NoDisplayName

That's about the same cost as the entire Boten-Vientienne line, nearly double the distance, with much of the line via bridge or tunnel, completed within five years. Laotians must be some backwards people not to have discovered the power of the brown envelope yet.

Great! Just what we needed! More racist overpricing directed at farangee! Once again, western expats take it in the shorts.

No. If you are retired, living in Thailand off of savings and investments....... If you as a single filer earn about $15K in dividends, plus $45K in capital gains, your US tax bill is $0. But your Thai tax bill will be $10,000. You have no US tax to claim foreign tax credit. Oh, and don't forget to remove the capital loss deduction you used when calculating your US tax on capital gains, so the tax bill will likely be higher.

No, it's because YOU know all about the DTA between Thailand and your country of citizenship. The system still runs on SELF-determination of assessable income. The lady at TRD asks if you have any taxable income...........either you do or you don't. She takes your word for it without supporting documents. No need to visit the tax office yearly or pay 8-12,000 baht to a tax grifter. Once you get your pink ID or TIN registered, you can file online from the comfort of your gaming chair in about ten minutes. It's no more complicated than filing an annual FBAR report. Pay online if you owe tax, get a refund notice in the mail if they owe you. Of course if global taxation goes through..........

I like it. Now do fish sauce!

Is this one of those occupations reserved for Thais? Are foreigners allowed to participate? What if we offer to volunteer supervisory services at no cost?

Good luck with that if you get audited. The tax website allows allowance for "Approved provident fund contributions paid by taxpayer or spouse." Is your fund approved? In Thailand, provident funds are covered under the Provident Fund Act. The Provident Fund is established as a juristic person and registered. After the appointment with the fund management company, the fund must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) according to the Securities and Exchange Act. This is similar to allowance for life insurance and health insurance only for Thai registered companies, no capital gains tax only for SET companies. Any allowance for an Australian provident fund would have to be spelled out in the THAI-OZ DTA. http://www.thailawforum.com/database1/provident-fund-act.html https://www.sec.or.th/EN/Documents/ActandRoyalEnactment/Act/act-pvd2015-no4.pdf

I don't think a "google says a thing" trumps actual Thai legislation defining "provident fund." But if that is the case, then i can safely deduct my donations to the "boys in the band" as an IRA contribution.

Different websites emphasizing different totals answering different questions going through an online translator. Thai revenue is correct. Up to 120K is in the 0% bracket, plus personal exemption of 30K, makes 150K. Over 65 (or under 65 handicapped) gets an additional 190K exemption. Tax office is correct. The first 120K is taxed at 0%. Anything above that is potentially taxable, depending on exemptions.

A mutual fund is an investment fund. The Provident Fund in Thailand is a specific thing under Thai law, similar to an American IRA, and may hold mutual funds. The Provident Fund is a fund established for voluntary participation between companies and employees, serving as a source of funds for employees in cases such as resignation,　retirement, illness, or death. Governed by the Provident Fund Act, the Thai government　regulates the Provident Fund, ensuring the rights of employees within the fund. https://www.personnelconsultant.co.th/en/column/2023/07/1396/ The term "Provident Fund" would not apply to any type of foreign accounts. You would need to look in your DTA for relief there.

Form 90: Personal Income Tax Return for taxpayer with income not only from employment Form 91: Personal Income Tax Return for taxpayer with only income from employment I got a TIN in Bangkok years ago in order to refund interest and dividend withholding. Now that I have a pink ID, I use that number for online filing.

Currently no US-Cambodia tax treaty. From what I've read online, Cambodia also has a worldwide tax system in effect, but only taxes foreign salaries.

That could happen. There are reports in some older threads where an IO has asked to see activity in savings accounts during extension appointments. Immigration already has the catch-all item in the list of required documents "other documents requested by IO." The IO could simply ask for last year's Thai tax return if passport shows 180+ days in country.

Well, okay then. We need to do the immigration terminology thing here. ("You have an extension of stay, not a visa") For most, mutual funds/ETF's are investment products sold by banks and brokerages for investment purposes. If we mean government programs, we'd say IRA or Roth or........superannuation or 401(k). I think Thailand has a version of that called an RMA you can purchase through the banks. Labeling any of these programs a simple "mutual fund" would be confusing.

Ezzackly the problem! All my income has already been taxed by the IRS. I just happen to have zero tax liability according to IRS rules. Thailand now wants a second go at taxing the same income, which is perfectly legal according to the DTA, and will assess $10K in tax. Per DTA, i can claim a tax credit, but no tax paid = no credit.

I think you're mistaken a mutual fund purchased from a bank or brokerage with some sort of IRA.

That has nothing to do with tax treaty. The IRS offers a standard deduction and special rates for long term capital gains. Thailand does not recognize these US-specific allowances, and will tax on a higher base income.............for these two items up to $60K higher, which at Thai tax rates will result in a $10K tax liability in Thailand. Thailand also does not recognize IRS rules allowing the offset of capital losses against capital gains, so once again the tax will be on a higher base income.....potentially tens of thousands of dollars higher.

I don't expect brokerage statements to be of much use under global taxation. It works under current year remittance as it gives a baseline on a specific start date to accept as 'savings' disregarding the capital gains that would be intermixed. TRD trying to use account statements and buy/sell order receipts to calculate income is unfeasible. If they go this route, a (certified?) copy of the home country tax return would be filed with the Thai tax return, with all income figures taken directly from that.

You could have a print-off of your Schwab brokerage account year-end statement showing a balance of $500K dated 31 Dec 2023. Would that be accepted as proof, assuming it won't require MFS legalization? That would be easy enough, if no accounting for unrealized capital gains is needed. Then it's only a matter of keeping records of remittances over the next 20 years. But that's for the current change to the (interpretation of) tax policy. Taxation of global income would make prior 'savings' irrelevant.

Same rules for taxpayers, different rules for registration country of mutual funds. Mutual funds registered in Thailand = no tax on capital gains. Mutual funds registered in foreign country = tax on capital gains as ordinary income.

Received an email last night from Universal Kasikorn Bank. Bank Address: Pattaya City, Bang Lamung District, Chon Buri 20150, Bangkok Thailand A bad thing has happened! We hereby inform you que October of our records for the year investigation it is drawn to us que you have Been victimized by the men of the underworld (Pretenders / impostors). However, the management has been dutifully empowered by the Investigation bureau office of the Prime Minister and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Thailand to curb all illicit transactions and workload of these perpetrators. It seems I have been affected In view of this, we Have Been informed That You are still dealing with Those hoodlums in all your attempts to secure the release of your (USD $ 36,000,000.00). We wish to advise you that such an illegal act has to stop if you wish to receive your payment our online banking since we have Decided to bring a solution to your problem. Just send my personal information to some Yandex email and These above-mentioned information's will officially enable us to carry out of our verification processes and after your que compensation sum / Inheritance Funds will be approved in your name and Electronically wired........... So how do this scammers know I'm in Thailand? I don't sign up for bonus cards or sales promotion apps. Email only released to a very small number of Thai-related entities. Still, it's a nice break from the visa agents who somehow get my email address. Somehow............

Hub of Lucubration

As bad as the US tax code is, at least we can still earn $60K tax free, which would result in a $10,000 tax bill with no tax credit available. Is it worth paying $10K+ per year to remain in Thailand, where I still have to post a $25K bond and report to my probation officer every 90 days? I might consider getting me one of them 10-year China visas. Unlimited entries for the bargain price of $140. China also has a global tax system, but only takes affect for expats after 5 continuous years of tax residency, and the clock resets anytime you leave the country for more than 30 days.

I don't think it works that way. Your income may already be taxed, but Thailand will tax at a higher rate. It's then up to you to (try to) claim Thai tax credit on your US returns. I believe that's how the DTA works outside of income the US has sole right to tax. All those deductions and exemptions you have under the IRS code? Not recognized by Thailand. Thailand will be taxing a much more bigly number. You don't get the $14,600 standard deduction or the $47,150 0% LTCG tax rate (2024). You do get the 60K baht Thai standard deduction, but your capital gains are taxed as ordinary income, possibly at up to 35%. That's ALL your capital gains. You don't get to offset with capital losses.

That was a minimum $10K per year. If I take a large amount of capital losses to offset gains in the US, the bill could be much, much larger. Cambodia also has a worldwide system, but from what I've read it's loosely enforced, and only taxes foreign SALARY. I could keep the O-visa/retirement here, and get similar in Cambodia. Spend half a year in each, plus a couple weeks in China. Of course if China ever offers a retirement visa.....