Mike Teavee

I'm assuming you can get a Tax adjustment somehow as the TRD says you can get Tax relief for Gifts, so in your examples where you've already paid PAYE Tax on the income it makes logical sense that you can claim some relief, however the (English Version) of the Tax Return Guide doesn't mention gifts anywhere so again we're back to the question "Can Domestic Gifts be given Tax Free" (I don't see how you could pre-claim it & avoid paying PAYE income but I've never worked in Thailand so wouldn't know) - All the more reason to remit the Gift directly to the Giftee & not send it via your Thai Bank account. If the answer is "No, Domestic Gifts cannot be given Tax Free" then it doesn't make sense to have a Gift Tax rule at all unless it's for just for Remittances & surely the receiver of a Domestic sourced Gift would not pay tax on it as that income has already been taxed. Ironically enough there is space on the Tax Return form to claim relief for charitable donations so your donation to the Soi Dog Foundation would (if they're an approved charity) give you some relief... https://www.rd.go.th/fileadmin/download/english_form/030265guide91.pdf

I've answered as best I can inline in your post...

Not 100% true as your overseas Will could (I know UK Wills can) be recognised in Thailand but believe it needs to be registered with MOFA before you die... https://www.samuiforsale.com/knowledge/inheritance-laws-thailand.html#:~:text=Legal foreign wills are acceptable,subject to a court procedure. There's a discussion on it here But saying that, I think most lawyers would recommended to have separate Wills for each Jurisdiction.

True, it doesn't say "Remitted Income" so I might be wrong about not being able to use Gifts as a way to limit tax on Income earned in Thailand, but that document (& the crux of this thread) is aimed more about Expat's being taxed on money remitted into Thailand for which Gifts can be used to limit how much Tax you need to pay. Edit: Having a quick look through the TRD document, it doesn't mention remitted income in there either so strengthens the argument that Gift's can be used to reduce tax on income earned in Thailand. Section 42 The assessable income of the following categories shall be exempt for the purpose of income tax calculation: para 27... https://www.rd.go.th/english/37749.html Edit: Just struck me that your question might be more around only domestic Gifts being eligible, this article is all about remitting money to Thailand & lists the same criteria listed many times before... https://www.xe.com/ar/blog/money-transfer/sending-a-large-money-transfer-to-thailand-what-to-know-about-taxes/ Gift Tax For many decades, Thailand did not tax gifts, just income. But that changed in 2016. The government not only imposed taxes; it also changed the definition of a “gift.” Any property, including money, which is transferred to another person, and there is no expectation of any tangible return, is a gift. Interest-free loans and property sales at substantially below market value are also gifts. In many countries, gifts also have relational components. But in Thailand, you can give a gift to anyone, at least for tax purposes, if it exceeds the following amounts: Inheritances above ฿100 million THB (about $335,000 USD), Non Transferable property rights above ฿20 million THB (about $67,000 USD), and Any property transfer, including foreign remittances, which meet the gift criteria discussed above. A number of exemptions apply. This list includes: Gifts from relatives under ฿20 million THB Gifts from non-relatives under ฿10 million THB (about $33,000 USD). Gifts made for educational or religious purposes (such as college tuition payment transfers) Although relationship does not enter into the definition of a “gift,” there is a relational aspect to the amount of the tax. Thailand’s gift tax is 10% in most cases, and 5% if the recipient is a descendant or ascendant. Most relationships via marriage, such as step-siblings, do not qualify for the reduction, at least in most cases.

PWC Doc attached in the post above...

Gifts can be used to avoid tax on remitted (not domestic) income as long as the relationship between the person giving/receiving the gift & the purpose of the gift fall within the approved criteria. Gifts cannot be used to evade tax on domestic income.

TBH the discussion about Gift tax has gotten a bit confusing (not helped by the fact I was travelling back from the UK so skim-read posts to catch up) but a few of the guys (e.g. @Lorry, sorry I'm not singling you out) seem to be saying that Gifts to your Wife are liable for PIT & need to be reported on your return

FWIW, here is where I get most of my Tax information from (due to the fact that the Global Bank I worked for used PWC to assist us when working in a number of different countries including filing local & UK Tax Returns for us). From page 13 of the attached PDF. Gift Tax Gifts that are given by a living person are subject to personal income tax under the Revenue Code. The income tax is levied on the value of the assets or the amount given to parents, ascendants, descendants, spouse or others that exceeds the prescribed threshold, which depends on the type of gift and donor. The assets or amounts given that do not exceed the threshold and will be exempt from personal income tax are as follows: Income derived from the transfer of ownership or possessory right in an immovable property without any consideration to a legitimate child, excluding an adopted child, in the amount not exceeding Baht 20 million in respect of each child throughout a tax year. Maintenance income or gifts from ascendants, descendants or spouse, in the amount not exceeding Baht 20 million throughout a tax year. Maintenance income derived under a moral obligation or gifts made in a ceremony or on occasions in accordance with established custom from persons that are not ascendants, descendants or spouse, in the amount not exceeding Baht 10 million throughout a tax year. Income from gifts which will be used by the person who receives them for religious, educational or public benefit purposes according to the intention of the donor under criteria and conditions referred to in ministerial regulations. Income in excess of the above thresholds will be subject to personal income tax at the rate of 5% and will not need to be included together with other income when computing the annual personal income tax liability. Seems pretty clear cut to me that a legitimate gift (up to the limits mentioned) to your Wife, Daughter etc... is exempt from PIT so does not need to be declared on your Tax Return, and if that Soi Dog Foundation mentioned was a registered charity deemed to be providing a public benefit then donations to them would be exempt from PIT also. So, in a nutshell, it does matter who you're sending the money to & what the money is for but it's for you to assess that & report it accordingly, TRD will only assess it if you're audited. thai-tax-booklet-2023-24.pdf

Obviously you're free to believe whoever/whatever you like but the only ruling on Gift Tax I'm aware of was where Thaksin's wife was sentenced to 3 years for Tax evasion, part of which (IIRC approx. 15Million Baht) was a gift to their daughter as a wedding present (The fact that they argued this proves that there is an argument to be made that you can Gift money to relatives) https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSP223799/ And before you argue "But she was found guilty"... I've read [can't find it now] that the TRD argument was that the gift was made 2 years after the wedding, so in their eyes wasn't a legitimate wedding present. This was one small (IIRC approx. 3%) part of an overall charge of 546 Million Baht Tax evasion Her conviction was overturned on appeal (Though I wouldn't read too much into this fact 🙂) https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-appeals-court-clears-thaksins-ex-wife-in-tax-case-2011aug24-story.html

Firstly, we are talking about tax on remitted income (not domestic) but in your example Mr Gifter does have to pay Tax on his Income (& would probably do so under PAYE) but when he gifts the post tax monies to his daughter as a wedding present he does not need to pay tax on it again. If Mr Gifter was working for 6 months overseas (still Tax Resident in Thailand) & remitted 5Million as a wedding present to his daughter then he'd have no tax to pay on it (or need to declare it), nor would she. However, if he were to remit the money to his landlord to pay for his rent then he & his landlord would need to declare/pay tax on it.

I disagree slightly with this part... If you make a legitimate gift (one you receive no benefits from) to anybody then you do not need to declare it on your Tax Return but they would need to file it on theirs if they/the gift doesn't fall into one of the eligible categories (E.g. I send my mate 1 Million THB because I'm a nice guy).

You only report assessable income and as (Legitimate) Gifts are not assessable income, you don't need to get a tax exemption for them as you don't need to report them. A "Legitimate" Gift is something that you (as the person making the Gift) receive no direct benefit from & your Landlord (as the person receiving the Gift) provides no direct benefits for, so if you're living there then it obviously wouldn't be a "Legitimate" Gift & if not declared would technically be tax evasion on both sides. Assuming you're not related in anyway to your "Landlord", if you sent them money & don't use their property in anyway (Live, Store your things, Reserve the property for future use etc...) then (technically) they should declare/pay tax on it but you would have nothing to pay/declare as you've not received any benefits from the monies.

As I understand it if you were sent 5Million THB as a Gift by your father then you would 1st assess this as a gift and decide not to declare it on your Tax Return (assuming you filed one). IF TRD somehow notice this large remittance & decide to audit you, it would be on you to prove that it was a gift which came from your father & not from one of your own overseas account [I use this example as I have exactly the same name & UK address as my father on one of my UK accounts so it would look like I was sending money to myself].

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Who said that? Not me. I suggested that they would flag people who are reported as having brought in a significant amount of money, what that limit is, I’ve no idea. As I said, I’m planning on bringing in 235K & not filing but if I brought in 2,350K then I’d file.

They (TRD) don’t need to check with anybody, they just need to ask you about your Tax affairs & it’s you that will need to prove you were non-tax resident & explain why you don’t need to pay any tax.

I filed one last year (long story short I needed to get a TIN for the Bank that has my UK Mortgage so after jumping through all the hoops thought why not reclaim the 4K that I'd paid in withheld tax, still haven't received it), I haven't done one this year (remitted well above the 120K limit last year) & won't file one next year. In 2026 I plan on bringing over enough money to meet the $250K needed to support my LTR application all of which will be realised & remitted in a year that I'm none tax resident, after that I'm planning (hoping) that tax on remitted income will be irrelevant.

It's very easy (Worked in IT for Global Banks for >30 years & it would take longer to get the permission to share the data than to do the technical side of things)... & I can't think of any downsides of them doing that. I believe that the main target of this (not really) change to tax regulations is Thai Companies & individuals that were using the next year loop hole to repatriate money so the fact that us "Foreigners" been caught up in it probably doesn't even register with them.

I’m referring to what you bring in from overseas so it’s really easy for them to ask all the banks to submit details of any foreign transfers, set a limit & flag people who bring in more than that. I plan on remitting 235,000 (my allowances +150K zero tax) & not filing a return but if I was remitting 2,350,000 I’d file a return as there’s a much greater chance that they’d flag me.

It's very clear that if you earn/remit > 120,000 THB (220,000 if doing a joint filing with your spouse) then Technically you have to file a Tax return whether tax is due or not. Practically it's up to you whether you to file a return or not (TRD won't tell you that you have to file a return), I'll only be remitting 235K (to me + 210K to the GF) & won't be filing a return, if didn't already have savings in Thailand & needed to remit how much I actually spend then I would file a tax return.

I personally believe it's Residency at the time the funds are remitted on the basis that (assuming no Thai Income) you don't have to file a tax return for years you are not Tax resident, but with a significant transfer (e.g. Tax free lump sum from pension and/or proceeds from the sale of a house) I figure you are much more likely to be flagged for a follow-up so will be non-tax resident at the time I get the monies & remitting them in the same year.

Per the link you kindly provided it seems similar to the UK and depends on the level of income received (well remitted) https://mbmg-group.com/article/what-is-a-half-year-personal-income-tax-return-pnd.-94-and-who-has-to-file-it What is a Half-Year Personal Income Tax Return (PND. 94)? Who has to file it? A half-year personal income tax return or PND. 94 is the income tax filing of an individual whose income from January to June exceeds 60,000 baht. This tax filing is for those who receive the following types of income. 1. Income from rent of property such as land, houses, vehicles, etc. 2. Income from liberal professions, which are not freelances and have licenses, such as doctor, nurse, accountant, lawyer, etc. 3. Income from an independent contract such as contractors. 4. Other income which is classified as 8 types of assessable income such as income from online sales, acting, income by virtue of jobs, positions or services rendered, etc So if I receive £1,000 net rental income & transferred £500 each month (approx. 23K THB) I would have "Earned" 138K (6 x 23K) between Jan and June so would need to file a 1/2 year return.... but if I brought it all over in July I would just have to include it in my annual return.

During the Q&A he clarifies that it's 220,000 THB if you're married & 120,000B if not.

Especially as around the 46 minute mark he goes to explain how Capital Gains work... The gain is from the date you acquired the asset & not the date you moved to Thailand (obviously answers the question about whether you can use a valuation from 31/12/2023 - You can't). Tax on the remittance is calculated as a percentage of the total gain so you can't claim you're just bringing the capital part over.