10years

My teeth were disintegrating down to their roots. I still had some good teeth left, but the problem is that in order to chew food, you need 2 teeth above and below the other. I was reduced to only 1 such pair. The national universities have dental schools. They need patients for their undergraduate students to practice on. I agreed for them to remove all my teeth - good or bad - and install full dentures. All the work cost me nothing. Even the medication was free. I had to pay for X-rays as that was a different department. One coed student with a sharp eye noticed something on an X-ray. Turned out it was a cyst and a teacher extracted it. The ceramic dentures were molded by a grad student. It took many sittings. I was getting impatient cause he didn't explain what he was doing. Turned out the upper denture stays in place with suction. It fits that closely. I know other people who constantly need to adjust their dentures when eating a meal, or need to glue their denture on every day. It's amazing. I forget that I'm wearing them. I had to pay for the dentures and the surgery, but Social Security reimbursed me in full. Partial or full dentures are a benefit for SSO members. You're allowed to get new dentures every X years. If your original molars didn't bother you, neither will dentures. There is one major downside to dentures. Because they sit on your gums, they don't directly stimulate your jawbones like implants do, and you will suffer bone loss. My chin is deformed as a result. If I had known this would happen, I would never have chosen dentures.

I plan to enter Thailand both times on a VE stamp. I will visit a third country in the region while my passport still has more than six months left, but will be just short of six months when I come back to Thailand. If questioned at Thai immigration, I would plead leniency because I need to reenter Thailand to catch my return flight to the US and will be here only a week. Since there are no direct flights to my destination, I will have to transit in Manila. Does the six-month rule apply to layovers? I will not be exiting the airport in Manila.

My US passport will be expiring next year. I'm planning on entering Thailand this year with more than six months remaining on my passport, but reentering from a short jaunt with less than six months remaining to catch my return flight home. Will there be any problem with Thai immigration or the airlines? I don't have enough time to renew my passport safely before my Thailand trip and the window for making this trip is rather inflexible.

Never got a text message either. The refund checks for the current tax year (2022) should take about 3 weeks but checks for past years should take longer, like ? months later.

This is indeed incorrect. The personal allowance is B60,000 for individuals.

Remember that if you are aged over 65 years, you are entitled to a much higher personal exemption. Apparently it was B190,000 in 2021 and is B120,000 for 2022. You need to have taxable income of more than B120,000 before you are liable to pay any tax. That's a lot of interest.

If you get the tax office to complete your return, remember to inform the preparer that you want a copy. You will be directed to another window. They will inform you how much the copy will cost and confirm if you still want it. While you're at it, ask the preparer when you can expect to receive the refund checks by mail. Once you receive the checks, you can deposit them in your savings account at any major local bank.

I retired in Thailand and moved back to the States. For three years I didn't go to Thailand. When I finally came last year, I filed returns for 2019, 2020 and 2021. There was no fine.

Probably the immigration letter is a special, optional request. The tax withholding statement is probably something that banks must legally provide. The statements are free.

I was told foreigners shouldn't file online. Also, the Form 90 is completely in English. And what do you do with required supporting documents such as the bank paper statements? Can you access online versions of the forms?

Exactly. As a retiree, you probably can spare some time to run this errand. And getting "paid" B600 for an hour of your time seems worthwhile to me. Edit: You can pick up the tax withholding statements from any branch of your bank on your way to the tax office. The bank teller can print them fairly quickly while you wait. The tellers are now familiar with these statements.

I wondered about the tax ID number. If a depositor doesn't have a tax number, how does the bank file his withheld tax? And if he gets a new number, how is his past withheld taxes going to connect with that new number? I have filed many times for a tax refund and have never been asked anything.

For me, part of it is the principle of the thing. The government forcibly grabs my money and hopes I won't bother getting it back. No way I'm going to let them keep what's not theirs.

How do I edit my topic? Haven't finished it yet. Never mind. Was finally able to finish it.

The Thai government now requires personal income tax to be automatically withheld from all interest income. There's no minimum limit before the withholding kicks in. Even if you have no other Thai income besides interest income, you can file form 90 to get all your withheld tax refunded to you. First, go to your bank and request a statement of total interest paid and tax withheld for each account. You will receive for free the statement to be filed with the tax return as well as a carbon copy for your records. Go to rd.go.th, then click on English. On this page you will find e-Form. Download the first form. It is in English and fillable online. Fill in your personal info, print it out and take it to a nearby government office for filing returns. There is one on the ground floor of the Sino-Thai Tower on Asoke. Get a queue number if available. When your turn comes up, go to one of the two seats to the right of the counter and hand the agent your Form 90 and bank statements. The agent will complete the form for you at no charge. After the form is formally accepted, you will be told to go to another window to pick up your receipt. Normally they will send you a paper refund check at no charge by mail. You can request an official copy of your return. They will do this on the spot but charge you handsomely for it.

Yes, true. The branch can update your bank account, but not your credit card account, which is separate and must be done centrally, The branch will help you do this. Once I renewed my passport and continued to use my bank passbook with no problem until the teller/officer checked my passport number and discovered it didn't match my (new) passport. Turns out your passbook contains your passport number and maybe even your signature, but they're invisible. And once when I tried to add my credit card to my online account on the bank's website, it didn't go through. The problem was my credit card account still had my old passport number, even though I had updated my bank accounts. So when you renew your passport, don't forget to update your bank and credit card accounts, insurance accounts, mobile phone accounts, and your airline and other online profiles.

The top news story in Thailand right now is about how a cute, young commoner aka an influencer got the royal treatment when she arrived at Swampy, including an "official" police motorcycle escort to her hotel in Pattaya. At least 4 tourist and traffic police have been implicated, I believe. There are 2 fast lanes - one land side and one air side. I've reported that the fast lane for arrivals was temporarily closed for "construction." But there has been an alternative "secret" priority lane in the main immigration hall. Actually they now have a small sign indicating its existence, so don't miss it. Last time there was no wait. In fact the bored IOs looked surprised to see me coming. There is a potential downside to using the fast lane. The IOs can take their time to scrutinize your passport cause there isn't a long line behind you.

The ticket counter used to give you a paper pass. You had to show it to the checker to enter the fast lane door and surrender it to passport control so immigration could bill the airline. The counter used to also issue you a pass for the lounge but apparently they've done away with that too. Now the only time I get a separate paper pass is when the airline doesn't have its own lounge, like PAL. BTW, the fast lane was closed for construction when I arrived late last month. I had to use the "secret" fast lane in the main immigration hall.

Yes, happened to me. IIRC, I didn't even ask for it. They did it to make it easier and faster for them and me to pass through passport control.

Don't understand the rush to transfer stamps. Personally, I avoid any interaction with immigration if at all possible. Your Thai stamps are still valid even though the old passport is invalid. This includes your REP. If you take a trip abroad, just remember to take both passports. You can get the stamps transferred when you go in for your annual extension. Also, you don't have to go to CW. You can get your stamps transferred at the airport before your departure or after your return - at no cost to you.

What is the difference between a bank draft and a cashier's check?

Does the US embassy frown on passport holders applying for an extension while on a trip to Thailand? Which address would the applicant use - formal home address in America or the hotel's street address in Bangkok? How would the applicant pay the fees without a bank account in Thailand?

"Qualifying U.S. citizens can renew their passports online starting Friday, according to an announcement by the State Department." From USA Today.

But does the embassy outright reject a visa application or does it work with you to fix any deficiencies, such as missing documents or information?

Nowadays even passport photos from a professional photographer's shop are taken by a digital camera and printed on paper. So what kind of pic will suffice at Laksi? Will a selfie do?