Klonko

I have some disagreements with Mike e.g, on gift tax, but he set up a comprehensive information source as basis for my tax planning. Moreover, I sympathise with him leaving this thread looking at the often repetitive and less constructive posts.

Maximum allowances for age 65+, pension deductible,, health insurance, spouse and support for wife's parents. Withholding tax on Thai bank interest.

Observations from filing taxes in Thailand for the first time: Preparing and filing taxes is easier than for my home country Switzerland, which already has a comparably tax payer friendly system. Total time spent was 1-2 hours using the online filing. Admittedly, having my stepdaughter doing the entries was helpful. Though entitled, I do not use transfers with DTA credits as long as I would have to rely on refunds. Living from savings and THB 760k transfers from pension, my net Thai tax bill is less than THB 2k. Paying taxes in Thailand, I can partially recover withholding tax on my foreign investment income. I love Thailand. P.s. Thank you Mike.

Thanks for the reference.

I have been diagnosed with epiretinal membrane (in German Epiretinale Fibroplasie) in my home country during my vacation and been advised to contemplate surgery, in particular when my eye sight is disturbed. I have also been advised to carefully select an eye clinic and my doctor would have recommended just one or two places in my home country. Bangkok Hospital Pattaya treated cataract and retinal detachment of both my eyes and they did a good job. However, for the upcoming more delicate treatment, I am looking for the best place to go. Bumrungrad is a prime address for health issues but I do not know their expertise for my case and there may be a better eye clinic, presumably also in Bangkok. Any recommendations for an eye clinic experienced in epiretinal membranes? Costs are irrelevant.

TRD will kindly ask tax residents to prove that remittances are not assessable income or subject to DTA. TRD can request certified translation from languages other than English. Lucky if copies of bank statements and tax invoices suffice and are self explanatory, less lucky if documents are not in English or specific signatures are required (cf. foreign health insurance). If TRD is not happy with a tax resident's explanation, they can qualify the remittances as tax assessable and declare respective taxes due. The bottle neck will be resources. I would not be surprised if annual remittances below THB 1-2m will remain under the radar for the time being even if TRD is serious about more tax revenues.

This is a very good idea. The challenge is to find an accountant who is (1) familiar with your home country and respective DTA, (2) understands foreign language (possibly not English) documents, and (3) has a good relationship with your local TRD office, which may be difficult to find if you do not reside in Bangkok.

Good explanations. One correction: there is an inheritance tax in Thailand. Filing capital gains on remittances from a complex foreign investment portfolio with withholding taxes in non-English speaking jurisdiction is only practical if the custodian provides Thai tax compliant reporting and foreign non-English tax certificates do not need to be translated. Applying the current processes to global income would be nightmare, also because relevant information may not available by April.

It is correct that post-nuptial contracts are not valid, but I question that a mortgage loan from pre-marital assets qualifies as post-nuptial contract. Otherwise, no business contract (excluding marital assets) may be valid between spouses. My question is also if a foreigner can grant a loan secured by property owned by a Thai.

Is it possible to grant a (non-interest bearing) mortgage to the spouse from pre-marital funds with a lien on the land and house for financing the purchase of the house in the spouse's name?

Is the certificate of residence available in Thai only or also in English? I tried to open a foreign bank account and was asked to provide a a certificate of residence (embassy confirmation did not suffice)?

As said, the Pink ID includes the TIN, which I need to recover or avoid withholding interest on my Thai bank accounts. Sooner or later my foreign banks will request a Thai TIN anyway. Further, AFAIK, I will not have to carry my passport with me, which I currently do when travelling within Thailand.

Unfortunately the <180 day or half year rule is not a generally accepted principle. E.g. my home country applies the concept of main residence irrespective of time spent, and I think Germany starts taxing > 3 months (consecutive?) stays.

My tax rate in my home country, where I have a secondary domicile, would be 5% lower and capital gains are not taxed. But the even bigger issues for me are (1) documenting my Thai tax return would be a nightmare because the relevant documents are not in English , (2) it is technically impossible for me to file until March 31 because I have to wait for some tax relevant reports until mid-year, and (3) I could reclaim tax credits only two years in arrears when my foreign taxes will be officially assessed. However, I am quite relaxed because it will take Thailand many years to establish a working global tax system going along with rescinding the 180 days rule and I do not expect Thailand to become tax hell compared with some attractive western countries.

Upgraded from a Ora GoodCat 500 to a Tesla Model 3 AWD. 580 km real range (629 km WTP) from Isaan to Sattahip via Bangkok (450 km, partially motorway), keeping A/C on during two stops. One charging stop would suffice from Sattahip to Chiang Rai. The longer range of the Tesla is convenient but not a necessity at least on weekdays. The Ora GoodCat's range is 400 km at 90 km/h but only 280 km at 120 km/h. The Tesla is more comfortable and has better software, but the Ora is still good value and we will keep it.

While we currently live off my savings, my wife will get pension entitlements well in excess of our current living expenses and I strongly recommend filing and paying taxes, because sooner or later TRD will catch up looking 10 years back. I would not rely on presumptive past lack of enforcement. Unfortunately, it is not feasible for my wife to have an offshore account. From a tax point of view, a late decease is beneficial. Fortunately I am still healthy.

If you file taxes, the 10 years are reduced to 3 years.

The process for Thai tax residents reclaiming (partially) withholding tax on dividends and interest on foreign assets is country specific. For Switzerland, you have to provide a TRD certificate being a Thai tax resident to the Swiss federal tax revenue service. Applications are sometimes forgotten or lost. Faulty bureaucracy is a worldwide phenomenon. I do not know yet (my information comes from a compatriote with income in Thailand) if TRD issues Thai tax residence certificates without TIN, but I would not be surprised if a TIN or even (pro forma) tax filing were required.

It is taxable remittance, but enforceability is another question. If you book an international return flight departing from Thailand with your foreign credit card, at least the expense for the outbound flight is tax assessable income. I would argue that if the return flight is departing outside of Thailand, that the expense for the flight leaving Thailand is also tax assessable income. Therefore, I have one foreign credit card debited to my foreign income account for expenses outside of Thailand, and another foreign credit card debited to my foreign (non interest bearing) savings account as secondary source (next to my Thai account and credit card) for larger expenses in Thailand such as the costly three annual return flight tickets.

Cybersecurity of the app is better than using the computer. You may be able to activate the app on a BB ATM.

I wonder how many claiming to leave Thailand evaluated their tax position thoroughly. Financially well off people do not necessarily have to leave or limit their stay to 179 days permanently but may just need to be non tax resident every five years. New tax residents can move to Thailand in July and remit any sum for their luxury villa or condo. IMHO as long as the tax rate is not higher than 10% (THB 850 taxable income with DTA), the lower infrastructure in neighbouring countries or the cost for avoiding tax residence permanently does not make tax savings worthwhile. Really affected are people with respective or higher taxable income which need to remit all income for their annual expenses and have no recourse to other foreign assets.

Probability of maturity correlates with age, don't expect it from under 30 years old, better even >40 years with kids. True for men and women, and, apart from the bar girl environment, across continents.

The 20 year Privilege Card membership for SE Elite visa for THB 1m was a viable long-term solution given the track record of grandfathering older Elite schemes, e.g. the transferable life time memberships. Other visa do not secure a hassle free long-term stay. However, with the Privilege Card price increases, the 20 year value proposition is questionable comparing with the tax free LTR visa (though with health insurance requirement) and the cheap DTA visa. If I had not the possibility for tax exempt remittances, I would probably apply for a LTR visa assuming I could reactivate my SE visa if the LTR visa is abandoned or curtailed. If they want to maintain Privilege Cards sales volume, they have to substantially cut prices, get tax exemption like the LTR, remove the tax exemption from LTR, or find enough people to believe in the value of their perks schemes.

I would include the zero tax bracket: "I calculate that I have assessable income of 600,000, which is well above the (technical) filing threshold. But I have TEDA of 500,000 which I calculate, means I shouldn't have to pay tax any tax. My question is, do I have to file a return?" To

AFAIK the known cases in question relate to contractual agreements concluded in Thailand and not to the application of international private law which Thailand is supposed to adhere to based on its accession to the HCCH (Hague Conference on Private International Law) in 2021. While the courts should ultimately decide in favour of separated property with respect to civil law for my marriage - fortunately that will never be necessary in my case -, I agree it may be an interesting discussion with TRD that gifts are given from my personal property to my wife's personal property.