Mike Lister

Correct

Yes indeed we do, but everyone of them could easily say something different. We are waiting currently for the Revenue Department to tell us what the rules will be in this area. As things stand presently, any savings earned before 1 January 2024, are free of Thai tax.

It is technically income that is remitted to Thailand and is therefore regarded as assessible income. All anyone knows at that stage is that funds have been remitted to Thailand, albeit in cash and they should be assessed via a tax return filing. Subsequently, it may be deemed to be non taxable or exempt but it is supposed to be assessed first. In other words, it's ruled in, until it's ruled out. Please see the link below:

Almost. Assessable income as far as Thailand is concerned is that money that is brought into the country, some of which may subsequently found to be tax exempt by treaty, or may not.

The amount is USD 15k max, above which you are required to sign a Customs Declaration, which would be needed if you wanted to deposit it into a bank. And yes, it's income!

Of all the items that can be t axed, pensions is probably the easiest to understand. Have you read the following? If you have, simply substitute Oz for UK and you have the picture.

RD rules are very clear regarding the criteria for who must file a tax return and what the income threshold is. Just because someone doesn't owe tax, doesn't over ride those rules. I agree it makes no sense to file a nill return, but that's not the point. And the fact lots of. Farmers don't file either, also doesn't over ride the rule. But as also said, as and when the RD makes things more clear, this point may become moot.

I'll bet you a beer.

That's sort of what I thought! Your income is assessable, that means it has to be declared on a tax return, if it's over 120k. The tax return process assesses whether the income you've declared is taxable or not, in your case it isn't. But you can't do what you've you've done and say my deduction's and allowances mean I wont pay tax so I'll skip the tax filing part. You will basically be filing a nill return which has been the topic of much debate of late. The bottom line at present, until we hear more, is that the RD require anyone with assessible income over 120k, to file a return. The other point to make is that your SSc income is tax exempt in Thailand, as is mine. When the new tax form is finished it will almost certainly contain a section where you can put excluded income, that means the amount doesn't even enter into the tax calculation process. EDIT TO ADD: The above having been said, there is no penalty due when no tax is owed.

This seems to vary around the country, in the North we need Residence Certificates for many things. You could try it and see but don't be surprised if they ask for one. As an aside: I recently bought a new truck and the dealer took my old one in part exchange, that meant I needed two Residence Certificate, one to buy and one to sell, even though it was all part of the same transaction with the same person.

That's good to hear and I agree, for some people that will be a sensible way to go. I just don't want to give the impression that unlimited ATM withdrawals from overseas banks is a permissible legal approach. Can I also just make sure about something you wrote? The threshold for needing to file a tax return is 120,000 baht assessible income per year, even though no tax would be due on an amount below a higher threshold that includes all the allowance, exemptions etc?.

Indeed, but it might avoid 200 baht in tax......er!

That is borderline tax evasion, if not over the line, please don't go there.

I understand the tax forms are currently being redesigned to cater for the new rule, I'll post them as soon as we have sight of them.

A good idea, I'll do that.

To get a Thai tax ID you'll need your passport showing a long stay visa and almost certainly, a Certificate of Residency from Immigration. I don't believe your blue book contains your details, only a yellow book would do that, a Tabien Bahn. But take the blue book along anyway because you'll need something to prove to Immi, where you actually live, otherwise they wont give you the residence cert. .Yes, you can claim back all the interest that has been deducted by the banks at source. Banks are supposed to withhold 15% from everyone. In practice, if you give them a copy of your Tax ID, many will not withhold tax from the first 20k earned.

Mr Helpful, at your service.

It's not so much that the Revenue will force you to prove the money is not taxable. In the first instance, many will be required to file a tax return and state what they believe their taxable income is. If they state correctly and accurately and the numbers are reasonable, that is very likely to be the end of the matter, just as it would be in most countries. If however the numbers are suspicious, perhaps because they are so small by comparison to all the overseas remittances received, they may well ask you to prove that your return is complete and truthful. As for why would they risk losing all the expats who transfer funds into Thailand: I have never believed and they have never said that foreigners in Thailand are the target, some English language media has but that's just sensationalistic journalism. The target always was and remains, Thai's who have undeclared assets overseas who remit their earnings to Thailand free of tax and don't declare them to the Thai RD.

Let me just pre-empt and reiterate that Tax Avoidance is quite legal, but if it crosses the boundary and even begins to smell like Tax Evasion, that is illegal and so we wont go there, I feel certain of that. :) Thanks

Please, be my guest. Make no mistake, whilst the thread is very long, there is a lot of seriously helpful information in there, finding it is not always easy but it's worth sifting through for many and asking questions of those who are knowledgeable about CRS and related topics. Meanwhile, for those with simpler needs, the Simple Tax Guide Thread awaits.

If you hold a Foreign Currency Deposit account (FCD) in Thailand you may wish to understand the banks position regarding A) your eligibility to retain the account, if you become tax resident, and (B) the circumstances under which a withdrawal and conversion of foreign currency from the account, into THB, is considered a funds transfer and is therefore a taxable event. Thailand does not have offshore banks within its boundaries, offshore banks/branches are, by their very nature, outside the borders of the country. Instead, many Thai banks operate accounts that have some similar characteristics to offshore accounts in that money can be transferred into the account and then withdrawn or transferred out again, without prior approvals. One of the larger banks offers this type of account under two headings, one for Thai nationals and one for non-resident foreigners. Thai nationals who open such an account are liable to tax on money earned within the account and from 1 January 2024 onwards, the account will likely come under scrutiny from the RD for inbound transfers. But non-resident foreigners are not liable to tax on this type of account, unless they opened the account using a work permit. BUT, if the non-resident foreigner stays in Thailand beyond 180 days, they become de-facto tax resident. It is possible that their eligibility to hold the account could cease and that transfers from the account represent taxable income from day 181 onwards. Confusing and messy? Possibly! It may well be this is not an issue for many, based on their circumstances but it is something that shouldn't be ignored or over looked. I don't have all the answers on this yet but there is an issue that account holders need to satisfy themselves on regarding the two aspects described above. I tried to have a discussion with another poster recently about this subject but it wasn't conclusive and it didn't end well! What was clear however was that the moment the account holder withdraws funds from the account and they are exchanged for THB, that is potentially taxable income, subject to all the other usual factors.

Asian markets got hit badly during covid, not least because of USD strength and capital outflows. Recovery post covid has also been slower than in the West, plus geo-political risks have weighed heavily. I went underweight Asia for quite some time but fairly recently I increased my holdings, which are India and China heavy. All the major forecasts I've read over the past year estimate that Asia GDP will out perform the West, much of that outperformance being based on the presumption that the US economy would enter recession in 2024. The likelihood of a soft landing now appears more likely but I don't see that will change the forecast for Asian recovery, negatively. My two core fund holdings that cover Asia are FSSA Asia Focus and Invesco Pac. I've held FFSA AF for several years and have recently bought more because it was good value. Invesco is more pricey but it helped to buy the dip in October. Given the sheer size of the region it seems unproductive not to be invested here, through thick and thin.

The following is an update to para 4 that I added yesterday but didn't report, the point needed greater emphasis. "It must be clearly understood that great uncertainty exists at present regarding the rules the RD will adopt governing the taxation of incoming funds and the reporting of them on a tax return. At this stage there are many unanswered questions and much is not known. As new information is made available, we will try to update this document and keep you appraised of new developments".

Yes, it seems so

A change to para 8 in the document, thanks to eagle eye poster UKresonant: "Tax residency is based solely on the number of days you spend in Thailand. and where you are at midnight on each day. A day appears to be counted using the entry and exit stamps in your passport, unlike many other countries where it is determined by where you are at midnight".