JohnnyBD

Let's hope they won't be flagging & questioning every non-resident/tourist for example, who remits money to buy a condo and then later retires and becomes a resident.

I know I am, but so is the notion that non-tax residents need to prove to Thai RD that we are non-tax residents by showing our passports, boarding passes, etc.

When you meet with them next week, please ask them if a non-tax resident and/or tourist needs to report any remittances or number days in-country to prove they are not a tax resident. Thank you...

I agree with you whole-heartedly...

Bump, ..... answer please So, he is saying the millions of tourists who remit monies to Thailand will have to go to RD and prove that they were not a tax resident? Where is he getting this from?

So, you're saying the millions of tourist who remit monies to Thailand will have to prove to RD that they were not a tax resident? I don't think so. Where are you getting this from?

Ok... So, even if the Thai RD knows how much I remitted to Thailand by way of swift transfers (when not a tax resident), what will they do? Will they check with Immigration to verify that I was not a tax resident? What about the millions of other tourists that remit money into Thailand, will they check with Immigration on them too?

Sounds good to me. I hope all tax officers see it the same way. My question is, how would the Thai RD even know how much you remit to Thailand if you are not a tax resident that year and you DO NOT file a tax return?

I think it would be best if you consulted with a Thai tax firm rather than relying on other peoples opinions, but I will give you my thoughts on your questions below: a) Do you have to obtain a TIN? I do not know. I will not be getting a TIN. b) Do you have to file a tax return? I do not know. I will not be filing a tax return since I'm not getting a TIN. I will be here 11 months this year, so I will be considered a tax resident, but I won't be remitting any assessable income. I guess if every tax resident is supposed to get a TIN, then they better start getting the tens of millions of Thais to sign up for a TIN.

Thanks for your very kind reply. Some days I feel like I have a handle on this tax thing, and then some days I get a little anxious when I think about the consequences of messing up due to the vague rules. I don't like to unknowingly cause myself misery.

Sorry to say, but all of these vague TRD rules are leading me to plan on leaving Thailand for 6 1/2 months every year, so that I am not a tax resident, or either buying the LTR visa starting next year when I need to remit some big money to buy our new condo. It's a shame, because I'm married to a wonderful Thai lady for past 7 years. If I was single, I wouldn't be here.

I assume "most probably" means this is your best guess, right? Do you know if Thai RD issued any rules on real estate sale proceeds being remitted, where they consider an equal percentage of principal and capital gains are remitted, not just the prinicipal amount. I also wonder about any proceeds from stock sales that are remitted. What if I sold 100 shares of XYZ and remitted just my original investment amount and keep the capital gains in the US? Do we get to decide what money we remit, or does RD get to decide what money we are remit? This issue should have been clarified already.

I understand now what you were saying. Any gains from 2015 to Dec 31, 2023 that were remitted would not be taxable in Thailand if there was a way to qualify that. I got it. Thanks for clarifying.

I'm not sure valuation has anything to do with it. As per the IRS (US gov't), the original cost basis (what I paid for the house in 2015), is my actual cost basis and that is not taxable. Only the capital gain (the profit) is taxable. How can the RD say my original investment from 2015 is now taxable if I remit it? The US gov't will not give me a tax credit for any taxes I have to pay in Thailand for that. And, as for borrowing money and remitting those loan proceeds for example to buy a condo, how can that be assessable income? That money is a loan, not income. What about withdrawals from a Roth IRA, the IRS states that the first distributions are your original contributions which may be from 20 years ago, and what about 401ks & Traditional IRAs? When people take their RMDs, that money could be from 1983 for example. We definitely need more clarification from RD before we assume the worse.

Mike, People seem to be confusing what is assessable income versus what is non-assessable income. If someone is a Thai tax resident in 2024, and they sold a $500k house (rental or primary residence) in their home country in 2024 which they owned prior to 2024, and the original cost basis was $400k, they would have a $100k capital gain. If they remitted that $400k to Thailand, and left the $100k of capital gains in their home country, that $400k would be non-assessable income. If they remitted the entire $500k, only the $100k in capital gains would be assessable income. Isn't that correct? Also, for example, if I borrowed $ against my property, stock investments, or even my CC 2.9% cash advance offer and remitted that money to Thailand, then that money is also non-assessable because it's not earned income or income from investments. It's loan proceeds. For some reason, I seem to see things as being pretty straight-forward and simple. Am I looking at this wrong?

Good luck. I will be looking into this option too.

Mr. lordgrinz, I understand your anxiety. I also had anxiety at first, but after reading the Tax Guide that was created by Mr. Lister (a big thanks to him), it clearly states, it's up to you & me to self-assess our own remittances and it's up to us to determine whether those remittances are assessable income or not. Just to be safe, I set up a separate US bank account for my US Social Security monies to go into so it won't get comingled with my other income streams. I will then transfer that exact amount each month to Thailand. Those remittances are non-assessable income as per the DTA, so I won't need to file a Thai tax return. In the very unlikely event, that the Thai tax man comes knocking at my door, I will be able to easily show that all my remittances were non-assessable income. I guess everyone needs to figure out how best to manage their financial affairs to eleminate the need to file a Thai tax return or at least lessen the tax burden. Good luck to you sir.

Funny reply... Mike, just a question regarding someone posting that we need to show the RD that our remittances are non-assessable. First, we should not need to show anyone anything, unless we're audited right? And, we are tax residents only if we meet the 180 day in-country threshold, right? If we are tax residents, then we are supposed to self-assess our remittances to determine if any of them are assessable income. If the remittances are non-assessable because of the DTA, or becuase they were from prior savings or prior assets, or they fall under the 120k threshold, then we do not need a TIN and we do not need to file a tax return. I guess there's always a slight chance the TRD tax man comes knocking at our door, if so, then and only then would we need to show him our remittances were non-assessable. Seems pretty straight forward to me. Isn't that pretty much correct?

Just a question, do we really have to show anyone anything, unless we're audited? First, we are not tax residents if we don't meet the 180 day in-country threshold. Then, we are suppose to self-assess our remittances to determine if any of them meet the assessable income criteria. If we fall under the 120k threshold or the remittances are not assessable income because of the DTA or they were from prior savings, or prior assets, then we do not need a TIN and do not need to file a tax return. I guess if the 1 in 100,000 chance the TRD tax man comes knocking at our door, then we will need to show him that our remittances were not assessable income. Isn't that pretty much correct?

Mike, can you please explain. Are you saying that money I have in savings from 2014, before I ever set foot in Thailand is assessable income if remitted to Thailand now in 2024, or in future years? Seems like savings from prior years should be exempt since it's not income. Same for investments, if I sold some property or stocks that I held for many years and only remitted the original cost basis amount and didn't remit any capital gains. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

As far as I know, expats will still need the old school Thai bank accounts for Immigration, to get their yearly extensions.

I read where Malaysia is one of the no income tax countries for expats with overseas income.

I agree with your comments. It seems to me, Thailand finally recognized there are lots of expats living in Thailand that have not been paying any income taxes on monies earned overseas, like those working in Saudi or the digital nomads working in Thailand. I don't know how successful Thaialnd will be collecting those taxes since it is by self-reporting on the honor system. Will the banks report all remittances to the Thai Revenue Dept? How will the Thai RD know how much someone brings into the country either by bank xfers, ATM withdrawals, etc.? My guess is that many expats will just continue not reporting their incomes.

If your scheme involves income earned when you were a tax resident, but remitted in a year when you stayed out of the country just long enough not to be a tax resident, then I guess it could be viewed as a scheme to avoid paying Thai income taxes. After all, it's supposed to be on the honor system and it's up to you to report your assessable income. I'm sure there are many expats who legitimately are not tax residents every year, so they will need to decide for themselves if the monies they remit when they are not a tax resident are assessable or not.

Thank you. I appreciate your reply.