jerrymahoney

I agree that self-appraisal and self-assessment may be the only practical solution. But then the Thai Rev folks have to acknowledge that there will be (I will be polite) fudging of opinions as to what deductions and exemptions to which some expats claim they are entitled.

Yes and re: Ms. Helmsley the Queen-of-Mean -- On August 30 (1989), Helmsley was convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, three counts of tax evasion, three counts of filing false personal tax returns, sixteen counts of assisting in the filing of false corporate and partnership tax returns, and ten counts of mail fraud Following the appeal, which resulted in a reduced sentence, she was ordered to report to prison on tax day, April 15, 1992. She was released from custody on January 26, 1994, after serving twenty-one months. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leona_Helmsley

I agree. But seems to me at some point someone is going want to know how is it you have transferred last year e.g. 5 million baht into Thailand but have not filed any tax form. There will then also likely be a coterie of expats who will explain the DTA's and other exemptions to themselves whether they have them or not.

That's OK. He said that he is creative.

Yes -- Easy peazy if you have what you say. Some others do as well; some don't But in your post above you tell the IMM query your Thai wife is rich.

Presuming US Social Security is off limits, with the CURRENTLY available deductions on the remainder I would need to import, my Thai tax bill would be about $US 100 per year.

Great. Let's see HER taxes.

Agreed. I was just too lazy to go find it. And any time someone says (To wit) You with the 65k monthly boy are you going to be in trouble I react impulsively.

Thank you . I will. I know that this is important info for some or many but not for me.

And so what? At least they wouldn't have (many) questions as to what or where is the money that I use to live on.

With kudos to Mr. Lister, I have two sources of current income: US Social Security and what qualifies as an 'annuity' under Article 20 Paragraph 3 of the Thailand-US DTA. That's it. And the annuity is already on record with Thai Immigration via a source-of -funds letter for 65k+ baht per month retirement extension purposes. All this what year was your income stuff or capital versus savings or other gains or inheritance is foreign to me. And to those who might have to prove a convoluted source and timing of funds to qualify for exemptions and/or deductions, good luck to them. Not my problem

Not my problem. Immigration already has all my bank info and remittances and has for 4 years now.

Bribe.

Well at least as of right now, all the inter-connecting links that you list as to how someone might be found out, don't exist. I have mentioned before that one reason I do not use an agent for extension is the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. I know that really doesn't apply to me, but I choose to follow it in spirit anyways. Especially since my first real interaction with a foreign government was with the Chinese Agricultural Ministry. https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act

And as I have said, onus on the individual or not, there will likely be expats that, if they think they can get away with not filing, and do things like only using ATM withdrawals and other under-the-radar approaches, they will.

So the big question as I see it is -- When will anyone, for any reason, be told by someone in a Thai position of authority: You need to file a personal income tax form/return, but you didn't.

One of the few certain things right now is that, if you spend less than 180 days in any year in Thailand, you will owe nothing as you are not a Thai tax resident.

REDUX According to the Revenue Department, it will seek opinions from the stakeholders affected by the new rule and issue guidelines to provide more clarity. The plan includes an amendment of the personal income tax return form to facilitate the foreign tax credit claim. https://www.mazars.co.th/Home/Insights/Doing-Business-in-Thailand/Tax/Thailand-Tax-Foreign-Income-Taxable-from-2024

Whether I agree with you or not, this whole tax scheme as it involves expats, as opposed to Thai citizens, will only be successful if there is some downside recourse to not complying truthfully and completely.

I agree. And my income is already reported per monthly to Immigration. But my faith in these type matters regarding the expat population in Thailand as a whole is way down when a common attitude is "Catch me if you can."

As has been noted the USofA, other countries, and Thailand run their tax ops on the self-reporting "Honor System". This has been my experience with expat Americans in Thailand and the honor system: For 10+ years I went to get an affidavit of income for Thailand retirement extension either at the US Embassy -- Bangkok or on a Counselor outreach. People Kingdom-wide would say: I know lots of Americans on retirement extension and NOT ONE of them actually has the 65K monthly income. The common word was: So what was going to happen? The US Embassy could do nothing because all that was really being sworn to is that This is Jerry Mahoney and this is what he says under penalty of perjury. Nothing about whether the Embassy thinks the statement was in fact true. So what if I say (to myself) All my income is in the not assessable / exempt category because it was an inheritance from my Aunt Dolores. Barring an audit, how would RD ever know that you never had an Aunt Dolores dead or living. Knowingly making a materially false statement to a US Federal officer in his/her official capacity -- as was routinely done for years often physically right in the US Embassy -- can be a felony charge. And people just laughed it off. So as per the Thai tax system and the expat community I would say: If people think that there is no downside and that they get away with it, at least for now, they will.

As I was directly quoting Mr. Gant, I will presume that he will not take it personal -- although maybe he will.

While I will agree that Thai Rev does not seem to use the term "non-assessable" it's not like it isn't ever used elsewhere: Amounts you don't include You may receive money that you don't need to include as assessable income in your tax return. You may still need to report these amounts so we can work out your tax losses or eligibility for tax offsets or benefits. Amounts you don’t include as assessable income fall into 3 categories: exempt income non-assessable, non-exempt income other non-taxable amounts. https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/income-deductions-offsets-and-records/income-you-must-declare/amounts-you-do-not-include-as-income

Self-assessment and self-reporting is how it works in the USofA. No sane person will want to play games with the I-R-S (Internal Revenue Service). No one, as might happen in Thailand with the Thai RevDept., ever asks themselves as to the IRS: How will they ever find out if ...

So how about this from the esteemed Mr. Gant: 3. Thai RD is NOT interested in non assessable income (again, income exempted by treaty, like gov't pensions for most OECD countries -- or, again, any income not remitted). Thus, if you have enough assessable income requiring you to file a Thai tax return, you would NOT include line items of non assessable income. And, for sure, if you didn't have enough assessable income to require you to file, you certainly wouldn't file a tax return containing only line items on non assessable income (or worse, line items on non income cash flow into Thailand, like savings, just to show how you're being forthcoming in reporting all your money transfers). https://aseannow.com/topic/1306896-thai-government-to-tax-all-income-from-abroad-for-tax-residents-starting-2024/?do=findComment&comment=18599827