Danderman123

Lots of Thais don't pay taxes. They also don't transfer cash into Thailand from other countries.

There are 2 credible outcomes here: The new rules are forgotten, since it would take a lot of effort to accommodate retirees. Or A handful of retirees are audited, and some are sent to the monkey house, as a means of encouraging compliance.

I am thinking more along the line of people who have had bank deposits disappear, usually from bank employees embezzlement.

You just kicked the can down the road. How would the Revenue Department even know I exist, let alone suspect me as a tax evader? Any effort they spend on me would be a waste of time, since I'm not a tax resident this year.

It certainly would work for the Thai ladies. And their Thai boyfriends (if they have them). Next scene: Farangs hurling himself off a high rise balcony.

But a foreigner under audit who made credit card payments to Thai enterprises would be invisible to anyone with access to the data (presumably the Revenue Department). Got it.

Yes, Immigration sees me when I enter or exit the country. But Immigration is not the Revenue Department. My question is how would the Revenue Department find me to audit me? Please don't answer that TAT sees me when I take part in one of their promotions.

The question is whether it's worth it to prepare for a situation where the Revenue Department actually audits people in 2025.

No need to prove a negative. Simply document that money transferred into Thailand was earned prior to 2024.

The implication is that any Thai business that receives payment via foreign credit cards doesn't have to declare those payments, since an audit can't flag them. Great news for hotels and restaurants.

If there are no audits, the system fails. Certainly, there would be no expectation that Farangs would file tax returns.

If you don't bring any money into Thailand, no need to file a tax return, unless Immigration Department demands one (unlikely).

Ignorance is bliss.

If audited, you would have to prove that money you transmitted into Thailand came from pre-2024 savings.

How would the Revenue Department find me to audit me?

Here's what everyone always misses in any topic about Thai taxes: When you fill out a tax return in your home country, you don't worry about tax treaty provisions, because all of your reported income is generated in your home county (for 99.9% of you). Conversely, to fill out a Thai tax return, you will invoke provisions of a tax treaty (most of you) to reduce your tax liability. This is very different than your experience back home. And, it's unclear how much support for tax treaties are in the Thai tax forms. Important note: those who work and pay taxes don't worry about tax treaties when filling out tax forms. What this means is 99+% of posters have no clue how to use tax treaties to reduce their Thai tax liability. So this is going to be new to almost everybody.

You are absolutely correct. If you transmitted big money into Thailand prior to January 1, 2024, you don't have to worry about filling out a Thai tax return. I personally wouldn't trust a Thai bank with that much money.

Taxation of US social security benefits would require that Thai marginal tax rates would have to be higher than US rates. Even so, you wouldn't be liable for the entire amount, US tax payments would be deducted from Thai taxable amounts.

Easy peasy, assuming the Thai tax forms support deductions due to a tax treaty. Except filing a Thai tax return is no fun. Do you have a Thai tax id?

Immigration knows whether you have remained in Thailand long enough to be a tax resident. Therefore, if you are a known resident, Immigration *could* ask you for a copy of your tax return, when you request your annual extension.

Especially foreign credit cards.

The Thai government pays a tiny amount of benefits to it's citizens. If they were really jammed up, they wouldn't buy that Chinese submarine.

No one knows.

Reality note: This is pure speculation at this moment.

You are confusing two questions: Do you need to fill out a Thai tax return? And When you fill out that return, will you have to pay anything?