Klonko

3 hours ago, motdaeng said:

 

thanks for your report ... 🙏 

 

may i ask how you ended up with 2k in taxes from transferring 760k? thanks.

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.

16 hours ago, swissie said:

Taxation of "foreighn-income" is all the rage here.

 

Why not hire a reputable Thai Accountant, specialising in taxes generally? If Problems arise, refer the Thai Tax Wizards to your Thai Accountant. Under the Motto: "If my Thai Accountant can't handle my Thai taxes, how could I"?

 

Example: I had my Visa-Stuff handled by a Thai Visa Agent. Once immigration discovered some "irregularity". I refered them to my Visa Agent. I never heard anything from immigration in this matter ever again.

 

I am absolutely sure, that such a constellation would also be applicable in connection with "foreighn income". Money well spent, especially if larger amounts are involved.

 

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.

2 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

Latest ExpatTax video on Capital Gains... 

 

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. 

4 hours ago, ukrules said:

 

That's not going to happen, it's pretty much a global thing with perhaps one notable exception where they genuinely believe they're special and tax their citizens globally regardless of residency.

 

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.

1 hour ago, WhatsNext said:

...

Thai income tax is actually pretty high, if you have over 1 million THB per year, it already is 25% and goes up to 35% in the last bracket. It's more than some EU member states. 

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.

45 minutes ago, Lorry said:

Quite a few widows of foreigners receive Western pensions. 

A lady I know,  whose husband died yesterday, will get about 2000 USD monthly. 

I have no idea whether these Thais pay taxes. 

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.

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

Thank you for that comprehensive explanation, I am learning a lot from these conversations. 

In Thailand they have a 10 year statute of limitations to audits? so I guess you have to keep 11 years of tax records.

In the US they usually  go  back 3 years but if they find any discrepancies they can go back an additional 3 years  , that's why we are advised to keep seven years of records. 

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.

24 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

I'm sure it's been discussed on the other threads, with no conclusive findings.  Not recommending the action, asking where that falls under remittance rules.

 

If I book a hotel in Thailand, or buy a computer, or buy Thai health insurance, or put tires on the pickup, and pay by foreign credit card .....those would all be considered taxable remittances?

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.

8 hours ago, Lost Nomad said:

… I am able to logon to the BB site using my laptop, so as long as I can send money from BB to the condo owner I really have no need for the app.  …

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

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.

4 hours ago, scoutman360 said:

 

So, The Elite extension for another 10 yrs is essentially 40,000 thb/yr.  Over 16 years, 6,770 thb/mo = 81,240/yr. My annual retirement Non-O extension costs me 1,900 thb/year. These people must be the ones burning money in the fire place to keep warm. 

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.

3 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

I can agree to that, until such time as there is unquestionable and verifiable proof, one way or the other, from an authoritative source. The question needing to be answered being:

 

"I calculate that I have assessable income of 500,000, 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?"

 

Agreed?

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