JohnnyBD

The reality is that many students who took Eng in school cannot speak fluent Eng. That's because in every other class, they speak Thai and when they leave school they only speak Thai at home, so they don't get to practice. My stepdaughter who graduated University last year cannot speak Eng at all. I tried to get her to take it at University, but she didn't want to. That limits her job opportunities. So sad.

Calm down. No privilege for Americans. You'll get the email. Fact I will certainly let you know if I ever get the email. Fact...

Not every customer. I didn't get this email, most probably because I am a US citizen and have already filled out these forms when I opened my accts. After reading most of the posts, it appears the emails are being sent mostly to non-US citizens.

My Thai wife has accts at Kasikorn also, and she has not received this email.

You can fill out the forms in the bank. I am US citizen, and I had to fill out the forms when I opened my accts at Kasikorn, SCB and Bangkok Bank. I did not receive an email from Kasikorn.

What are your thoughts on the meaning of "derived in the previous tax year" in Royal Decree 743? Does it mean LTR visa holders need to wait until 2025 to remit assessable income derived in 2024 for it to be tax exempt? Or, can LTR visa holder's remit assessable income in the same year it was derived, and it still be tax exempt? Thanks... "shall be exempted for a foreigner categorised as Wealthy Global Citizen, Wealthy Pensioner, or Work-from-Thailand Professional who is granted a Long-Term Resident Visa under immigration law for assessable income under section 40 of the Revenue Code derived in the previous tax year from an employment, or from business carried on abroad, or from a property situated abroad, and brought into Thailand."

Original title was: Bank sending out Tax paperwork? Anyone else get this?

After reading all the posts, the emails appear to be targeting non-US citizens. I (US citizen) have accts at Kasikorn, and 3 other Thai banks, and haven't received anything from any of them, probably because US citizens normally fill out the forms when we open an acct.

Yes, I understand that. My Thai wife is considered a US tax resident even though she never set foot in the US. If you read the posts, it appears to me that most people getting the emails are non-US citizens and non-US tax residents who have no tax obligations to the US. That is what I find very strange. We will know if this is legitimate when someone reports back after going to the bank.

No, I have not received this email. I am a US citizen. It appears that the emails are targeting mainly UK citizens from those posting here.

I agree. This is very poor security, asking people for sensitive info to be transmitted via email. I would print out the email and go to the bank. I would not even open the pdfs. The bank has blank forms. This may be a scam. It looks like the emails are targeting mainly British citizens from those posting here.

I have not received this email. I am a US citizen. Use caution.

That's strange they would send a non-US citizen the IRS reporting forms. It will be interesting to see if they send it to all of their customers. I haven't received anything from Kasikorn yet. I filled out the forms when I opened my Kasikorn account in 2018.

I haven't received anything from Kasikorn yet. I already filled out the forms listed in the above notice when I opened my account in 2018. I also report my accounts to the US gov't every year using FBAR reporting.

Just for the record, I completely agree with your comments. Now, I admit I keep a lot of money here, but only because I'm married, and my wife will need money to live on when I pass, while my loved ones settle my estate. But, that is my choice, and is specific to my situation. If I wasn't married, I would keep very little money in a Thai bank. Take care...

No problem. To each his own. I used an agent for my marriage extension, and that made things so much easier. But, now I don't have to worry about paying an agent or waiting in a queue. I can just relax & enjoy for the next 10 years before I need to renew my LTR-WP visa. 😊

You are correct. So let me understand. Instead of keeping 800k in a Thai bank for your Non-O visa extension based on retirement, you keep the 800k in your home country where you can earn maybe 20k THB more in interest compared to what you could earn in a Thai bank, then you pay a Thai agent who pays an IM officer to approve your yearly extension without you having to keep 800k in a Thai bank. I think I got it. That's certainly one way of getting an extension. I suspect most people prefer getting theirs using the more accepted & approved methods, by using 800k in the bank or 65k per month, even it it costs them a few thousand baht more than what you're doing. And, just to add, this doesn't affect me, but it still interests me in knowing how things are done in THA. I'm on a LTR-WP visa now, but was on marriage extension for the past several years. Best of luck to you...

I received my LTR-WP visa in July 2024. It took 4 weeks in step 4 to get the endorsements from government agencies with no additional requests for docs. Mine was very simple. I submitted my Social Security verification letter & payment history, company pension verification letter & payment history, and my 2023 tax return. Good luck...

It's probably less of a difference for some, because I believe those using the 800k method only has to keep 800k in the bank for 2 mths prior to getting their 1-year extension, then they can withdraw 400k to use for living expenses. That way, they can xfer less and leave more money in their home country if the interest rates are higher. I am fortuante to be on a LTR visa, so I don't have the bank requirements anymore and I don't need to pay an agent to avoid the bank requirements.

No, it was not a requirement. Neither bank, SCB or Bangkok Bank asked me about it.

I didn't have any problems earlier this year when I opened new accounts with SCB and Bangkok Bank. Neither bank asked me any of the questions you mentioned. Maybe it's because I'm married to a Thai, and have lived here for several years. I don't know why it's harder for some, and easier for others to open new accounts.

SCB updated the rates on their website 8 times so far today, yesterday it was 11 times. Bangkok Bank updated their rates 4 times so far today.

Thanks. I had a friend show me yesterday, how he sends with Wise, and the cost, and it worked out about the same as me wiring from Chase Bank in US (no fees) to Bangkok Bank (200B incoming fee). He did a $1,000 GBP test, and he would have gotten 44,160 THB with the spot rate being 44.59 at the time, so it would have cost him about 430B difference. I did an equal USD test of $1,280, and it would have cost me about 380B (200B incoming fee + .14 THB below the USD/THB spot rate at the time).

For those who use SWIFT wire transfers; Please share your thoughts (pros & cons) on sending USD (via SWIFT) to your Thai bank FCD acct versus sending it directly to your THB acct. For those of you who send USD (via SWIFT) directly to your THB accts, are you satisfied with letting the bank do the conversions? No problems? In the past, I wired to my USD FCD acct first, then watched for a good exchange rate before converting to THB, but now I'm thinking it would be easier to just send USD directly to my THB acct, and let the bank do the conversion whenever they receive it at whatever exchange rate it is that day. It used to be so easy when I had my Citibank TH accts. I could wire USD from Chase Bank (no fees) to my Citibank TH FCD acct (no fees), then convert to THB online 24/7 without having to go into the bank. Now, that UOB has taken over Citibank TH, I have to go into UOB to convert from my USD acct to THB acct. I opened new accts with Bangkok Bank because they allow online conversions during banking hours, but at least that's better than having to go into the bank to convert. Again, just curious if most people send USD straight to their THB accts and then let the bank do the conversions, or do some still send to their USD FCD accts, and then have to go into the bank to convert. Thanks for sharing.

I knew a work colleague who was from the UK, but lived in Thailand. He told me he didn't pay income taxes anywhere because he worked in Saudi which was a non-income tax country, he stayed in Thailand less than 180 days due to his job, and he had no income from the UK. If what he was doing was legal, then it appears he wasn't a tax resident anywhere.