Falconator

4 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

So, you think you can just decide what the criteria for tax domicile in CA are off the top of your head?  Are you registered to vote in CA?  Have you voted by absentee ballot since you left or do you intend to in this year's election? Do you use professional services from a provider in CA such as a lawyer, accountant, doctor, etc?  Do you have a CA driver's license Do you have friends in CA?

 

CA uses all of those criteria and more to decide if you have an intent to return to CA at any point in the future which would make you liable for CA state income tax from the time you left. 

 

The news is your tax liability does not depend on what you think reasonable criteria would be.  That's true with every state, but the worst of all is CA.

 

So, don't be stupid.  Look up the tax domicile rules for CA and make sure you don't qualify for any of them.  Better yet, hire a good lawyer or account to advise you, but not one in CA.

 

Can I make it any clearer than that?

Good advice! Very clear. Appreciate the tough love bro.

That pushes my tax rate up to 24.6% if I'm paying both federal and state taxes!

No tax brackets if you're a self-employed American living abroad for over 330 days per year?

38 minutes ago, soohk said:

I was at the immigration department Nonthaburi, I tried to submit my documents to ask for One year Non O visa based on spouse (1st time submission). I have all the documents ready including the 400k baht in a deposit account. The documents checklist requires neighbours ID card and House registration I got it but I was told I need to bring my neighbours along too. I am now stuck at this requirement. Has anyone encounter this, any work around? 

Pay them a few hundred baht, or try other local friends?

And I don't have any property in my name in California, no insurance, no utility bills.

How much are California state taxes? I only have a few bank accounts and a permanent address there (actually my dad's new house, and I've only stayed there for about a week). I also haven't visited the US in 5 years.

And I'll try to pay quarterly FICA taxes then. Hope the July 15 extension will save me from penalties and late fees.

The information is all here, but I'm just making sure.

https://immigration.go.th/content/extend_alien?click=1

Great news!

And no 90-day check-in needed right before June 3 for me, right?

Or should I still do an online 90-day check-in later this month just in case?

Here was how I got my $1200, even though I had never filed taxes before.

https://www.freefilefillableforms.com/

The site is run by Intuit.

Any recommendations?

A quick Google search turns up dozens of competing providers.

My stamp expires on June 3 (90-day ME marriage visa).

When is best for me to apply for my 60-day extension (I want to max out time here and have more time to prepare for my 1-year marriage visa extension later).

end of May

end of June

end of July

?

Joe is amazingly patient to answer the same questions over and over again by the way. Very much appreciated.

I never filed for US taxes before since I'm a young guy who just finished college.

But I still got my $1200 nonetheless because you can still fill out your info on a site called freefillableforms and get paid. I know it's a really cheesy-sounding name that makes it sound like a scam site, but it's because the IRS uses all these private tax preparation companies.

I'm married to a Thai and have an adopted daughter. None of them have any US documents (and they're not interested either). I didn't qualify for more because none of them have US Social Security numbers.

So I was treated as a single guy with no family.

1. This year will be my first time ever filing US taxes. I am a young guy who just finished college and know absolutely nothing about taxes or tax filing, so I need some US Tax 101 education. I'm totally confused and don't know how to do taxes.

2. I just started working online last year and am making good middle-class level income. This is all foreign-earned income from freelancing platforms (US location profiles) and direct referrals (PayPal payments that go into my US PayPal account).

3. My permanent address is in California, I had a California drivers license, but it is expired. I don't know if I have to pay CA taxes.

4. I'm married to a Thai and am under 30 years old.

The tax filing deadline is July 15, so I'm trying to get started.

Can I confirm that:

Marriage visa - 400,000 baht deposit can come from anywhere, doesn't have to come from abroad

Retirement visa - 800,000 baht deposit can come from anywhere, doesn't have to come from abroad

Only monthly incomes of 40,000 baht (marriage) or 65,000 baht (retirement) need to come from abroad.

Am I correct?

7 hours ago, timendres said:

 

Correct. I use an agent. All published requirements are met. I am extending with a work permit.

I have never spent more than 5 minutes in front of an IO, and never had so much as a hint of a problem.

How much do these agents charge?

1 hour ago, sanuk711 said:

Just posting the same...............like to know where these high yield accounts for that amount are........

1.5%, American Express

I already have 30k baht in my Bangkok Bank account. The money was withdrawn from local ATMs.

If what UbonJoe is saying is true, then I just have 370k left to deposit. I'll have to make a lot of trips to local ATMs then. I'm hoping the Chiang Mai IO's would be OK with that.

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

You do not need proof the 400k baht came from abroad to apply for an extension.

It is only required if using the 40k baht monthly income requirement.

 

So hypothetically speaking, we can borrow 400k baht in cash from local Thai friends, deposit the wads of bills into bank accounts in our names, and still get our 1-year marriage visa extensions?

I've never done any TransferWise transfers to Thailand before, so I'm a bit worried that the 400k transfer might not be coded as an international transfer, hence resulting in 400k baht considered unusable by immigration.

Maybe I should do a 3,000 baht test transfer first just to make sure.

You're always super helpful Joe!

So I will need to to transfer the 400k baht sometime this month, since the funds need to be seasoned for 2 months.

Honestly I would prefer to avoid depositing 400k baht, but I don't think I have much of a choice now due to border closures and shuttered embassies.

On TransferWise, I will need to transfer 400,500 baht to cover the 500 baht incoming fee right?

I'm using Bangkok Bank by the way.

I'm trying to get all everything prepared in advance for my marriage visa extension at the end of July.

If we use TransferWise to transfer the monthly income, will the transfers always be coded as incoming international transfers?

TransferWise fees are much lower than conventional bank fees, so many of us would prefer to use TransferWise whenever possible.

Thanks UbonJoe.

1. Due to the COVID situation, should I apply for my next 60-day extension at the end of this May (visa stamp expiry date), or at the end of this July (announced amnesty expiry date)?

2. Can I can still apply for a 1-year extension even after I get a 60-day extension? (90 days entry stamp + 60 days extension + 1 year extension)

Are all TransferWise transfers now being coded as foreign transfers? Immigration officers need to see that the money is from a foreign source.

Last year I saw some threads about how some TransferWise transfers are coded as domestic transfers.

Hope this isn't happening anymore.

1. Many of us are on multiple-entry 90-day non-immigrant O marriage visas obtained from Savannakhet, Laos.

2. Many of us have never thought about depositing 400,000 baht to get the 1-year extension, since in the past we could do quick border hops and get new visas at Savannakhet every year. But due to the uncertainty of the COVID situation, this no longer seems doable.

3. Thus, would it now be a good time for us to start depositing 400,000 baht for 1-year extensions, in order to avoid overstays and expired 90-day ME visas?

My stamp expires at the beginning of June 2020.

My visa expires at the beginning of September 2020.

I have $12,500 USD ready, but I have always preferred to keep it in high-yield savings accounts in the US.

I'm sure many of us are in similar situations.

Thoughts?

Rekordmeister, I just successfully received my O marriage visa this week.

I had US bank statements and my Bangkok Bank passbook ready. They didn't want any of those.

The Thai consulate at Savannakhet does not care at all about anything related to your financial status if you're applying for a marriage visa.

A visa agency I talked to in Chiang Mai also gave me false information, telling me that only a single-entry visa would be available if I were to apply without them, but that they can provide a multiple-entry one for me if I pay the agency 25,000 baht. Not true.

You do not need an agency for this. Ubonjoe would know right away if anything were to change at Savannakhet.

3 hours ago, Inderpland said:

I've been married for 15 years and have traveled in and out of Thailand frequently on my Non-O based on marriage. I've never had any problems and never heard of anyone having problems on the border with a valid "marriage visa". What horror stories are you referring to?

 

Also, what's a "KR 2 Marriage certificate"? I've only ever been asked to show the "rose bordered" one.

KR 2 is the "longer" marriage document. The amphoe should have given it to you. Ask your wife about it.

Horror stories were all related to tourist visas and ED visas, but I'm wondering if any marriage or retirement visa holders were denied. I haven't heard of these types of visa holders being denied either, but I just want to make sure, because not all immigration officers play by the rules.