statman78

khunjeff, Thanks for the info. You beat me to it. I’ve been coming to Thailand for many years and moved here permanently in 2018 when I retired. As long as I can remember, there has been plans to do this.

As a US citizen I find three advantages to the healthcare system here in Thailand. It is very affordable, It is easy and quick to get see a doctor or a specialist. Insurance is easy to deal with. I have had 2 claims and both were settled, without questions, before I left the hospital. In many European countries along with some others there are forms of universal health care. While it may be considered free or almost free it is supported by your tax dollars. I know several people in Portugal and Wales who had a similar income to mine before I retired. In both countries their tax burden was significantly higher than mine. So while the government may be providing free services, it is being subsidized by the working class tax payers.

For it should have little effect. This year I’m switching my retirement extension based on income to having 800k in the bank. This was already planned. Now I can keep my social security money in the US to pay my US based expenses. Here in Thailand we have rental properties. The rents cover our basic expenses here. We were lucky because we brought money over here when the dollar was stronger and used it to by our rentals.

I have my health insurance through Bangkok Life Assurance. In the 4 years I’ve had the policy I made 2 claims, both were paid promptly with no questions asked. My wife has a different policy and her agent mentioned that in the very near future policies will include deductibles and may even include copays. Our policies will not change as long as we keep paying our annual premiums. My policy has scheduled premium increases every 5 years and will cover me until age 85.

I have insurance here in Thailand. I have high blood pressure so my premiums are a little higher. It is difficult to find health insurance here if you are over 65. I got mine at age 64 and it will cover me until 85. My premiums increase every 5 years and the increase is already determined in my contract. My insurance has no deductible but I heard that new policies will have deductibles.

I’m not sure what the requirements are for you to obtain the non-o in your home country but I retired and came to Thailand in 2018 from the US. I found it easier to arrive on a tourist visa, obtain the 90 non-o here in Thailand and then extend it for retirement. Now you can enter visa exempt and stay for 60 days so no need to get the tourist visa. If I applied for the non-o in the US I needed a number of documents. In Thailand all I needed was to show money in the bank.

I did bring a little more than my SS benefits. Only the amount over my SS benefit was considered taxable. My overage was pre 2024 savings so was not taxed and, as you stated, it was below the taxable threshold. I also received a 190,000 baht tax exemption for being 65 or older

Regarding your last comment about being able to show that the money you transferred in is your SS money. I filed my Thai taxes and all I needed to do is show that the money I transferred to Thailand was less than or equal to my SS money. I did this by submitting my 1099. Since I have credit cards from US banks I leave some money in my US account to pay the bills.

I hope they do

Unlike the fee the UK will be imposing. I read in several sources that it also will apply to transit passengers. i just did a search and saw that a few weeks ago the UK dropped the idea of changing transit passengers, however, they are considering raising the fee.

At the beginning of this month I flew from Chiang Rai to Bangkok and back and at both airports I used the system. I checked it at the kiosk and had my face scanned. At the gate I used the separate line for facial recognition. I did not need to show my boarding pass or id.

They have already introduced facial recognition boarding passes, at least for domestic flights. I’ve already used the system and it works well. Thai Airways makes people board by group number but if you registered your face when you checked in at a kiosk you can board anytime. It’s great if you have carry on bags.

Yes

I use a tax accountant to file my US return. His office now has Thai tax accountants so they also filed my Thai tax return. The money I brought into Thailand was a combination of US Social Security and money from savings. US Social Security is not taxed in Thailand. The excess came from savings which I had prior to January 1, 2024 so it is not subject to tax. Also, I was told that the amount I pay for my Thai insurance is also deductible as long as it is through a Thai company. In the end I had zero Thai tax liability.

US debt could be a problem. I see some nasty budget battles coming up. Last year the deficit was $1.8 trillion. That needs to come down.

Yes it seems silly to be required to show 12 months of deposits and 800k in the bank 2 months prior. I posted the same question last year and was told that was not the requirement. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the 800k in the bank because we bought another condo so I used the monthly transfers until method again for the 7th time. My extension comes up late January 2026. Right now I am planning to do the monthly transfers until October then make one last transfer if needed to reach the 800k. At that point in time I plan on stopping my monthly transfers. Is this going to be a problem?

Sounds good to me. I would even settle for a 3 point win just to keep the morning interesting here I Thailand. I’ll be at my favorite pub at 6:30 watching the game

I’ve been doing retirement extensions for 7 years without any issues. I’m always up to date on my 90 day reports and still use my TM30 from when I moved to my home in Chiang Rai back in 2018. While it appears that some offices change requirements, here in Chiang Rai I submit the same packet of updated documents every year without any issues.

I just came back from my accountant in Bangkok who always handles my US returns. He now has Thai tax accountants. US Social Security is not subject to Thai taxes. It doesn’t matter if it is directly deposited into your Thai account or if it goes into a US account then transferred into a Thai account.

CMBob, My drivers license does have my passport number but my pink card does not.

When I retired and moved to Chiang Rai my wife did all of the driving since she grew up in this area and lived here several years before i could retire. I spent my time in the passenger seat observing how both cars and motorcycles moved in and out of traffic and how traffic laws appeared to mainly “suggestions”. After about 3 months I got my license and now I drive everywhere. Those months of observing were great preparation.

Also we could use some rain in Chiang Rai. The last rain we had was back on 15=December.

I took some American friends to some tourist sites around Chiang Rai and I was able to only pay the Thai price for admission instead of the foreigners price. Also when I sent packages from Bangkok to my home in Chiang Rai I always needed to show my passport but now they accept my pink card. When I did my retirement extensions I needed a copy of the blue book and my wife’s ID card. Now I just use a copy of my yellow book.

I also have my pink card and it is also my TIN. I received it about 6 months ago. Mine also does not expire and was told it was because of my age. I’m not sure if it is something new because of the new tax laws but I was required to also apply for my TIN. Getting a pink card did not automatically register me for my TIN even though the numbers are the same.

Unfortunately my team, the Packers, will be one and done in the playoffs. Any predictions for the Superbowl matchup? I’m thinking it will be Detroit and KC although for the AFC it could also be Buffalo or Baltimore.