JohnnyBD

Sounds like your plan is staying less than 180 days in Thailand, less than 183 days in Cambodia and several days in another nearby country, then you won't be a tax resident anywhere. Am I understanding correctly?

Just wondering... What are the benefits and/or the reasons for wanting to transfer a savings account from one SCB branch to another SCB branch within the same city? I understand wanting to, if one is moving to another city, but transferring an account for example, from Asoke to Phrom Phong, just 1 mile away, I don't understand the benefits and/or reasons for the transfer. Please enlighten me. Thanks.

It was easy to separate. I opened a new acct online in Jan to put my 2024 income. I left 2023 income in my old acct. I opened a new acct to put my US Social Security. Then, I got my LTR-WP visa in May. I transferred only SS money so far this year, so I think I'm pretty safe. I know it's a pain, but better to be safe until we know all the rules.

I agree. The simpler one's finances, the better odds of being approved quickly. I was fortunate to have traditional pensions in order to qualify. I submitted my two pension verification letters, pension payments history, 1099-R tax forms, US tax return, and the LTR approved AXA Thailand insurance certificate & policy. My LTR-P visa was approved within 6 weeks with no additional requests from BOI. it was very easy...

Why not just buy the insurance from one of the LTR approved providers. It only took 6 weeks to get my LTR visa approved. I used AXA Thailand, which is one of the LTR providers, and it wasn't expensive. I have insurance with Aetna through my company, but after reading about the problems people were having trying to use their existing policies, I decided to do it the easy way, even if it cost me a little extra.

You should be ok. Look at your bank book. If it's like mine, it should have a 10-digit account number, not starting with 0. Even though my bank code is 0172, my THB account number is 172-x-xxxxx-x, which is 10 digits. I only make international wire xfers to my USD acct which is a 19-digit number. When I make local incoming xfers to my THB acct, I use the 10-digit number, without the 0.

Why don't you check if your bank has a mobile check deposit feature. OK, so you checked and the amount is over the limit. Please disregard my post.

Good move. I also bought AXA insurance for my LTR visa instead of going the $100k in bank route. Do you keep 100% of your available monies in the stock market, or do you keep some in fixed income? Everyone's situation is different. Some people like to keep different asset allocations (example; 90/10%, 80/20%, etc. stocks/fixed income) due to their risk tolerance or individual situation. So, for those who like to keep some of their money in fixed income anyway, going the $100k in bank route makes a lot of sense. Capital One bank is currently paying 4.10% on their high yield savings, Chase Bank was paying 4.40% on theirs, and one can still get short-term CDs for 4.50%.

Capital One bank in US is paying 4.10% right now on their high yield savings accounts, but I'm keeping my money in Fidelity right now. Yes, i could earn more in another type of investment, but I like to keep a small amount of cash available so I don't have sell assets just to raise money.

I dont know where you are getting that one has to qualify annually. It was very easy for me. They accepted my Social Security and company pension which was more than the $80k minimum required. I was approved quickly. I'm good to go until 2029 when my "stay permit" expires. I will just need to update my docs again in 2029 to get the next 5-year "stay permit". I won't even have to do the annual reporting because I go home every year, and that resets the 1-year reporting clock.

Yes, $100k USD or the equivalent in other currencies such as; {THB, Pound, Euro, etc.) in a bank account for at least 12 months prior to applying for the LTR visa. I had $100k+ in my brokerage account, but they would not accept it. So, I used the insurance method to start, and will move the money to a bank account before age 70 when the premiums go up.

No one knows for sure, because no one has done a 5-year extension yet. But if I had to guess, it would be pretty much the same, maybe a new passport pic, my Social Security docs, Pension docs, and insurance docs or $100k bank docs in lieu of insurance. It was easy the first time, all of it was done from the comfort of home, just had to upload the docs online.

My LTR "visa stamp" in passport is good until July 2034, and my "stay permit" is good until July 2029. I was told and also sent an email from the LTR Visa Unit that a couple of months before my "stay permit" expires, they will notify me to upload my qualifications again to confirm I still meet the LTR requirements. After that, I will be able to schedule an appt to go get my new "stay permit". It sounds like it's a pretty simple and easy process. I love the fact I won't have to do any reporting again until 2029, because I go back to my home country each year, and that restarts the yearly reporting clock.

I agree with your comments. Luckily, I don't pay any outgoing wire fees with Chase Bank in US due to my relationship level, but I do pay an incoming wire fee with BBL of .25%, and get the T/T rate which is about .455% lower than spot rates, so for example, a $2,500 USD wire xfer will incur a 200B incoming wire fee, and I will get about 375B less with the T/T rates versus the current spot rates.

I just checked the exchange rate converting my USD acct to THB acct at Bangkok Bank. It was 32.78 vs the current spot rate of 32.93 a few minutes ago, which is .15 difference. That works out to a ittle less than .5%. So, if I had completed the exchange, that $1,000 USD would have given me 32,780 THB. That was only 150B difference from spot rate. Not bad

I opened a USD FCD account in August at Bangkok Bank Emporium branch at Phrom Phong. It was easy, but they didn't have any USD on hand, so I went to Super Rich to get $1,000 USD for the initial deposit. They wouldn't let me convert THB from my THB acct for the initial deposit. Once opened, the min. balance is $250 or maintenance fees will apply. I was able to set up their App on my phone and internet banking on my laptop. I can do USD to THB conversions online, but only during banking hours. The incoming wire fees are .25% (min. 200B to 500B max). There's no fees to convert from my USD acct to my THB acct. Good luck...

I'm not worried. I simply do not want the hassle or expense of having to file tax returns in 2 countries, if we (LTR visa holders) should ever lose our tax exemption. I will happily spend more time in my home country with my loved ones, and less time in Thailand, so that I am not a tax resident here. I enjoy spending time with my children & grandchildren, so it works well for me.

My home country is the US. I am required to file and pay taxes in the US on my income regardless of where I live.

Just my opinion: 1. Yes, it will eventually pass, but not in 2024 2. If passed in 2025, my guess is that it would go into effect for tax year 2026 or later

Bottom line, if I lose my LTR tax exemption for any reason, I will just stay less than 180 days per year going forward. I have a Thai wife here, so I will split my time between my home country and here. I do not want to deal with having to file tax returns in two countries. I hope they don't change anything.

Sorry, my mistake. I didn't word my previous post correctly. I do agree that if worldwide income taxation ever becomes law, it's not clear if LTR visa holders will keep their tax exempt status (me included). I am confident we have tax exempt status right now on all income (remitted & unremitted), but if we lose our tax exempt status in the future, then taxation will be determined by tax residency (180 days in country), and NOT by which visa one is on. That's what I meant before. Tax on ww foreign income for tax residents may eventually come to pass, but it hasn't yet. If that day ever comes, and LTR-WP visa holders are not exempt, then I will simply stay less than 180 days per year in Thailand. Not a problem for me.

You misunderstood my comments. I was discussing ww taxation which you brought up, not current law. See part of your previous post that started this whole discussion about ww income taxation below: I am a LTR-WP visa holder and know very well that my remitted income as well as my unremitted income is tax exempt under the current law. If they ever pass a new law taxing tax resident's ww income, hopefully they will exempt LTR-WP visa holders, but I wouldn't bet on it, that is why I will just stay less that 180 days in country. I don't need to move to another country like some. I will just spend more time in my home country visiting my loved ones. If they do pass a new law, then LTR visa holders will probably be in the same boat as all the other visa types.

Tax on ww foreign income for tax residents may eventually come to pass, but it hasn't yet. If that day ever comes, and LTR-P visa holders are not exempt, then I will simply stay less than 180 days per year in Thailand. Not a problem for me.

It all depends on one's relationship level. I am Chase Private Client level, so all my outgoing SWIFT wire xfers are free (no fees), and Chase also refunds the 220B ATM transaction fees whenever I withdraw cash using my Chase debit card.

The interest rates on my FCD USD accts at my Thai banks are listed below. Thai banks pay very little in interest. You can lock up the money for up to 12 mths and get a slightly better interest rate, but then you may miss out on any FX opportunities. That is why I keep the minimum required amount in each Thai USD acct. I currently get 4.95% APY on my USD with Fidelity Investments, and it only takes 1 day to move the USD to my Thai USD accts, so it's much better for me to leave my USD in the US until I'm ready to convert to THB. As everyone else says, "to each his own". UOB pays me .10% APY (annual percentage yield) SCB pays me .05% APY BBL pays me .05% APY