nigelforbes

Your first para and last para are completely opposite! Do you think foreigners have multiple bank accounts in their home country? They only reason they do so here is different banks offer different products from time to time, eg fixed deposit rates and it's nice to be able to take advantage of them. At one point I held six different bank accounts, just for this very purpose, I never had to do that in the UK or the US.

I would have thought the same rules as the UK and US would work on this, more than xx in cash, individually or cumulatively, within a certain period, gets reported to AMLO. As for freedom haters....what exactly do you think your home government does!!!

Here's a list from the Dept of Medical Science that shows SARS2 labs, presumably they are accredited labs so presumably do other blood work as well. https://www.timeout.com/bangkok/news/heres-over-120-hospitals-and-labs-in-bangkok-region-to-get-a-covid-test-070921

A nice try and a solid effort on your part but perhaps labs closer to home may be better, the list you posted is for the Lebanon. Drink lots of coffee, then have another shot. ????

It's perhaps worth pointing out that each of the private hospitals has over 350 doctors available for consultations, potential patients need only visit the hospital web sites to pick the one they want and to arrange an appointment. I'm pretty certain that only a tiny percentage of those doctors are employed by the hospital, the remainder have privilege's to practice there and most will have those privilege's at all the private hospitals. There is therefore little reason to stick with just one hospital when the same doctor can be consulted at almost any of them, even at government hospitals also. I think it all comes down to cost and convenience, which hospital is easiest to use and which is the cheapest.

The question that was asked on the web site link you provided was, "I am planning to retire in Thailand. I was wondering about the following issue. Do Swiss nationals pay personal income tax as retirees in Thailand?" The answer that was given in quotes is from an unidentified source and as far as I can see is not contained in the Thai Revenue tax code, if you think it is, please show us all where. The discussion in this thread is about the UK State pension, not about the income tax of Swiss nationals, not about private pensions, not about the price of conch shells and not about pocket lint!

Be civil or don't debate! The Thaiembassy link you posted is not an official Embassy of Thailand web site, it is a private link. The quote on the first page refers to Swiss nationals, who have different reciprocal tax arrangements than the UK. Instead of posting duff links that don't support your argument, how about pointing us to the Thai Revenue ta code rules or the Dual Tax Agreement between the two countries that explains why the UK State Pension is not taxable here?

Para 19, as said previously in the link to the prior discussion on this subject, refers to Government Pensions, not the State Pension. The DTA also specifically excludes the State pension. An excert follows from that previous thread which is linked on page 1: "Here we go, I have managed to copy and paste. Item (b) is believe to most relevant to us. (2) (a) Any pension paid by the Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof to any individual in respect of services of a governmental nature rendered to that State or subdivision or local authority thereof shall be taxable only in that State. (b) However, such pension shall be taxable only in the other contracting State if the recipient is a national of and a resident of that State. But and it's a BIG but. As Oxx pointed out this statement applies to pensions from State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof . I very nearly missed it myself". BTW, I'm a Brit, born and bred.

Tax residency is determined by the number of days spent in a particular country, typically it's a minimum of 183 days per year. Yes, you are correct, tax residency has nothing to do with where a person banks, it depends where a person spends their time. I no longer know what reporting takes place between banks and a country's tax department, I do know that things have become a lot more complicated since money laundering rules were introduced and information sharing between governments has been enacted. Thailand is keen to clean up it's image in the international community where it has been seen in the past as a safe haven for criminals and money laundering. That's why foreigners now have to produce their passports more often when they perform even simple transactions at a bank. I think we can safety expect the banks and The Thai Revenue to go slightly overboard in enforcing the new rules and that we'll see more rules announced in the short/medium term.

My advice is not to reinvent the wheel on this, there's loads of sites out there that already have the daily exchange rates going back over 25 years.

I don't know what you mean by "keep your pension earnings to yourself". If the UK State pension is remitted here directly, it will be coded and noticed by the banks and it will be reported to The Revenue at some point. Whether the Thai Revenue will ask you to file a tax return to account for that remitted income is only a matter of time, ask yourself, what would the UK government/HMRC do if it noticed monthly payments going into your bank account, from an overseas pension source! You are quite wrong, you ARE taxable here or at least you can be, depending on your circumstances, when you might be asked to complete a tax return is an unknown but it certainly wont be never. The other point that's worth making here is that you've not offered any evidence to suggests why foreign pensions are not taxable here and why foreigners will never be asked to fill out a tax return. Just saying they won't be, really isn't enough, you need to explain why.

The choice will be, file a tax return to get back tax paid on savings accounts and in doing so, being obliged to declare overseas pension income, or, letting The Revenue keep the tax and not filing a return. Whilst interest rates on savings are low, this shouldn't be a problem for most people. For those of us who have other reasons to file a return, there seems little choice but to declare the pension income. Just as a reminder, the first 150,000 baht of income is tax free, 150k to 300k is taxable at 5% whilst 300k to 500k is taxed at 10% and 500k to 750K is taxed at 15%.

Thanks...I'm reading and will answer your question shortly.

Whether those payments are free of Thai tax will depend entirely on the double tax agreement (DTA) between the US and Thailand and the Thai Revenue code. If the DTA forbids other countries to tax that income it will be tax free here, if it does not specifically say so, it will be taxable.

Not really. Those national insurance contributions or US SSc contributions are invested and crucially remain invested whilst payments are made, once retirement age is reached. Just because the person retires, does not mean that the investment process stops, the initial contributions continue to earn income. The disbursements from the fund run parallel with the initial contributions earning investment income hence the income is earned in the same year it is paid to the retiree and potentially in the same year it is remitted to Thailand.

It doesn't seem as though I'm going to be able to get my question answered so I'll defer to the Thai Revenue and will ask them. But since a number of posters seem to want to have a different debate about the UK State pension and appear to not understand the tax laws, let's have the debate. (See earlier discussion posted along with copy of the Dual Tax Agreement DTA) The UK State pension is NOT exempt from Thai tax under the dual tax agreement between the UK and Thailand, only government pensions are exempt (Section 19, DTA, above). If anyone thinks it is, please post the para in the tax regulations stating where this is the case. https://www.rd.go.th/english/37748.html Also useful to understand is page 34 of this link, note 4 on the right hand side. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/710099/DT_Digest_April_2018.pdf Funds remitted to Thailand during the year they were earned are considered income under Thai tax law. If the UK State pension is remitted to Thailand in the year it is earned, it is taxable in Thailand, subject to the first 150k of income being exempt from Thai tax. Anyone who receives the UK State pension in Thailand, during the year it was earned, and files a tax return to reclaim tax paid on savings accounts here, must declare their UK State Pension on that return because both those things are income. The argument is made that the State pension is taxed in the UK hence it is not taxable here. The UK State pension is within the UK personal allowance hence it is not taxable. Other income that sits on top of the pension, such as private pension income and rental income would likely mean the Personal allowance is exceeded and hence is taxable but the State Pension itself is not. Even if it were taxed in the UK it remains eligible to be taxed again here, unless it is exempt by virtue of the DTA, which it isn't. Another argument is made that the money contained in UK State Pension payments was earned years ago when the person was working. That is incorrect. The contributions to the State Pension were made whilst working, not the payments from the pension fund, to the recipient, from the fund. Anyway, NI contributions are not taxable in the UK. Thai banks can now report to the Thai Revenue the overseas income received by foreigners. With greater emphasis now being placed on anti-money laundering laws, expect greater scrutiny of those payments, by the Thai Revenue. Anecdotally: my recent visit to the Thai Revenue to sort out some of my wifes tax affairs' (she has her own business and files separately) raised issues about whether or not she could take deductions for me and my medical insurance payments, which are tax deductible. The Revenue position was that she could, but that would necessitate the Revenue examining my overseas pension payments received here to determine the tax that is due, a clear veiled threat. Over to you.

Dr Vachiraporn at RAM is US educated and trained and comes highly recommended by most foreigners who have been treated by her, including me.

The question in the OP may best be answered by Americans. If an American resident here files a Thai tax return to recoup tax paid on bank savings interest, would they also be obliged to report any US SSc income also, on that same return? As said, the US SSc payment cannot be taxed here according to tax treaties but does it still have to be declared n the tax return?

"My question is very specific to one particular aspect and not a general discussion about tax on pension". "My question is: in assessing my liability to Thai tax, based solely on the two pensions described above, is the US SSc payment considered to be disregarded income? "

I have lived in Thailand since 1998, which means precisely zero. I also have never been taxed on my UK pension and I do file a tax return every year. My next Thai tax return will be the first one that spans a year when my pensions were remitted directly, as such they need to be reported. Previously the UK State pension was deposited overseas and remitted the following year. Now, if you don't mind, I posted a question I would like answered, if you want to debate this other aspect, please start your own thread4: "My question is very specific to one particular aspect and not a general discussion about tax on pension". "My question is: in assessing my liability to Thai tax, based solely on the two pensions described above, is the US SSc payment considered to be disregarded income? "

I don't want to get into protracted debates about whether the UK State pension is or is not taxable in Thailand, I understand many people have very entrenched views on this subject. I'm clear that the DTA (below) does not exempt the UK State pension from Thai tax. "The UK does have a DTA with Thailand. However, it doesn't include most people's pensions. Private pensions are not covered in the DTA, nor is the state/old age pension. Only certain pensions for government employees (yes them looking after themselves again LOL) are included in the DTA". https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/507424/uk-thailand-dtc180281_-_in_force.pdf This is why I said my question is very specific, my starting point is that the UK State Pension is taxable here and I'm not willing to debate that, the question I need answered is: My question is: in assessing my liability to Thai tax, based solely on the two pensions described above, is the US SSc payment considered to be disregarded income?

My question is very specific to one particular aspect and not a general discussion about tax on pension. US SSc retirement benefit payments received in Thailand during the year they were earned are exempt from Thai tax and may only be taxed by the US. UK State Pension payments however are not exempt under the dual tax agreement and are considered to be taxable in Thailand if remitted in the year they were earned. I receive both pensions. It's very convenient to have them both deposited directly into my Bangkok Bank account although I realize that the bank may well report them both to the Thai Revenue each year as foreign earned income and the bank does have my tax ID number. My question is: in assessing my liability to Thai tax, based solely on the two pensions described above, is the US SSc payment considered to be disregarded income? If so, that would mean that the UK State Pension would almost fit into the tax free band each year, if not, it means the tax on the UK State pension could be much higher, probably in the 10% band. Anyone?

Dr Ampica is widely regarded as being the best endocrinologist in the North of Thailand and is well known throughout the country. https://sriphat.med.cmu.ac.th/en/doctor/detail/124

That link shows real interest rates on THB, not nominal interest rates or anything to do with USD.

Passing the English proficiency course is a legal requirement before doctors in Thailand can qualify.