oldcpu

And I do agree with him that it would be better to keep most of one's USD in the US earning a lot more interest than in a Thai bank (in USD). "most" is the operative word here. My point is I prefer not to keep all of my USD in a US bank. I want some money in Thailand, immediately available - and I do not want to keep my 'immediately available' money all in Thai baht. When I was a type-OA and later type-O visa, I had requirements to maintain the equivalent of 800k THB (or greater) in a Thai bank. That did not need to be in Thai baht. If one has a certain amount of money in some Thai banks (and it need not be in Thai baht) one gets certain perks, such as priority at the bank when one shows up, access to a VIP sitting area at the bank, a limited # of airline lounge access for free, health club access for free and some other perks. If that money was in the USA, those perks would not be provided. And in the mean time that money, in Thailand, can be converted to Thai baht in minutes, and not in days. Again, its not all one's USD (as most is OUTSIDE of Thailand), but it is USD in a Thai bank. Having in USD helps ensure only a restricted amount of one's assets is in Thai baht. Going back again - to the original question - why do some want a USD account in Thailand? I think I answered that question why some do. Clearly not everyone agrees, and clearly this is NOT the approach for many, and that is perfectly fine, we all have our own way of doing things.

I suspect a lot may depend on what sort of tax obligations you have from your home country, and whether it has a double tax agreement (DTA) with Thailand. If you come from a job (where such jobs exist, but IMHO are difficult to find employment in) that had no (or minimal) tax obligations in, say, your home country, then you may wish to limit your stay in Thailand to 179 days or less, as things seem to be changing in Thailand with regards to foreigners and taxes (impacting those, for example, on the Type-OA visa). This may or may not be relevant based on the DTA one's home country has with Thailand. There is hope that the LTR-WP (wealthy pensioner) and LTR-WGC (wealthy global citizen) visas, may mean one on those visas may not need to restrict their stay to 179 days in Thailand (for taxation reasons), even if their overseas money has had minimal tax applied in their home country. As you probably already know, a Thai Royal Decree states those on the Thailand LTR-WP & LTR-WGC are tax exempt from out-of-Thailand income, brought into Thailand. That's nothing special perhaps for those whose home country has a DTA with Thailand, but not all will find the DTA helpful. Those not on an LTR visa will need to pay careful attention to any tax obligations if their stay goes up to 180-days in Thailand. Still, one great thing about Thailand is it has many Visas to offer. While visa exempt has been increased to 60-days for many country's citizens (for a permission to stay in Thailand), and a 30-day extension on that 'visa exempt' is possible, ... and further while visa runs can give one another 60-days ... its not 100% clear to me one can be assured of getting 60 days (initial visa exempt) + 30-days (visa exempt extension) + 60 days (another visa exempt after a border run) + 30 days (another visa exempt extension) for year after year after year. Possibly one or more Thai border crossing IOs could be concerned one is working in Thailand for 50% of the year, and start denying entry. If you are on a Type-OA visa for reason of retirement, I would suggest you look to change from a Type-OA to a Type-O visa, as the Health Insurance requirements for the Type-OA visa can be annoying (and more expensive) to meet - especially if you have superior health insurance from your home country that will cover you in Thailand. The chances are for extensions of your permission to stay in Thailand, your home country health insurance will not be accepted in Thailand for a Type-OA visa. That could force you to change to Health Insurance from the Thai branch of a health insurance company (which may not be as good as your health insurance from your home country) or you could be forced to get double health insurance just to get a visa extension on the Type-OA (for reason of retirement) if you do not wish to give up your (hypothetical) superior home country health insurance. Of course if you are always applying for a new Type-OA visa every year from your home country (as opposed to going the 1-year extension route) then these Health Insurance considerations for the Type-OA visa are less significant. Currently there are no health insurance requirements for those on a Type-O visa.

I suspect none of us can know ... and that includes whether the Thai baht will always remain between 30 and 35. I was here, in Thailand from 1997 to 1999, and I saw the Thai baht fall, far far FAR (very very FAR) out of that 30 to 35 range that appears to give you much confidence. Fortunately back then, my money was not in Thai baht. ... I did have faith in the baht then only AFTER it dropped to VERY low levels, and at those low levels I was buying as much baht as I could then (at a pretty good price). Each to their own - as we noted. I have been an expat for close to 40 years ... and I prefer to have my money diversified in different currencies. and the question ... that started us off on this discussion, was why do some wish to keep funds in a Thailand bank in a different currency such as USD? Why? I think I have answered that from my perspective. Many may disagree - and IMHO that disagreement is fine. Each to their own. My approach has worked well for me for close to 40 years ... and I suspect others with a different approach believe their approach has worked well too. My view? All the best wishes to them and their approach. But for me as an LTR visa holder? I still prefer diversification.

As you say (and as I said) each to his own. I have a massive disagreement with you in regards to the FX assessment. For me it makes NO SENSE to have too much in Thai baht. I already have a condo in Thailand (ie can only be liquidated initially in Thai baht if/when time comes) and other Thai baht based investments. Why overload in Thai baht? Is that what you prefer to do? And if I need to keep large amounts in cash to satisfy BoI (such as self health insurance) or satisfy Thai immigration (for when on a Type-O/OA visa) why overload and have such in Thai baht? Why overload in Thai baht when already I have a lot in Thai baht? I can keep such in a foreign currency (such a USD and diversify). Sure - I concede - that may be how you like to this , but for certain, it is NOT how I like to do it. As noted - each to their own.

Why USD in a local bank? It can typically be converted to THB and accessed almost immediately. USD outside of Thailand in a bank, can take hours to days or more to transfer to Thailand - where 'your mileage may vary (YMMV) dependent on the amount of money and the transfer method to Thailand. And YMMV as to how urgent one may need money at any given time. And YMMV as to whether one is in a financial situation where one needs to keep relatively large amounts of money in cash (example: to satisfy immigration, BoI (self health insurance) or other requirements). Aside from immigration and other needs to have relatively large amounts of cash, as to why keep money in USD? Some of us see the Thai Baht stronger than it should be at present, and speculate (where speculate is the 'operative' word) that the Thai baht will eventually fall vs the USD. The downside ? Interest in a Thai Bank USD account is likely less than interest in a USD account in some other countries. I keep USD in accounts in Thailand, and also in countries outside of Thailand (in addition to keep some other currencies). And I have other much much larger investments than simply cash. Its really up to each person as to how they wish to keep (and invest) their own money, and how much money they want locally (and in what currency) for any urgent needs (or whether any money is needed at all). Some of us have different needs than others, and I fully believe for others the considerations I noted above makes absolutely ZERO SENSE for them. Every one is different and I wish all the best in the approach they adopt.

I don't dispute what you posted. But I add to that, (and I have typed this before) that the translation for Royal Decree 743 (on the LTR visa) states "Governing Reduction of Tax Rates and Exemption of Taxes". Note the word "exemption" . It does not translate to "Non-assessable for taxes". It clearly does NOT translate that way. Then read the text for Royal Decree 743 (on the LTR Visa). Section-5 for the Wealthy Global Citizen and for the Wealthy Pensioner, and for the Work from Thailand Professional, translates to state they "shall be exempted ... for assessable income under section-40 of the Revenue code derived in the previous year from an employment or business carried on abroad, or from a property situated abroad, and brought into Thailand". Note the word "exempted". The points people make here in the Royal Decree 743 are: (1) "exempted for assessable" income may not be NOT the same as "not-assessable" income. If it was not-assessable, why not simply state "not assessable". Instead "exempted for assessable" was translated. Was this something lost in translation? Typically if an item has tax exemption, it is listed on an income tax return, and then subtracted from the assessable income. The Thai tax forms have a specific form where tax exempt income is to be listed. (2) also, in the Royal Decree note the words "income ... derived in a previous year ... and brought into Thailand". Some are worried that it is written that way with the intent to force those on the LTR (WP and WGC) to bring their income into Thailand in the year it was earned (so not to pay tax) ... with a concern that in the future, its possible foreign income earned abroad and not brought it, could be taxed if one a Thai resident. That is NOT the case today, but the head of the Revenue department has stated that is what he wants to implement. However, as I noted, a discussion my wife had on the phone with the local Revenue Department official was that even as a resident, if the foreign income was not brought into Thailand, it did not have to be taxed in Thailand and an income tax return not needed. Hence for the moment, I think there is no concern there (if foreign income not brought into Thailand) - but it is something to watch carefully. Further, the Royal Decree 743 section 6 states "A foreigner .... must meet qualifications and comply with rules, procedures and conditions as prescribed by the Director General of the Revenue Department." I believe nominally, the section-6 " rules, procedures and conditions", together with one having an income over a certain amount of money, together with one being a Thai resident (by staying >180 days in Thailand) means that one may need to file a Thai tax return. Again, I note LTR foreign income is to be 'tax exempt'. However the LTR visa does not clearly state "not-assessable" income. I think those on LTR-WP/WGC visa all hope the Thai to English translation "exempted ... for assessable income" means "not-assessable income" - but we are dealing with translations and different words - where words can have meanings. So, NOW, another point ... further, on Royal Decree 743 section 7, the translation states "In the case that a foreigner has applied tax reduction or exemption under this Royal Decree, and later does not comply with rules described in Section-3, 4, 5, and 6 in any tax year, benefits will be suspended in that tax year." ie. what some of us are watching, since the Royal Decree 743 states those on WP/WGC are tax exempt but does not state "tax not-assessable" will we need to file a tax return? (even thou we will pay no tax? ) . The risk is if the Thai RD assesses a tax return is still needed, and we don't file a return, then Clause-7 implies our tax exempt benefits for a given tax year will be lost. I don't know the answer here. This is something we all need to watch. I set up my finances such that I can go for more than a couple of years in Thailand and not bring in any money, and by then, I hope there will be more clarification for those of us on the LTR WP/WGC visa. Further, I was required by a couple of Canadian institutions to provide a Thailand TIN. One even froze one of my Canadian trading accounts (that had a very substantial amount of money in it). I was able to unfreeze it (for the moment) by providing my "pink-ID" number with a caveat that the TIN was not yet activated by Thailand. And my wife had that confirmation (that my pink-ID not activated yet as a TIN) over the phone when chatting with a local Thailand Revenue Department official - who even questioned why I wanted a tax ID. I still have not resolved whether I will get an activated Thai TIN. The local RD official was to phone my wife back, and he has not done so. Every few weeks I check to see if my pink-ID has been activated as a TIN, and it has not. Depending on what I read (or do not read) on this topic of tax returns, I may in February fill in a Thai tax return in mid-February next year, and hand deliver it to the local Thai RD office. I have not decided yet on that. I may not do that. I will be out of country in March/April, so February is my only opportunity to do such - and I have not decided on that. My hope, like I think 95% (my figure) of others on the LTR-WP/WGC, is that no Thai tax return is needed, as it is just a bunch of extra possibly needless paper work for everyone. Needless paperwork for us, and needless paper work for the Thai RD.

Phuket's International airport does not have a fast track lane. But my experience (with the LTR visa, and also I am age-70) is I have been able to use the Thai lane. Further I usually travel with my Thai wife, so that also gets me through the Thai lane. The last time we left Phuket, the line up for foreigners into the immigration security area was massive. So I went through the Thai line. My wife was ahead of me and she did not say we were married. But I was still allowed in the Thai line, either due to my age (70) or due to my LTR visa (or the person doing the entrance screening speculated we were together). Once inside the security area, there were a few people lined up to go the the Thai immigration booth and no one in the line for Diplomat/officials/airline staff immigration booth, so I went to that later line and they processed my exit to airside. Over a month later, on the way back to Phuket, I again went through the Thai line, ending up in a different Thai booth from my Thai wife. Again I was accepted, this time likely as I had an LTR visa or my age (as my wife was in a different Thai line). I do note thou, it took a bit longer for the IO in the booth to figure out what to do with my LTR visa as I suspect they do not see such often in a Thai line. They enlisted help from an IO in another booth. Possibly a similar approach to Phuket will be seen in Suvarnabhumi Airport ?

I can't speak for the specifics of any immigration office, but my experience is typically one only needs to show the TM30 when one needs to visit some (not all) immigration offices. Even thou one does not plan to visit an immigration office, sometimes fate can throw a curve at one, and an unexpected requirement to visit immigration (however remote) could occur. Its when that happens that one may (immigration office dependent) then need to scramble to produce a TM30. Hence I typically have my Thai wife do a TM30 for me all the time. As to checking past records for TM30 - if one creates the TM30 over the internet, I assume then that TM30 record is kept in the immigration system. But if one does such by postal mail (?) or in person at immigration with the filled in form ?? I don't know if immigration will put such in their computer. I suspect they should. If one is traveling and staying with friends, I think would think it pretty difficult for Thai immigration to keep track of whether TM30s were submitted. If however one stays in a hotel, then the Hotels (using one's passport information) are supposed to do a TM30. Hence immigration could then see a record of of a TM30 in their computer database for such a hotel stay. Will they then check to see if there are more TM30s after than one hotel TM30 ? I don't know. They could. But it would take time, and if an immigration office is busy, I suspect they would not bother to check the past. I suspect there will be others on this forum with a superior view/assessment here.

Have you considered the new DTV (Destination Thailand Visa)?

This won't help the OP (as his issue is UK specific) but since 'Canada' was mentioned, I note that I was faced with a 'frozen trading account' by Bank of Montreal (BMO) [ a Canadian Bank ] when they noted my residence change to Thailand. After some phone calls, paperwork, and them unfreezing my account,they gave me these choices for my trading accounts I had with them: 1. Maintain my registered account(s) at BMO InvestorLine with no further purchases (liquidation transactions only) 2. Transfer my account(s) to another institution 3. Deregister and close my account (registered account only) 4. Register my securities in my name and accept delivery of them (non-registered account only) 5. Withdraw and close my accounts (non-registered account only) Maintaining an account with no further equity positions means that ultimately I will have my account in only cash (after all liquidations complete) and my money will deflate with inflation. I elected to transfer my trading accounts to another institution. The complexity here is actually finding a Canadian institution that will allow a Canadian citizen who is a non-resident to Canada to open a new account. Most institutions do not want to do this, as they will have extra paperwork to do for such an account. Initially I had read the Canadian CI-Direct financial institution would allow a non-resident to Canada (who is a Canadian citizen) to transfer both registered and non-registered trading accounts to them. But while I was in the process of opening an account with them, they changed their policy and decided to no longer offer such a full service to non-residents to Canada (who are Canadian citzens). I ended going with the Canadian financial organisation Questrade, and I am in the process of transferring both my Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) - sort of an equivalent to a US 401k, and also transferring a non-registered margin trading account, from BMO to Questrade. For Canadians, not resident to Canada, Questrade is the only Canadian financial institution that I could find, that was willing to provide such a service to Canadians who are non-resident to Canada. If anyone knows of any other, I would be curious - as its always good to have a backup plan if policy in a financial institution changes. For certain, as an expatriate, having one's account frozen, or being forced to close one's account in their original 'home country' is not a pleasant experience, if the options are limited. Good luck to the OP (and also to any Canadians who encountered the problem I did) in coming up with a solution.

I think both words work. I am not certain which is more precise in thus instance.

I agree with this. Krungsri - I use my Krungsri account for my regular transactions, bill payments, credit card use, etc ... If one has more than 5-million THB in Krungsri one can obtain a number of extra perks (Krungsri Exclusive) ... such as a 2 Dragon Pass lounge access per year, 2 Thai airways lounge access per year (if flying Thai airways), use of the Krungsri lounge at the bank, access to the Krungsri specific line at the bank for faster service ... etc .. When I was on a Type-O (and later a Type-OA) visa, I found Krungsri very good (same day service within minutes) in printing the annual statement and accompanying letter for the 1-year visa extension renewals. Negatives? I found Krungsri slow and not so good for international currency exchange between one's foreign currency accounts. Bangkok Bank. For bringing large amounts of money into Thailand I use Bangkok Bank and its good. Krungsri in my experience is not so good here. For foreign currency transfers I have different currency accounts with Bangkok bank and I use it to transfer large amounts of money between different currencies and its good. Negatives? To obtain same sort of perks at Bangkok Bank (that one can get at Krungsri) one has to deposit a LOT more money in Bangkok bank - so such for me is not something I want to do. When I was on a Type-O (and later a Type-OA) visa, Bangkok Bank was HORRIBLY slow (1 week - has to go to Bangkok to have done ) for the providing the annual statement and accompanying letter for the 1-year visa extension renewals. For small currency transfers (or small amounts of money brought into Thailand) I use Wise.

If you have a Yellow-Book/Pink-ID, you could try sending them your Pink-ID # as the Thai TIN and they may accept that. For my LTR visa, in order to meet the wealthy pensioner requirements category that I was applying for, I needed to buy 2-million THB in Thai government bonds. I bought these via Bangkok bank, but they insisted on a Thai TIN for the computer form application they had to fill in. They could not fill that in empty. So at my Thai wife's suggestion, we passed to them my 13-digit Pink ID# and that was accepted (noting that Thai people's TIN is the same # as on their Thai-ID). Then more recently, the Canadian Bank of Montreal (BMO) and also the Canadian Questrade financial organization (and another Canadian Organisation CI-direct) all wanted my Thai TIN for in one case unfreezing an account with a SIGNIFICANT amount of money in my account (BMO) and for the other two in opening new accounts. Again, I gave them my Thai provided (foreigner) Pink-ID number. That satisfied them all. I also added a caveat that the number was currently undergoing activation. As I noted in different threads, I have via my Thai wife's help applied for a Thai tax ID (online) but thus far have not succeeded. My wife was called by a local Thai RD official, who noted in response to a question by my wife that my Pink-ID might end up being my Thai TIN, but that my Thai TIN was not yet activated. ( I don't want to repeat here more than what I already did a couple of times in different threads.) ... and for the Pink-ID haters - I note this ID is NOT nominally needed, so please do not shoot the messenger (me) . I am only noted this worked instead of having an actual activated Thai TIN.

Tell that to the tax advisors who disagree.

Its not just dynamic in the interpretation ... but also in the expected means of enforcement ... and the expected implementation to some Visas. For example, look no further than the Thai LTR visa where there is disagreement as to whether it provides full tax exemption from income coming into the country. Some legal advisors claim it ONLY provides exemption to LTR visa holders if the money is brought into Thailand in the SAME year it is earned. They claim income from subsequent years (after 1-Jan-2024) will be taxed if not brought into Thailand in the same year of earning. Other legal advisors say it does not matter - its all tax exempt. There is a CLEAR disagreement by the supposed legal experts (different legal organisations on that). As to enforcement? There is no agreement on that as well. Will this be another Thai law that a blind eye is turned? The requirement to have a Thai tax clearance certificate when leaving Thailand is STILL ON the Thai books. There is ZERO enforcement. Taxation rules could go the same way. We will CLEARLY have to agree to disagree on this. .

I googled, and could find no reference to alien (foreigner) ID # being ok as a Thai tax ID without first having Revenue department 'making it so'. BUT I tend to agree that does not mean the Pink-ID card # can not be used by some method as a Thai Tax ID. I also (when googling) did NOT find an 'official' Thai government page on the "Pink ID" for foreigners. There are lots of 'purported' legal advisor pages (on the Pink-ID), but no government page that I could find. EDIT: One government page I did find does refer to the Pink-ID as an identity card: https://www.dopa.go.th/public_service/service_guide24/view472 That is interesting given: The Pink-ID card itself is very clear on the back, where in item-1 on the back it states (my English translation) "This card is not an identification card", which reads to be contradictory as on the front page on the card at the very stop it translates to "Identification card for people without the nationality" .... and in a lower line: "Foreigners entering the country". In my case, to get the card I had to be registered in a 'house document'. In my case this meant registered in a 'Yellow book' for the condominium unit that I own. I have read that foreigners who already have a Thai tax ID can apply for a 'Pink-ID' but I do not know that is accurate. Still given the card itself on one hand says (on the front) its an ID card, and then on the back says "This card is not an identification card", ... my view is this is not exactly a consistent description on the card. So when it comes to taxes, and tax-IDs, it would be nice to have a consistent description. Is this? or is this not? an ID card? Still - as noted already, I know (from my experience) if one having never (yet) submitted a Thai tax return, if one then tries to tries to use their Thai Pink-ID # in an online Thai taxation submission, it will not work. The Pink-ID # is not accepted (online) by the Revenue Department for an online tax return. And I also know (from my wife on the phone with a local Thai RD official) that a Pink-ID # has to be 'activated' to be used as a Thai tax ID # (but my wife was talking to him, so possibly he was referring to a online tax submission and that detail was lost by my wife). I suspect that if one submitted a Thai Tax return for a specific Thai tax year (by postal mail ?? hand carrying it to the local Thai tax office ? ), using the Pink-ID number in the place of the Thai tax ID, that the tax submission would not be immediately rejected. I suspect instead if at the local RD office, one would instead be asked to sit down for a couple of hours at the local revenue department while the Thai officials scratched their head (and phoned Bangkok) on how to process the tax return?? But that's my speculation. Anyway - I have satisfied myself that I can, for my foreign requirements, (where I have found it necessary to provide a Thai tax ID to financial institutions in Canada) that providing my Pink-ID # is acceptable to foreign institutions as a Thai Tax ID (for it could very well be such - and I further note that I have applied for the Thai tax ID where a copy of my Pink-ID was one of the documents I submitted in the application). And I will continue to watch to see how this 'in-flux' taxation situation for resident foreigners pays out. 1. It may just go away (and can be ignored by all) ? 2. It may (like I hope) not be something those on an LTR visa need watch and can be ignored (by LTR visa holders). 3. It may require tax returns from some foreigner residents (hopefully not given DTAs) 4. ... and it may be a nightmare for some with "Thai tax clearance certificates" making a comeback for annual permission to stay in Thailand renewals and for departures (of those on long stay visas) from Thailand (HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY UNLIKELY in my opinion that there will be a return to 'tax clearance certificates). I note that the present mood in Thailand is to attract foreigners to the country (with the new visa laws) and so I tend to think the concern that foreigners who reside >180 days need to be taxed on income, could be softened or interpreted by Thailand in a way with far far less to hopefully no impact. Time will tell. Possibly I am far too optimistic there.

It may come to that in Thailand, but in all due honesty, I do not think now is the time. I do have experience with both accountants (to do income tax) and tax advisors, over the course of my lifetime. I once had a tax advisor/accountant do my taxes for me in Canada, and it was a big mistake on my part. I had a number of questions/queries back from Revenue Canada about my tax return causing me (and the tax advisor/accountant) extra work (and cost me extra money to be paid to Revenue Canada). Further the tax/advisor accountant wanted to be paid for their extra fixing what I considered 'their screw up'. In subsequent years I smartened up and did my Canadian tax returns all myself - and it went fine with Revenue Canada from then on. When I worked in Germany, not understanding German language well, I hired a tax accountant/advisor for the 1st six years I worked there (4 years as a company employee and then two years as a freelancer). But in the 7th year I switched to be an employee of a European government run organization and from then on, my wife and I did our own tax returns. When it comes to Thailand, the situation at present, is shall I say ... dynamic? I have watched videos and read articles of different so called "tax advisors" and they do NOT all agree on the details as to the current implications. Why is that? I think that they themselves simply do not know at present how this will 'pan out'. The situation is still in flux. Further, thinking about my situation, most tax advisors are experts in maybe one or two countries (and maybe one or two continents), but not in multiple continents and not multiple national and international pension/income sources such as I have. Hence I have instead spent the time learning what I have on taxes and try to follow the rules best possible. So until the current Thai taxation requirements, ... given the influx (?) interpretations, .. settle down, I think I will stick to the most prudent method forward that I see. And at present that is NOT a professional tax advisor for me.

I don't know the details of Thai tax regulations, and obviously this is discussion is about Thai taxation. Still ... to provide an illustration which may NOT be applicable. .. I am a non-resident to Canada. Still, I have to file an income tax return to Canada every year (as I obtain pension income from Canada) and Canada wants to know ALL of my foreign income on that tax return, every last cent ! Even thou its not taxable by Canada. They still want to know about it. They want that as they determine my tax rate (for my Canadian pension) based on my total global income. And as a non-resident to Canada I can NOT apply most Canadian deductions to my global income on the Canadian tax form to my income from outside of Canada - but rather my total global income is used to 'make' me pay more tax on my Canadian income to Canada. .... So when it comes to a foreigner resident to Thailand, it would not surprise me if Thailand may want to know about ALL of my foreign income, even if there is no Thai tax on that income. But rather it could be used by Thailand (pure speculation on my part) to assess my overall tax rate for any Thai income I might have (such as Thailand interest from the Thai banks or Thai bonds or other). I am not saying that is the case - but I can see that sort of logic could be applied to income which while not taxable, can still be used to assess one's tax rate for other different local Thai income that IS taxable. Hence like others I am watching to see how this 'plays out'. While I hope for the best, I want to be prepared for the less pleasant. .

I did find this: " However, a taxpayer who is an individual or a payer of income who is an individual is not required to apply for a TIN if he has and uses a personal identification number (PIN) in accordance with the civilian registration law. He can use his PIN instead of TIN for tax return filing purposes." however it in my view only refers to Thai citizens and not for certain refers to foreigners with the pink (foreigner) ID.

I just spent the last 40 minutes looking at the Thai RD page trying to find documentation on obtaining a tax ID number. I can not find such that refers to the foreigner Thai (pink) ID card. Only generic statements about Thai citizen tax ID # that are 13-digits long from their Thai ID. Perhaps the RD documentation was updated since you last looked and no longer states such. ... Best I can determine now, there is no such entry any more on the RD web page (and I would be happy to be proven wrong).

Chatting just now with my Thai wife. She noted, as a test (with no intention to follow through) she started submitting an online tax form for me, ... and she entered my pink-Thai-ID 13-digit number into the tax-ID field, and it rejected the pink-ID # (as a tax-ID #) saying 'not recognized'. So it appears, (my speculation) that until the pink-ID is 'activated' as a 'tax-ID' it won't be accepted for an online completion of the tax submission. I assume then that one can print out the Thai tax paperwork , fill in with a pen, and submit such by postal mail ? (I guess I should check this) ... and maybe then one may (or may not) be able to do an online tax submission with one's pink-ID tax number for a subsequent year. But I assume (unless someone made a mistake in the Thai RD for my pink-ID) that by default, the pink-ID # is not recognized as a Thai tax-ID for an online submission until some sort of 'activation' on the Thai RD side takes place. I think am going to wait until the end of this year until the new Thai tax forms come out (?) and maybe (emphasis on "MAYBE") early next year submit a Thai tax return (by snail mail ? if possible ? ) using my pink-ID # as the Thai tax ID. This will be more for the interest (and withhold tax) associated with Thai bonds/bank accounts in my name - than for my foreign income which is tax exempt (by Royal Decree) and which even the local Thai RD official does not know how it should be handled (for foreign income money brought into Thailand by an individual on a Wealthy Pensioner LTR visa). I am not going to hold my breath expecting the Thai tax official to call my wife back, as I don't expect them to call my wife back (as they may be worried about being asked more questions that they can not answer).

I am happy to read such. If the Phuket RD official phone calls back, my wife may mention that to him. I also used that pink ID # as a Thai taxID # for two Canadian financial institutions (with a caveat it is not yet activated) so that makes me content I am doing things proper. Sometimes Canadian financial institutions can be vindictive ( my words) if they think one is misleading in following their guidelines.

I think it more complex than this. According to my Thai wife there is a way to check ones Thai tax ID online. When she entered my pink ID it was not recognized as a Tax ID. .. So when she talked to the Thai RD official, that official noted there 1st needs to be an activation for the pink ID to be the tax ID. He emphasized it is not by default active as a tax ID . One has to apply for the tax ID for the activation to take place.

Again, where does it state foreign income (from an LTR resident) is 'non-assessable'? I have read in the Royal Decree it is Tax exempt (it does NOT state non-assessable), and there is a Thai form where exemptions are listed when one files a Thai tax return. My hope is that this all clarifies as the months go by. Currently, even the local Thai Revenue Department officials don't know the answers here - which again makes me wonder how we can be 100% certain of our our answers as foreigners? I believe the best we can do is make our best assessment, and I do appreciate very much your assessment and I also very much appreciate the assessment of others.

I don't think I am confused. I have not checked for a while, but my interest income INSIDE Thailand from bonds/bank accounts is > 100,000 THB. As noted withholding tax already taken by Thailand is > 15,000 (closer to 30,000 THB). Where is the confusion you refer to ?