4myr

read my report on the tax office visit on this subject

From the FAQ of TRD case #1. As I understand it, income remitted is only assessable income, in case both conditions apply: [1] the income remitted was earned in a year that the person was tax resident [2] at the time the money is remitted, the person is also tax resident In case one of the 2 does not apply, that income remitted is not assessable income. The simplest case to check for any person from the tax office is when [2] does not apply. I can also stay less than 180 days when I sell my stocks with profit [1], however this situation gives me more headache. To file tax in the year that I transfer the money and be dependent on a tax officer who will apply this rule correctly

Well, almost 5 months after signing the PEA contract end of Nov last year, still no change in the situation. Our neighbour who hired an installer got his first electricity sale within 5 weeks. So we called the guy we met in Petchaburi when we signed the contract in Nov. He checked our queue number. He said that it will take another 1 month and 1 week before the contract will come back to his desk, after the different departments has signed off on our contract. Then a few weeks will pass before we get a final inspection of our solar system. So we should expect end of May that the contract can start. He also said that PEA has 270 days after signing the contract to finish the backoffice procedures. It never happen that they cross past these 270 days. Also he said, fortunately the 10 year duration of the contract will commence after the backoffice procedures finished, and not after signing the contract.

Here a short summary of the 2nd meeting at the tax office in Prachuap Khiri Khan. First I planned to go to the office in Hua Hin, however I found out, Hua Hin has a much smaller branch office. This time the topic is "exemptions" as specified in the Double Tax Agreement between NL and Thailand. Based on hardcopies in Thai and English. Both documents were retrieved from the Thai RD office. We made an appointment with a lawyer from the Legal dept of the tax office. He asked his colleagues to join, 2 colleagues from the operational department. His female boss and a junior colleague who were in the room also listened to the conversation. Focus of the meeting is the interpretation of Article 23.5 "exemptions" of the NL-Thai DTA from 1975: https://wetten-overheid-nl.translate.goog/BWBV0003872/1976-06-09?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=wapp "Where a resident of Thailand [i.e. tax resident] derives benefits and income or owns assets which are subject to the provisions of Articles 6, 7, 10(7), 11(5), 12(4), 14(1) and (2), 15(1) and (3) paragraphs, 16 , paragraphs 2, 17, 19 and 22, paragraphs 1 and 2, of this Agreement may be taxed in the Netherlands, Thailand shall exempt such benefits and income or those assets from tax, but may, in calculating the tax on the other income or capital of that resident, apply the tax rate that would have applied if the exempt income or capital had not been exempt." The wording "shall exempt" is very clear to me, and means no tax in Thailand, even if NL does not apply tax, for the following revenue items, which apply to me: 1) art 14.1 - in case I sell my house located in NL with profit and I remit this money. Capital gains are not taxed in NL. 2) art 16.2 - fees as a director of my company, which is based only in NL. Does not have a branch in Thailand 3) art 19 - when I retire in a couple of years, the state pension I will receive from government funds. Well in the meeting, the tax lawyer did not express his opinion. But his colleague from the operational dept was very clear and vocal. That in the history of tax filing cases, she did not come across exemptions being applied. Only tax credits are allowed. Well I told her politely that I disagree with her, as the English version of 23.5, which I downloaded from the TRD website is quite clear, and when a dispute arises, between NL and TH, the English language version will be leading. I also told her that the DTA is also clear about tax credits, which should be regarded differently than exemptions, in the subsequent article 23.6: "Thailand shall grant a reduction in the tax calculated in accordance ..." In case I do not agree with her answer, I can send the local tax office a written letter in Thai. Then they can open a case to request for advice to the head office in Bangkok. The officer said she will look into the matter again, if there were exemptions in the past, of tax not being applied in above mentioned cases. Unfortunately the lawyer in the room did not say anything different than repeat what his colleague has said. His female boss printed out a case of a Swedish guy who filed tax about capital gains on stocks, however this does not match my case. I understand that gains on stocks does not get exemptions, also according to NL Thai DTA, as it is not fixed to a country similar to a property or a company. At the end she had a simple advice, which will save time for me and the tax office. In the situation that I need to transfer sums of money, make sure I stay less than 180 days in that year in Thailand. I also had a question about record keeping, in case an audit will check my records as evidence. The officer said that the RD got a lot of questions on this matter. She said that the RD head office will come with a document which list all these record keeping requirements. She could not say when. For example, on the day that I transfer money to Thailand, I need to keep a record of the euro-baht exchange rate of that day. [PS. I assume to convert a tax credit in euro to thai baht]

Seems to me that above exemptions [I highlighted] are covered in my country's DTA including state pensions.

Agree. I'm in the process of discovery right now. Double tax treaty and remittance rules seems to be clear now. Only scare is if my local tax officer is willing to spend time to learn the exemptions from my country's DTA stated in non plain Thai language. Also in discovery with my tax office is to find out the specific records that need to be kept for each income type and whether credit can be obtained. For example dividend income from a company where I am a significant UBO is called in Dutch tax law "box 2" income tax: "Tax on substantial interests (box 2) In box 2, you pay tax on any substantial interests. You have a substantial interest if you, or you and a tax partner together, own at least 5% of the shares, options or profit-sharing certificates in a company. You pay 25% tax on income from substantial interests." Try to explain to a tax officer such a type of income. Because there is also dividend income from stocks under box 3, which is called the wealth tax.

Please read the FAQ question 1 https://www.expattaxthailand.com/thailand-revenue-department-foreign-sourced-income/ The year that you remit the money, 1) you are obliged to file tax, and 2) the income you remit was earned when you were tax resident. When do you need to file a tax return: 1) as tax resident and your remitted income & Thai income > 120K as a single, or 2) as non tax resident your Thai income > 60K as a single. However filing tax return in the 2) case, you don't need to file remitted money as assessable income. Something I have not asked the tax office yet, but I saw a foreigner tax lawyer speaking about this situation. In an audit, they can ask you whether the income you earned in case 2 has been tax filed in the country that you were tax resident at that time. So they can ask you for a tax assessment from the RD of that country. I don't know if this is correct. For example in my country I don't need to file capital gains, as they are not taxed.

To my understanding: if you remit > 150K you need to file tax if you're resident. Only savings prior to 2024 in fiat currency accounts are exempt from taxes, not investments stored in securities accounts or non fiat currencies.

This is the case I prepared to ask them: Case 4: In 2024 I am tax resident and in 2025 I have filed tax for 2024. In 2025 I need to be 8 months in NL to sell my house. I also intend to transfer all the income of my sold house to Thailand in 2025. In 2025 I am not a tax resident. Am I obliged to file my taxes for 2025? Will RD office send me a reminder to file taxes on tax year 2025? If so, do I need to come to the RD office to show that I am not a tax resident in 2025.

My opinion: I think they will try to catch the big remitters [known thru the bank reporting system] first who are also tax resident [for Thai citizens - 100%, and for foreigners - I think RD is not connected to the Immigration 90-day reporting system, which is also not yet adapted to this new tax rule, so difficult at the moment]. EDIT: unless you as a foreigner already has filed before, as you are obliged to if you remit more than 150K baht in a year that you are tax resident.

Yes it's my opinion. Next week I will report you my meeting with another tax office in the same province and will ask them the same questions and tax filing cases.

Tourists don't have a Thai TIN, never did Thai filing, and rarely have a Thai bank account. If you are already in the loop having all 3, then in subsequent years you are possibly liable to pay tax and it is up to you to proof [file tax or show that you are not tax resident] that you don't need to pay.

In my original write up were told by RD tax officer. The stuff wrt what banks need to reports is my experience in banking IT projects in NL, that Thailand started CRS reporting in 2023 and from this interview with a Thai tax lawyer

You have to proof to RD that you were not tax resident in that year, to avoid not paying taxes. And my local tax officer said that sofar your passport would suffices. As we know with the automatic lanes at airports, this is not the case. So be prepared to collect items e.g. tickets, boarding passes and 90-day reports.

Thai banks need to report to the RD. Even money exchange brokers will report your passport id and the cash money you changed. Money transfered by the SWIFT network will convey the sender being you and your foreign bank. However suppose you transfer thru Wise, the transfer is domestic. But I'd bet Wise need to report to Kasikorn Bank for the omnibus account they're using. And that KBank reports these to the Revenue Dept.