JohnnyBD

I'm just letting you know that banks other than Krungsri ask for passports too.

KBank always asked me for my passport when I did counter transactions. So did Citibank, now UOB. I've had accounts with each for 7 years.

Thanks for your help. I hope mine goes quickly too. I submitted everything on May 29. I only submitted my 2023 tax return, 1099s, $50k insurance, along with my SS gov't & pension verification letters & 1099s and history printout. I didn't submit any 2022 tax year docs. I tried to go back and submit them after reading your post, but the system was locked, and it wouldn't let me add anything else. I guess if they need my 2022 docs, they will call or email me. I am waiting anxiously...

There must be another order, directive or edict that was issued by the Director-General of the Revenue Dept. or the Minister of Finance that states all income is tax exempt, otherwise BOI would not be telling everyone that. RD 743 cannot be the only order that was issued because it does not state all income is tax exempt. Several tax firms have issued the same opinion & guidance on RD 743 as Deloitte, I just didn't list them all. If RD 743 is the only order or directive on the issue, then whoever drafted it, needs to be fired.

I think you are misunderstanding their legal opinion. Deloitte issued a legal opinion on RD 743 only. They are not saying that any other income that falls outside of RD 743 is not tax exempt. BOI has promoted the LTR visas as tax exempt, so I'm fairly certain that all income is exempt no matter when it was derived and remitted. It's just that RD 743 doesn't address all the different situations. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It would be nice if BOI & TRD would issue some further guidance to clarify and/or add to the RD 743.

Who's right, some of the previous posters or Deloitte? This is what Deloitte says about the Thai Royal Decree (No. 743) issued on 21 May 2022: • An exemption from personal income tax for foreign nationals from jurisdictions designated as “wealthy countries,” retired foreign nationals, and foreign nationals who want to work remotely from Thailand and who are granted an LTR visa, in respect of their income derived in a prior fiscal year from work or undertakings carried out in a foreign country, or from assets situated in a foreign country, where such income is brought into Thailand in a fiscal year subsequent to the year in which the income is derived. th-tax-newsletter-june-2022-en.pdf (deloitte.com)

You're right, it did come out about a year before, and if everyone's previous year's income was already exempt, then RD 743 was not needed. RD 743 does not state all income remitted is exempt, or income derived & remitted in the same fiscal year is exempt, that would have been too simple & straightforward. RD 743 states "derived in the previous tax year..., and brought into Thailand", which doesn't address one's current year's income. We can look at the same wording and arrive at different interpretations, nothing right or wrong about that. RD 743 does not address one's current year income being remitted in the same fiscal year, so that is left up to each person's own interpretation. I think they like to keep us guessing. I'm fairly certain all income remitted, no matter when derived or when remitted will be deemed exempt for LTR-WP visa holders, but I am going to be prudent, and try to get a written answer from TRD, to make absolutely certain.

I agree, that would be the simplest way... Maybe that is what RD 743 was meant to do, since it states the following: "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".

I hope your interpretation is correct. I think it would be prudent for me to get clarification (if I can) from the Thai Revenue Department before remitting any big monies. I read numerous opinions & guidelines from Thai Tax companies and they refer to RD 743, and some state it's the previous year's income being remitted in a subsequent year that's exempt. They say nothing about the current year's income being exempt, if it was remitted in the same fiscal year as it was derived. I won't post them all, but this is what Deloitte says about the Thai Royal Decree (No. 743) issued on 21 May 2022: • An exemption from personal income tax for foreign nationals from jurisdictions designated as “wealthy countries,” retired foreign nationals, and foreign nationals who want to work remotely from Thailand and who are granted an LTR visa, in respect of their income derived in a prior fiscal year from work or undertakings carried out in a foreign country, or from assets situated in a foreign country, where such income is brought into Thailand in a fiscal year subsequent to the year in which the income is derived.

No, I don't need a personal letter from the Thai Minister of Finance... 😏 And, I don't think BOI will pay my 7MM baht tax bill. But, requesting confirmation in writing from the legitimate government taxing authority (the Thai Revenue Dept.) regarding the tax exempt status of monies remitted in the same year as derived, for a LTR-WP visa holder, is not an unreasonable request. In fact, it would be a very smart thing to do for someone remitting big monies. As you said, it's up to me... ☺️ Thank you.

Forgive me for trying to make sure that I won't get hit with a 7 MM baht tax bill next year after remitting monies derived in the same year as remitted. I received one of those emails from the BOI LTR Visa Unit about monies being tax exempt, but after looking at the email more closely, it didn't have an official letter attached, it wasn't signed by anyone, and it had no names on it. It was just a reply email that could have been sent by some low level clerical person with the BOI logo. At the bottom, it had a disclaimer note saying to contact the Revenue Department for further questions. So, I will try to contact the Thai Revenue Department about my questions before remitting big some monies.

I am one of those who received an email from the LTR Visa Unit stating that all monies remitted after I received my LTR-WP visa, would be tax exempt. Now, I'm starting to question what the Royal Decree 743 acutally states, if all income is exempt once you get the LTR, or is it just the income remitted in a subsequent year, or if it's only the income in the first year after you receive the LTR-WP visa. I read the english translation posted by someone, and it's not clear to me on any of those points. I guess I will play it safe, and only remit monies derived in the previous year.

The statement below by this tax firm appears to say that we need to wait until the following year after the monies are derived to remit them, for those remittances to be tax exempt. Does anyone know if this is correct? To make it perfectly clear, are monies derived and remitted in the same year, tax exempt or not exempt? FRANK LEGAL & TAX PowerPoint 演示文稿 (franklegaltax.com) For wealthy global citizens, wealthy pensioners and work-from Thailand professionals: ✔ Income tax exemption applies to income derived in a previous tax year from work or business carried out abroad, or from assets located abroad, where such income is brought into Thailand in a fiscal year subsequent to the year in which the income is derived

Very good summary of the current situation... Good job...

Thank you all for being very helpful. I've been stressing out over the past few months with this tax thing (I'm on marriage extension), then, after reading this thread, it gave me some hope that my life here could still be relatively stress-free and enjoyable. I received my new passport in the mail from the US Embassy, and had the visa stamps transferred today, so I will start the LTR process tomorrow. I am hoping for a smooth approval process. Thanks again for all the advice.

I understand both sides of the argument, but if someone truly borrowed money and remitted it to buy a car or condo becuase they truly needed to, then that is not tax evasion. It was earnetly done. Now, if someone had $100k in the bank and they borrowed $100k against it (a share loan from credit unions or margin loan against stocks) and remitted the loan monies, then immediately paid the loan off, then that could be viewed as tax evasion by some and rightly so (the sniff test), but technically, it was still a loan and I don't see how Thailand would know whether the person was doing it to evade taxes. In my opinion, loans should not be assessable income. I usually don't like to get in the middle of disagreements, but until TRD issues a ruling on this, it is not settled one way or the other, right?

Thanks. I will do that and use it as a cover letter.

Hi Jim, Should I also upload all of my 1099s for dividends & interest too, that show up on my tax return, or I just need to upload my SSA-1099 & Company Pension 1009-R which is over the $80k threshold? Sorry to bug you again...

Thanks a bunch for that piece of information... I will do that.

Thanks for your reply. I will submit my original joint tax return with both names and see if there is a note section where I can explain she is a Thai citizen and does not have any income.

Thanks for the reply.

Thanks. I will submit the original joint tax return just as it is, that we filed electronically along with my 1099s and verification letters from SSA and company pension. I will try to include notes if there is a note section to explain that she is a Thai citizen and doesn't have any income, and that all of the income shown on the tax return is mine. I just transferred the marriage extension stamps to my new passport today, so I'm excited to get started.

To all, I am ready to apply this week for a LTR-WP visa and I have been going back & forth on whether to submit a copy of my US tax return or not and see if they ask for it. The reason is, I filed a joint tax return and included my Thai wife on it, but she has no income. I wouldn't want BOI to get confused and think 1/2 of the income on my tax return is from her. My US Social Security & company pension together is more than $80,000, so it shouldn't be an issue. Do you think it matters to BOI? Will I have a problem with her name on my return? I could just delete her name off the tax return since it's an editable pdf file. Also, I read where someone said they didn't submit a tax return and they were approved. Thanks for your reply.

Just a question. If you are married, did your tax return include your wife's name? I am ready to apply this week for a LTR-WP visa and I have been going back & forth on whether to submit a copy of my US tax return or not and see if they ask for it. The reason is, I filed a joint tax return with my Thai wife on it, but she has no income. I wouldn't want BOI to get confused and think 1/2 of the income on my tax return is from her. My US Social Security & company pension together is more than $80,000, so it shouldn't be an issue. Do you think it matters to BOI? Will I have a problem with her name on my return? Thanks for your reply.

I was reading on another expat site regarding foreign income, and someone posted that as long as you are transferring monies for the purpose to support family, then it's not taxable income. Does anyone know if that is true? He did not specify who it was being transferred to. If it was being transferred to his spouse from overseas, would that make it not taxable? His quote is shown below: To all, Any links, threads, comments including mine are superseded by calling your bank or accountant. You will not be taxed when transferring monthly income with the following reason Support family.......... Doing this every month... never hear from anyone