Well, Jingthing, you've seen this argument from me before. But for those Yanks who haven't -- and who might want to consider its implication, I'll resubmit. As all Yanks with IRAs (or 401k's) know, if these accounts were funded entirely with tax deferred income, all subsequent withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income in the tax year withdrawn. It makes no difference in what year that income was actually earned. But Thailand, with their new tax rulings, provided an out with their Por 162: "Thailand's Departmental Order No. Por. 162/2566 clarifies that Thai tax residents do not need to pay personal income tax on foreign-sourced income earned before January 1, 2024, even if that money is brought into Thailand on or after that date." My IRA was principally funded with pre-1990 tax deferred wage income; and with subsequent tax deferred earnings. Only a small part of my IRA consists of earnings after Jan 1, 2024. And since FIFO (first in, first out) is acceptable with Thai tax authorities, all my Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) are all from pre 2024 income -- and thus protected from Thai taxation, per Por 162 -- if subsequently remitted to Thailand. This observation has no practical application to me, as I have an LTR visa. And, even if I didn't, the DTA says Thailand has primary taxation rights on remitted IRAs, so even if I decided Por 162 didn't apply to IRAs, all Thai taxes on this IRA would go as a credit against those US taxes I'm certainly legally obligated to pay. Only if Thai taxes exceeded my US taxes, would I take a hit; but that wouldn't happen with current amounts of RMDs. Anyway, a potential grey area -- but as with all grey areas, give yourself the benefit of the doubt. Certainly, if somehow TRD wanted to chat with you about this, your IRA records, with all that pre 2024 income, and with a copy of Por 162 -- would probably blow the socks off of the ordinary TRD clerk, as well as all the supervisors above him.
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