JimGant

... and with a full sized keyboard, so your fat fingers don't inadvertently keep hitting the adjacent letter on the incredibly small phone, whose screen requires me to find my reading glasses. Oh, yeah, the utility of a mouse -- plus, need a hard copy? Just 'send to printer.' No, a mobile phone's best utility is that you can converse over it. I don't need it to price compare, whatever doing that on the fly adds to one's utility, since for big purchases, this is all done before leaving the house -- on the desktop. And for small purchases, gad, I'm not peasant enough to need to scratch for pennies. And for checking out? Pulling my plastic Visa card out of my wallet, vs fiddling with my phone, is far superior -- you're probably the guy in front of me the other day, with a huge grocery purchase, whose phone battery went dead upon checkout. Anyway, there's still miles of utility in desktops and laptops. And if you're a diehard user, at least you can walk around town, with eyes held high, admiring the young ladies -- and not run into a light pole, like all those zombies with cell phones held high. Progress isn't always well defined....

This gives a whole new dimension to the concept of LIFO vs. FIFO. Also, shows bureaucrats will trump the fungibility of money, if they can squeeze a taxable event out of it.... Actually, I'd have no problem with Thailand figuring out how to tax foreign income coming into Thailand, that tax treaties give them the right to tax. As a Yank, this would be a zero sum game for me, since what Thailand doesn't tax, Uncle Sam does. But, if Thailand finally does figure out how to take advantage of the tax treaties, Uncle Sam will match that tax with a credit. Thus, my fungible tax dollar/baht will go towards Thai infrastructure, not infrastructure in the Ozarks. Or go towards alleviating Thai poverty. Good, good. But, with the rule about no taxation on income brought into Thailand in a later year in effect, not a lot is going to happen. Why? Because this rule primarily subsidizes fat cat Thais with business outside the country.

The wife and I both have online accounts with Bangkok Bank -- because you can't have a joint online account. My online account holds only one physical account, namely, the one I use for Immigration. Her online account holds three physical accounts -- two personal ones, and our joint account. The latter is accommodated because she's the primary holder of our joint account, making it akin to a single account, at least for accounting purposes. Not sure why Kasikorn couldn't use such a simple accounting procedure to allow joint physical accounts to be accommodated online........ Oh well.

Do you know why efile failed?

Makes sense that if trading mutual funds held in an IRA are restricted, then trading mutual funds outside an IRA would also be subject to the same restrictions, if your address is foreign. ETFs and individual stocks, I believe, have less restrictions.

Sure, if it's uncomplicated, like your Thai wife is sole heir and your executor -- and you only have one asset, like a bank account, that would be subject to probate. And there's no one out there that would contest your wife being sole heir. Plenty of discussion on this forum on how to avoid probate with a bank account (like, doing an online transfer by your heir to her online account before you head to the barbecue). The DIY template offered earlier in this thread seems to me one of the better such templates I've seen, primarily due to its simplicity -- no need for a flowery, overly inclusive, with too many legal buzzwords -- to be an acceptable Thai Will.

I hope not, because what's stopping me from applying is having to go to Bangkok, for at least the initial visa, then maybe for the five year follow-up requirement. Certainly a satellite BOI office, in the guise of agent, could accomplish all's that needed. Certainly if I can get a LTR visa from one of a hundred Thai embassies and consulates -- I should be able to get one from an agent established in the larger Thai cities, like Chiang Mai.... Certainly seems easy enough for BoI, especially if part of their target market includes Bangkok-adverse country bumpkins.

Yeah -- and any possibility that there could be an intragovernmental sameness and sanity policy on insurance, so that Tricare would now qualify for OA visa extensions? Probably not, as the insurance mafia would lose a chunk of premiums.

Actually football started at 1630 between San Francisco and Seattle. Could care less about any silly soccer games.

Understood. In my case, I have solid coverage with my Tricare policy, which is not acceptable for OA purposes. Thus, I'm stuck with the throwaway LMG policy. When the LTR visa folks get a branch office up here in Chiang Mai, I'll go that route and say goodbye to the OA insurance scam.

For your age, LMG will issue an OA health policy for 14,500 baht. But with a one million baht deductible, it's basically only a catastrophic type coverage. But, it does meet the OA insurance requirement. https://www.lmginsurance.co.th/en/long-stay-visa-plus-premium-plan-100000-usd

Egad! With hearing aid technology jumping by leaps and bounds, soon we'll be able to have hearing aids translate Thai into English (or whatever). But until that time, I'll be content to not be able to hear a language I don't understand, as deafness in the midst of Thai cacophony is bliss. (A little tongue-in-ear canal humor, before you hit the respond button.) ????

Well, not really, as you have until Oct 16, 2023 to file, using the automatic extension. But why wait? Just one less thing on the wife's demise checklist, should I get run over by a truck next week (same logic for RMDs and taxes). Anyway, last year's form hasn't changed, so if you did this PDF offline, just dust it off, "unsign" it, plug in the new info, sign, save, then click the "ready to file" button. After providing name and email, attach the revised PDF and send. I did mine Jan 1 and was "accepted" quickly, and two days later was "acknowledged" (which, I guess, is bureaucrat speak for "really accepted.") Bottom line: Piece of cake. Treasury FX rate: 34.52 So, done watching all the weekend's football and Maui golf? Here's something to do.

Ah, yes: two. I think you can rest your case now.

What realistic threat is RTAF modernizing against? Obviously you could name several threats, e.g., the US or China -- but the operative word is "realistic." And neither of these threats meets that characterization -- unless Thailand stupidly got into a security pact with either of these countries. And it's doubtful that they would. A key point from the article ozimoron introduced is this: Ah, when you analyze cost effectiveness, the US realizes the F-16s are still an effective fighting force -- air-to-air or air-to-ground -- against most imaginable enemies. Thus, they'll remain the bulk of the US air assets for the foreseeable future. But, they are being slowly replaced by F-35s..... .... and those replaced F-16s are heading for the boneyard in Arizona. And these are late model F-16s. Thailand's F-16 fleet are worn-out A/B variants. Wouldn't it make sense for Thailand to buy some of these boneyard aircraft to replace its A/B fleet? And maybe buy more to replace its worn-out F-5Es? Hey, the RTAF would already be fully trained on these newer F-16s, except for the more modern avionics. But that's a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of full up training, ground and air, for F-35s. Anyway, the "toys for the boys" argument seems to resonate. And when the PM is part of that 'old boys network,' wasteful military spending is par for the course. No, given the threat, current or projected, there's no logical 'cost effective argument' for buying F-35s -- especially if it's only two you can afford up-front.

Ah, to make sure there are enough crash trucks to handle collapsing nose gear.

....which means I could accomplish everything here in Chiang Mai, which means never having to go to Bangkok, which means they'll get at least one more customer.

Nope. You can do it online from wherever you are. Need a certificate of residency or a utility bill to show proof of your foreign address. Plus, you'll need to be able to wire or ach $25k to the newly established account. See here: https://international.schwab.com/open-account-intro

If you have $25k why not open a Schwab International Account? You don't need to actively trade, or to even hold securities. Just use it as a bank, with your deposits and wires. Also, you can get a checkbook and the famous Schwab Debit/ATM card.

IAM, could you provide the "following ways." If they require a utility bill, drivers license, or the like -- having a mail forwarding address or using a relative's address ain't gonna hack it.

You must have individual stocks. I have mutual funds in my IRA.

Slamming my brakes on at the yellow light, so that I don't get caught in the intersection with a red light (and have my picture taken for a ticket) -- is a real conundrum. 'Cause, there's usually someone on my bumper determined to make the light -- and if I'm not in compliance, good chance he'll drive up my tail pipe. Thus, I'll usually chance the red light cameras in this situation. Sometimes result: A ticket in the mail with a nice photo of my wife's car. Worst case: Several nights of getting my own dinner, as wife ponders her chances of going to jail. Sigh.

My traditional IRA is with Schwab, and my address on record with them is my Thai address. The only downside of not having a US address is that I can't trade online, as I found out last year when I tried to sell some shares in the IRA account to cover my RMD (required minimum distribution). Instead, I had to call their international number and do the trade via phone. And I had to pay $25 for the inconvenience of not being allowed to trade online, again, due to having a foreign address.

Pib, maybe I missed it in this long thread, but did they completely shut down the option to use Tricare? If so, what was their reason(s)?

If I recall correctly, you got a reentry permit stamp when you went to BoI to get your LTR visa. And Imm is programmed to look for a reentry stamp, then use its "until" date as the same "until" date on your new permission of stay stamp. Misty has no reentry stamp (or any stamps), having gone the out-of-country route. Thus, Imm reaches for the stamp commensurate with type of visa: Non Imm O, 90 days; Tourist, 60 days; Non Imm OA, one year. Thus, as long as visa hasn't expired, Imm has a rote procedure. Now added to this procedure is a five-year stamp for a non expired LTR visa. Now, there might be some head scratching when the IO sees both a non expired visa AND a related reentry stamp. I guess in Ryan's case, the reentry stamp took precedence. But I could see where the other way might prevail.... Anyway, more a curiosity than a problem, as I'm sure whatever permission of stay stamp is in your passport at the 5 year point, you'll still need to show up somewhere to validate your bonafides. Hopefully by then they'll have satellite offices scattered around Thailand, particularly in Chiang Mai, in my case.