bank as supporting documentation for the amount you are claiming you transferred in as income for the year. I should have done that this year, but I didn't think of it at the time. But this is my planned approach going forward. Since I send all my funds transfers to my Thai bank account through Wise, I can easily download PDF receipts from my Wise account for all the transfers. Next year, I’ll submit only those receipts, ensuring they all add up to the total amount declared as income on my tax return.

Thank you. Yes, I have used them in the past and used one the other night to update my passbook again. Many of them operate 24 hours. But in general, I have no reason to update my passbook often. I do all my banking online. Sometimes there are so many transaction too that the book would fill up quickly and would need to be replaced regularly if I update it too regularly. So I rather update it once in a great while and get a consolidated updated entry that doesn't eat up multiple pages. I only ever really need to update it once a year for visa extension purposes anyway.

Your welcome. Yes, I always comply with everything as best I can. That has always been my way of attempting to avoid problems in the future. And the reason I owe zero tax is because the amount I transferred in last year did not exceed the limit for not owing personal income tax in Thailand as a resident. Since I control the amount of money I transfer in, I can also make sure that I don't go over the non-taxable limit. Pretty simple and I will do the same for this year. I can't speak for others though. I haven't followed anyone else's posts or topics on this. So I don't really know what others are doing.

All of my income that I reported to the TRD has already been taxed overseas and qualifies under the Thai DTA as income tax already paid on the subject income. But I didn't need to show any evidence of this since my remitted income didn't reach the threshold where I would be liable for any income tax in Thailand as you mentioned. It is not from a pension as I mentioned before. It is personal income from overseas and I can decide how much to bring in or not bring in at any given time.

I wanted to add that if you only submit photo copies of your bankbook pages that they could still request statements later if they decide to dig deeper. It might seem redundant, but it is a known fact that bankbooks in Thailand often don't contain all the transactions that occurred on the account whereas a statement does. This is why the Immigration department requires 12 month's of bank statements, in addition to the updated bankbook, when extending a long term visa.

Excellent. Now you don't ever have to give the concern I raised another single thought. Just completely forget about it and be happy. And, as I already also said in a previous post earlier today: But you should do whatever you feel is right for yourself. Disregard everything I’ve shared if you prefer, and handle things in whatever way makes the most sense for you.

I have no plans to return to the PRD office at this time. But filing online shouldn't be a problem. And I did ask them briefly about it when I was there the other day and they did say when filing online that it is possible to upload and attach additional documents to your online filing. If it is possible to do that then I might consider it myself next year because all of my Wise transfer receipts are already in PDF form, which means I wouldn't have to print them to submit them, just upload them. And I am not planning at this point to submit bank statements next year, just the Wise transfer receipts. But I have a year now to make a final decision on that and what I will ultimately choose to do next year may be based on how things develop further this year with the PRD on this whole issue of taxation for residents.

Yes, that would work too I believe if you update your bank book at least every couple of months. The issue with my particular bank is that if you don’t update it at least once every three months, the next update will show only a consolidated figure instead of individual transactions, which defeats the purpose if you need detailed records of all incoming deposits and transfers. I think most other banks do the same as well. In my case I don’t go to the bank often and rarely update my book since I handle almost everything online. However, if my bank book had been updated every month throughout last year, I would have simply photocopied those bankbook pages and submitted them instead of monthly bank statements.

Those bank statements should be good enough as you noted, and I agree, there’s no reason to sit around worrying about any of this. The only potential concern I see is for those who don’t maintain a decent local bank balance and have no evidence of incoming transfers. In that case, the question could shift to how they support themselves in Thailand without any visible funds to cover their living expenses. I’m not saying that applies to you, but it could become an issue in the future for those who don’t show much savings and or any incoming money over the course of a year, or even for multiple years.

Thank you. Filing was necessary, but including the bank statements was not. However, since they suggested it, I went ahead and provided them. None of it was a hassle for me. I didn’t feel uncomfortable supplying copies of my bank statements either. Everyone at the tax office was helpful throughout the entire process, including helping me to covert my old Thai tax ID number to my newer Thai pink ID card number and everything went smoothly overall. Same with getting my 2024 bank statements from the bank. No cost and no hassle. Hopefully, next year's annual tax filing will be just as straightforward, if not even faster and simpler for me, now that I fully understand the procedure. I’ll be well-prepared and presumably be able to complete everything next year in one go.

Nobody is telling you that you must adhere to my speculative concern. I also completely agree with your approach and you should do whatever aligns with your specific situation, which is very different from mine. If there is no way for you to file a tax return, and you are not obligated to do so according to the TRD, then hopefully, in the future, there will be a clear way to demonstrate compliance in case the potentially ever-changing guidelines require proof of adherence to the new tax filing requirements for 180 day residents starting in 2024. The only potential issue I see in this situation is that you don’t have anything in writing, only just the word of someone at the TRD stating that you don’t need to file. It’s unfortunate that they don’t issue some sort of official document or certification confirming that you were not required to file. Having something in writing would provide peace of mind and serve as evidence in case you are ever questioned in the future about what they instructed you to do at the time for your tax filing in 2024.

I think the short answer is that when you walk in there, and you throw out a number to the tax form preparer as being your total stated income for the year, they would like to see you attach some form of documentation to support how you arrived at that figure. I don't think it's any more complicated than that. And it was only a suggestion from her that I submit some bank statements with my tax filing as supporting documentation and not a requirement.

That’s fine. You do it your way; online, without attaching any supporting documents, or however you prefer. Next year, I’ll personally do it the same way I did this year, in person at the tax office. I’ll likely prepare the forms myself next year instead, attach the receipts from Wise for my incoming bank transfers as supporting documentation for my stated income, instead of attaching actual bank statements next year, and go straight to the document checker, skipping the first step with the woman who prepares the forms. If everything looks correct to the document checker, I’ll proceed to the final counter to submit my forms, have them entered into the PRD system, and receive my receipt. I’m not going to keep repeating myself on the same points over and over, so I won’t respond again if you continue to go in circles on this topic.

A gross misinterpretation of the facts. But if it makes you feel better seeing it from that perspective then do as you please.

I’m starting to get the impression that you are just trolling after repeatedly misquoting elements of my previous posts. My type of personal income is fully assessable, there is no question about it, and there is nothing to debate on this matter. When I went to the tax office, there was a three-step process involving three different clerks. The first was the woman who prepared my tax forms for filing. She was the head of that department and the one who suggested that I attach some supporting documents to reference my stated income, such as bank records or statements showing the incoming transfers. Next, I went to the second clerk, the document checker, who briefly reviewed my tax forms to ensure they were completed correctly. It is not her job to scrutinize the filing, only to check for accuracy on filling out the paperwork. She quickly glanced at my attached bank statements, made a note on them based on what I explained to her about them, and then sent me along. The third and final step was submitting everything at the final submission counter, where the last clerk entered all my details into the TRD system and issued me a receipt and a photocopy of my accepted submission. As I’ve said many times, I’m simply sharing my own experience for anyone who might benefit from hearing about it. I have no issues with any part of what transpired, and I’m relieved to have completed my tax filing for 2024. But you should do whatever you feel is right for yourself. Disregard everything I’ve shared if you prefer, and handle things in whatever way makes the most sense for you.

It would most likely be a single, consolidated bank statement containing 12 months of data in one statement. 200 Baht fee for the entire 12 month statement. From BBL it usually takes a week or two to get it after you order and pay for it and it will require a second trip to the bank to pick it up once it's ready. It needs to be issued by the BBL head office I believe.

Have you filed your return yet? (You state that you had to obtain bank documents first.) Yes. Already stated in a previous post. Have you? What was your "assessable income" and tax paid? It was at a level below the minimum taxable level. So it was non-taxable. Already stated in a previous post. No tax paid. And you? How did you pay the tax? Cash? QR code? No tax paid. And you? What was the source of the funds that you remitted in 2024? Personal, taxable income. And yours? How did you determine that some/all funds remitted were "assessable income"? Because it's personal, taxable income. And yours? Did the RD rep. agree with your determination? She prepared the tax return forms for me. What do you think?

The woman I spoke with at the TRD was clearly referring to situations like mine, where money has been transferred in from abroad during the year and qualifies as taxable income. I began the conversation with her by stating that I’m a retired resident and had transferred money into Thailand in 2024, which I needed to declare as taxable income and warranted filing a tax return. This was all in my original forum post. So when she mentioned the requirement to file if exceeding 180 days in the country, she already understood the context of my situation. She obviously knows there are cases where residents are not required to file, but she didn’t need to mention that because it didn’t apply to me, and frankly, I’m glad it doesn't because I do want to file. That said, as I discussed in a previous post, those who have taxable income and file tax returns might actually be in a better position down the line than those who don’t file at all. If someone doesn’t file for a few years and then gets questioned by the TRD or Immigration, they may have to get into a detailed discussion about the fact that they have only non-assessable income. At that point, the TRD could ask for proof. If the person cites double taxation treaties, they might find themselves at the discretion of the TRD at that point, which could still fine them or hold them liable for unpaid taxes. There could also be questions about how they are sustaining themselves financially in Thailand if their declared non-assessable income seems too low to live on. Where I’m going with this is that if someone can transfer in some money during the year that remains below the taxable threshold but still justifies filing a tax return, that might prove to be the best approach. Becoming part of the system by filing a tax return could be the safest long-term strategy to avoid unwanted attention. Otherwise, one might consider trying to obtain a tax clearance certificate from the TRD stating that they are not required to file. That would likely provide the cleanest protection from any potential issues in the future if questions ever arise. Of course, all of this is just speculation, and these concerns may never materialize, so there’s no need to panic. But it’s still good food for thought, as what we are seeing now may only prove to be the beginning of future changes to the Thai personal income tax laws for residents.

In principle, I agree. As far as I know, the Thai government has not made any direct official contact with foreign residents regarding these changes. So, it's entirely possible that some foreign residents in Thailand remain completely unaware of the updates to personal income tax filing requirements for foreign residents. However, when it comes to legal matters, claiming ignorance of the law is never a solid defense. I'm not sure the local Thai tax authorities would accept that as an excuse either. Perhaps the Thai Immigration Dept will start informing foreigners of these changes this year when they go to extend their long-term visas. That said, the information is clearly available in English on the Thai Revenue Department's website: https://www.rd.go.th/fileadmin/user_upload/lorkhor/newspr/2024/FOREIGNERS_PAY_TAX2024.pdf You can read more here as well: https://www.austchamthailand.com/new-rule-for-taxation-of-foreign-income-from-1-jan-2024/ However, I'm not defending them above and I do agree that it would have been better if they had notified all long-term foreign residents back in 2023 when the tax requirement changes were implemented. But it is what it is. Thankfully I found out myself by following local English language sources of information.

Some Additional Footnotes on Transfers to My Thai Bank Account for 2024: Following is a brief explanation about the transfers made to my Thai bank account from overseas in 2024. All of these transfers were sent by me from my Wise account to my local Thai bank account. However, there’s a small issue with how these appear on my local Thai bank statement that could cause some confusion for the TRD. On my Thai bank statement, all incoming transfers/deposits, whether from other local Thai banks or from Wise, show up with the same transaction code: SWT. This happens because Wise doesn't send international wire transfers to your account directly. Instead, they deposit funds into your account using local Thai banks. As a result, regardless of whether the transfer originated from Wise or another Thai bank, it will appear as SWT on my statement. To avoid any confusion, particularly if the TRD has any questions about these transfers in the future, I’ve downloaded PDF receipts for all my 2024 Wise transfers. If needed, I can clarify that the SWT entries on my statement were local bank-to-bank transfers, while the specific incoming transfers from Wise were processed through local banks in Thailand. I’ll be able to provide copies of the transfer receipts as evidence to help clear up any confusion. Here is how to download bank transfer receipts if you ever want to download your Thai bank transfer receipts from Wise: 1- Log in to your Wise account and go to the Transaction History. 2- Click on “See All” to view all transactions, including all of those from the past going back a few years. 3- Once in See All view, use the filters at the top to narrow down your search. You can select a date range (I usually set a 5-day window around the date of the transfer I made) and then filter by “Transfers” only under the Type dropdown. This will display only bank-to-bank transfers, making it easier to find the specific transfer you need. 4- Once you locate the transfer, click on it to expand the details. 5- You’ll see two tabs at the top: “Updates” (default) and “Details”. Click on the “Details” tab. 6- Scroll to the bottom, and you’ll find the option to “Get PDF receipt”. Click on this, and a 2-page PDF of the transfer will download. 7- Save the file, and you can print it out or keep it for reference. If the TRD requests receipts or evidence of the Wise transfers, you can submit these PDFs or print them out and submit them as hard copies. This process makes it easy to keep track of all your Wise bank transfer transactions in Thailand and provides a simple way to show proof of your transfers that you made to your Thai bank account if ever needed. In the future, for my annual Thai tax filings, I may consider only attaching the individual receipts for the Wise transfers made to my Thai bank account, rather than submitting copies of my 12 months of local bank statements. This approach would provide more focused supporting documents, directly related to the actual bank transfers I made, and help avoid any confusion caused by the SWT local bank code issue on my statements. If the tax authorities require the full bank statements later, I can always provide them. However, this way, I can initially provide clear evidence of the incoming transfers pertaining to the amount stated as my annual income when filing my Thai tax return.