BrianStar

I suspect that this is an issue specifically for Jomtien, although other places MIGHT also be scamming people. I suggest telling them you only transferred like 500 baht for the year. I think they won't be able to convince you to pay 5000 on such a low amount. But they might tell you to just not file. It's ridiculous that we can't just get the TIN online.

From what I understand, being in Thailand for 180+ days requires getting the TIN but you would not file the return if you have no assessable income. The issue I ran into was the agent wouldn't let me get the TIN without filing and said not to file if I had no money brought into Thailand.

Yes, it's Jomtien. And I ball parked the amount of money I had brought in as 400k and that's when she told me 5k. She seemed to mention if it was a different amount, it would change. But when I asked for the formula, she couldn't explain and just started showing me the individual tax tables. It definitely seemed like BS and my gf was no help because she's a very passive person and takes what anyone says as the truth so I was left with the decision to pay 5k so I'd have the TIN for next year and can do it online. They do post that you need bank statements to pay the tax but I didn't bring mine, expecting to file online but she still filed for me based on the random amount I told her. I should have low-balled the estimate but didn't expect she'd tell me there's any tax due to begin with.

I went to the tax department in Pattaya to get my TIN. I didn't bring my bank statements or tax return in the USA with me since I wanted to file online. They told me if I get the TIN, I need to file there and the tax would be 5000 baht. She said I don't have to file if I don't want to. I asked what if I don't transfer any money into Thailand for the year? She said don't file a return. She cited that the government is lazy and not likely going to enforce it and I only need to do it if they give me a problem getting a new visa. Kinda wacky hearing this considering that we must get a TIN even if we have no income to report simply because of the 180 day rule. But to get a TIN, they require a tax filing to be done and won't do anything if we have no money coming into the country. Talk about confusing! I've also had significant income over the years prior to 2024 which could be brought over without requiring it to be on the tax return but have no clue what happens in the case of an audit or difficulty with obtaining a visa. I get my DTV online, anyway, so I don't expect there to be an problems with that. Again, "government is lazy" is what the lady at the tax office told me. Many people went in front of me who seemed quite displeased with the 5000 baht minimum and I guess many ended up leaving without bothering to file. I'm hoping that I'll get the TIN in the mail as expected and just be able to file online next year and hopefully not have to pay again. I suspect the 5000 minimum might be a payoff to them for doing the work but my gf did point out it said 5000 owed on the form. Probably still BS.

Shopee and Lazada use land routes that avoid customs issues so that is always an option. But sometimes the quality of these products aren't as great and sometimes the items are fake. I've had a few bad experiences buying overseas on Lazada so I now buy direct now and use the same forwarders that those Lazada sellers use.

As an update, I was successful bringing in the meat and cheese. As most experience, customs didn't bother to check. But I did have 4 full bags with me and a polyurethane cooler in each that I built myself. 5 kg of steak and 2.5kg of cheese in each. The rules allow you to bring 5kg of meat and 2.5kg of cheese but it's per passenger not per bag. The idea was evenly distributing it so the scanners that hit the bags coming off the plane won't raise suspicions. I would have preferred 1 giant cooler though because they were a real PITA to make. They worked out really well. I turned up my chest freezer to the coldest setting and let the meat and cheese freeze inside the coolers with the tops off for about 4 days. Then, right before flying, packed them into my bags. Since meat and cheese are 70% water, it doesn't make much sense to add ice packs which is just dead weight so stuffing them full was enough energy on its own to keep them frozen. When I opened them up about 35 hours later, only the top piece in each box had slight flexibility to it; the rest were frozen solid as a rock. I had calculated everything should stay frozen around 4 days so I was even covered in case of lost baggage. It was a total success but I probably won't bring 4 bags each year because of the costs and higher risk; this time around I had extra heavy items I needed to bring so the 4th was justified.

Check the Thai Integrated Tariff Database http://itd.customs.go.th/igtf/en/main_frame.jsp You're going to run into a TISI issue since it's electric. You'll have to pay through the nose to get it if they'll even allow you to. I do know how to get it without any hassle, though. Send me a PM if interested.

I like to make everything myself. Smoking a ham is also on my list of abilities. Thailand has even encouraged me to get into cheese making but since aging cheese takes months, I need an initial supply to start my annual stay. It is possible to find good Ribeye but the price is high, they're often out of stock AND the quality is lower. My girlfriend does raise buffalo so maybe I can convince her to give me a calf and I'll feed it the corn it needs to be delicious! But otherwise, I can bring about 90 kg of stuff every year with 3 bags so I might as well take advantage of it. The plan is to build foam insulated boxes and keep each bag within the limit as listed by the FDA.

Yes, I did read about the controls on pork due to illness outbreaks and pork is easy to obtain in Thailand so I don't know why anyone would bother to bring it. I plan to bring USA beef ribeye along with cheese.

I've read many forums stating that you can't bring food into Thailand. It's obvious that you need a permit for commercial purposes, but I think I've verified that you can bring some personal food items which are restricted: Customs states here that food is restricted: https://www.customs.go.th/cont_strc_simple.php?ini_content=individual_160426_01&lang=en&left_menu=menu_individual_submenu_03_01 And then it references that the issuing authority is the FDA @ www.fda.moph.go.th The FDA has limited quantities permitted for import for personal use: https://en.fda.moph.go.th/guideline-of-importation-for-personal-use/bringing-of-health-products-into-the-kingdom-of-thailand-01 Is there any other agencies to worry about or does this verify that we are allowed to bring limited amounts of these items when traveling to Thailand?

I had been charging my Tesla at night during offpeak and it worked out very well to justify the hit for air conditioning during the day. But now I have PV panels so electricity is free during the day and cheap at night (if I even need it).

It's confusing because some articles describe it as multi entry and others talk about the entry and an extension with the same cost as the visa. Best to wait for the official system to come out so it's more clear. I'll be happy not having to leave every 60 days.

It's a visa valid for 5 years, 180 days for one stay extendable another 180 days from my understanding.

I was reading about that recently and for a private employer they need a revenue of $150 million or something like that. Basically, you need to work for a big company. Which sucks for me because i make a lot of money as an owner but my company isn't THAT big. Fingers crossed for the rules on this new one to not have that specific requirement.

Yes. It's legal for a company to own land but there is a law that specifically states that a company cannot be formed specifically for the sake of owning land for a foreigner. So that company the foreigner is involved in must be conducting business and taking profits and paying taxes. Lawyers advise not to conduct business with a property owning company because of liability and it opens the doors for audits, which can lead them to discovering something you're doing wrong and force you out of the company / house. Plus you need a work permit and all that so it's a mess to get involved in just to be able to buy a house. Right now, the risk is incredibly low for a dormant company to be audited but should the government decide to start cracking down on these dormant companies, there's going to be a lot of upset foreigners. From what i do understand, they won't make the foreigner give the keys and move out but they will make him sell the house and who knows how much time they will give to do that plus are they going to make him sell to thai people who probably won't have the money for an expensive home? It's not a pretty situation should it arise.