DjChris28

Incorrect. When I was working in thailand, my tax rate was 20%, but my Australian tax rate was %30. I paid 20% to thailand and 10% to Australia.

If there is a DTA in place between your country and Thailand, this will be the rules that apply under "Permanent establishment". Typically, they will need to prove you have a "fixed base". I'll be staying in an Airbnb when I do my work which is hardly a "fixed base". Just make sure the company doesn't pay for your expenses in Thailand or gets involved. etc paying accommodation, flights. It needs to be clear that it is funded and organized on your own personal expense. and that the company did not require you to be in thailand to do the work. I found this section for another country (Canada) that describes about PE: https://djb.com/2022/08/home-office-and-permanent-establishment-for-non-resident-corporations/ The rules are similar for Thailand and any other country. Non-resident corporations may not be considered to have a permanent establishment in Canada in the following situations: 1. Non-resident corporations do not bear any costs relating to the Canadian employees’ home offices in Canada; 2. Non-resident corporations do not use the Canadian employees’ home offices for any advertisement, business address, or on their website and, 3. Non-resident corporations provide an office space or hoteling work arrangements in the non-resident corporation’s principal jurisdiction (e.g., the US) to conduct their official duties. The employees may choose to work from their home offices in Canada.

Speak to a tax accountant on this.

Right Their definition should also include the words "if it is exercised from ...., then it will be tax free"

That's because it's not expected that you are working remotely on the elite visa. Its totally illegal to do so, it's just that the thai authorities turn their head the other way. You can ask any thai tax account or the thailand revenue department if it's legal to work on an elite visa and they will always say you need a work permit.

Key word here is "Derived". When you exercise work in Thailand even if the company pays you from outside Thailand is is located outside Thailand, you are still deriving it inside Thailand. That clause would indicate they would not tax you for work you did if you went home for a couple of months and exercised the work back home and then brought that money to Thailand. That's what i think it means. Also they state "Exemption from foreign source income law". The work you exercise in Thailand is not foreign sourced, it is Thai sourced. However, going back home and exercising work back home in your home country would be considered foreign sourced income to Thailand. For example: a) You work in Thailand from January to March < -- this is taxed in thailand b) You work in USA from April to May. <-- this is not taxed in thailand c) You work in Thailand from June to December <-- this is taxed. Point a, is Thai sourced income, point b is foreign sourced income, pojnt c is thai sourced. What that clause is doing is waiving the 180 day rule so you are not taxed regardless of how many days of the year you are in Thailand for work that you EXCERCISE OUTSIDE of Thailand. Normally before these tax rules, in the above scenario you would also be taxed for point b since you are staying longer than 180 days in Thailand and also bringing the money into Thailand.

But you see, this is what everyone is confused by. Just because you're being paid outside of Thailand but exercising the work in Thailand does NOT make your income foreign sourced. It is actually thai sourced. The source of the income is where you do the work, not where it is paid from. So this 180 day thing is illrellevant. You're taxed from day 1 for any work you exercise in Thailand regardless if it' s being paid into a bank account outside Thailand - I've heard this directly from the Thailand revenue department themselves. The only thing which saves you is a DTA agreement from being taxed in thailand. And that agreement says stay under 183 days in thailand, the employer can't be a tax resident of Thailand and you must not create a PE and you can avoid tax for shorter stays. It under "Dependent personal services" section 2 of the DTA agreements. Usually article 14,15,16 for many countries and then section 2. If you live in Thailand longer than 183 days, then you must look at making sure your home country either does not tax you or you can claim a foreign tax offset. Both of which can be done with my country Australia (Australian companies cannot tax their employees if you live overseas for the whole year). I believe for the USA, your only option will be to claim a foreign tax offset and get a tax refund on the usa side as you are always taxed whereever you go.

The 17% tax rate is for the highly skilled professionals. All other visa types pay normal thai tax rates.

This article from a tax accountant is golden in all the tax implications of this visa (This told me everything and then I confirmed it next with the Thailand revenue department itself): https://www.austchamthailand.com/tax-implications-of-remote-working-in-thailand/#:~:text=With few exceptions%2C a foreign,individual is a Thai resident. Have a look under sections "Taxation of a work-from-Thailand professional visa holder" and also "Double tax agreements (DTA)"

For those interested. I made a trip to the Thailand revenue department to ask about the tax of the LTR Work from Thailand professional. The work you do remotely for the client in your home is taxed in Thailand however, if you stay less than 183 days in Thailand per year and your employer is not located in Thailand and you don't create a PE (Permanent establishment) and your country has a DTA agreement, then you don't need to pay tax in Thailand. To Declare this, it's just as simple as not declaring the income when you do your thai tax return. They said there is nothing needed to be done to apply for this clause in the DTA. Most people applying should be able to meet that at minimum. Finally found the tax Info for this visa!!!! So I'll be applying for this visa in a few months and my plan is to go for 6 months max of a year to avoid tax on the Thai side.

I'm about to find out on the 27th December when I fly to thailand. A bit afraid. I don't mind paying a fine, but i don't want to get blacklisted. I'll let anyone know what happened for future reference.

Did you even travel to thailand for tourist reason between when the extension of stay was valid? reason I asked is I'm in same situation as you and I'll be entering Thailand on the 27th bringing my BOI termination letter with still the reentry permit and extension of stay valid until 2024 in my passport but the visa and permit has been cancelled remotely. Did you get a BOI termination letter as well?

Has anyone found any info especially from the Thailand revenue department about the tax you'll need to pay if on the work from Thailand option? If it's tax free for the income from the overseas employer on the thai side, that would be actually funny as I just found out today that if you live overseas and you are paid by your Australian employer, they don't have to actually pay Australian tax which means if there is no tax on the Thai side, you could do it legally tax free anyway.

Do you know what amount the fine was? like 1500 baht?

The work permit was digital. I never got that blue book this time around.