OJAS

In that case it is IMHO simply not fit for purpose. In exactly the same way as HMPO's passport renewal online facility is not fit for purpose as we're not allowed to use it from Thailand.

Does beg the question, though, as to why they've (at long last) bothered to make a form available online, which we're not, though, supposed to use until their paper docs finally turn up in our mailboxes after their magical mystery tours of European sorting offices!

Agree 100%. IMHO the Government Gateway, to which quite a few of us may already be subscribed in order to check State Pension info (if not for filing tax returns to HMRC), should be able to provide us (with minimal modification) with a sufficiently secure means of proving that we are still in the land of the living for State Pension purposes every now and then.

Actually they do have one now - a fillable PDF, to boot, for both customer and witness sections! https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67160776e94bb9726918ee90/Life_Certificate.pdf Still need to get it printed off, signed and sent to the UK by snail mail, though, unfortunately.

Apparently the same people who can countersign passport applications - as if life certificates are just as valuable and important as passports! Really?? Thankfully, my occupational pension provider is nowhere near as fussy as to who can perform this "onerous" responsibiity. Last time in their case I simply got my mother-in-law to perform the honours.

Maybe true of HMRC, but certainly not of their pals in DWP who are responsible for the Life Certificate bureaucratic nonsense to which we are periodically subject!

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67160776e94bb9726918ee90/Life_Certificate.pdf

Looks to me like the lion's share of the £500m in question relates to deceased pensioners who lived in the UK, and who, unlike us, were not subject to the Life Certificate bureaucratic nonsense!

It might also be worth mentioning that, in stark contrast to their pals in immigration offices, revenue office staff are not, based on my experience last Tuesday, over fussy about how you file your tax return, as long as all relevant info for their purposes is provided somehow. In other words, I wasn't forced to repeat everything I'd stated in my PND91 in a fresh PND90 before they would even consider what I'd submitted.

As will those entering with a tourist visa (as distinct from a visa exemption) presumably.

It's covered by the first 3 items under the "Assessable Income Under Section 40 (1) (2)" heading of the Income Exemption Entitlement Form which you'll also need to complete if you're using the PND90. The balance figure in item 3 (which includes the 190k discount) is then carried over to item 1 under the "Assessable Income Under Section 40 (1) (2)" heading of the PND90. EDIT: I see that what I've said is more or less the same as what @oldcpu has already said. It's certainly consistent with the way my local revenue office dealt with my return last Tuesday.

I strongly suspect that this may actually well depend on whether or not you're seeking the 190k discount for being aged 65+. I filed my return which consisted solely of assessable pension income (including the aged 65+ 190k discount) on a PND91 at my local tax office last Tuesday. However, after entering the info into their system they then presented me with a PND90 (+ Allowance(s) and Exemption(s) after Deduction of Expense(s) Attachment) version of my return as processed. Accordingly, I believe the short answer to be that you need to file using the PND90 (+ Allowance(s) and Exemption(s) after Deduction of Expense(s) Attachment) if you're seeking the aged 65+ 190k discount, or the PND91 if you're not.

Yep, funny how they always seem to have a major change of heart following their first meeting with DWP's Sir Humphrey, isn't it?

The $64,000 question, of course, is whether it will only be those entering Thailand on the basis of tourist visas or visa exemptions who will be required to file an online TM6. Or will this requirement apply equally to longstayers entering/returning to Thailand on the basis of non-immigrant visas/re-entry permits?

Yes, it's the 6th one down on the following page: https://aseannow.com/topic/1324294-introduction-to-personal-income-tax-in-thailand/page/26/#comment-19454008 in which @chiang mai stated 'I have a feeling that because the income is remitted from overseas, that may push it into the "other" income category and dictate that PND90 is used.' So, if and when the TRD were eventually to switch to taxing us on the basis of when our pension income was actually earned (rather than remitted to Thailand, as at present), we would presumably then be able to use the PND91 form for reporting it if that was our sole source of assessable income!

My pleasure! As regards the form to be used, I distinctly recall @chiang mai stating on here a while back that, even where foreigners' assessable income solely consisted of pensions, the TRD would probably, in his view, require returns to be filed with the PND90 - rather than PND91 - form, for reasons which now escape me. Looks like he was right!

My filing was accepted without question, and I was not required to provide any supporting docs. I submitted a PND91 on the grounds that my sole source of assessable income in 2024 was the UK State Pension. But, interestingly, the revised version I was presented with after the Revenue Office staff member I dealt with had recorded my data in their system before my eyes was based on the PND90 form! I did remit in 2024 income which is covered by the UK/Thailand DTA in the form of my UK government occupational pension, but I did not report it. I also remitted in 2024 income which had already been taxed in the UK in the form of the UK State Pension and proceeds from the sale of my UK house in 2021, but I only reported the element relating to the UK State Pension, based pro rata on remittance totals in THB terms.

True, but with the Chrome browser (which I use) you can select the "Translate to English" option upon clicking on the home page, and you should then be presented with reasonable English translations without any further prompting from then on. My tax office registered me for this system when I visited them yesterday with a paper return based on the 2024 Thai forms (after getting fed up with waiting for the English versions to materialise). During a test log-in I was able to drill down, all in English, as far as the PND90/91 section, but could not get any further as I had already submitted my return for the 2024 tax year! So the proof of the pudding will likely only come in my case when I file my 2025 return this time next year.

"In a change from Tory plans, the government has said the new powers will not be used to target payments of the state pension." That will no doubt come as a huge relief to some on here!

Hmm, I suggest that you keep a weather eye on the GBP:THB exchange rate. A single Wise transfer of £18,000 will only yield 747,850.64 THB at this precise moment in time, for instance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usufruct

Basically down to Korat and their pals in Nakorn Ratchasima (as in the OP's case) being rogue offices, pure and simple, when it comes to enforcing TM30 requirements, I think. I have (or, more to the point, my wife has) never been asked for a fresh TM30 upon my return from each foreign trip by my office (Rayong).

"Wise is now a direct member in the Australian payment systems" Begs the question as to how they managed to cope as an indirect member of said payment systems, I think!

May be possible by 31 March 2568 (AD, not BE, that is!).

https://www.rd.go.th/fileadmin/download/nation/australia_e.pdf