Something new - I earned 20 baht in interest and they took out 3 baht TAX

[how241]

This is the first time they have taken tax out  for small amounts.  It always used to be that you needed to earn 20,000 in interest before they withheld the 15% tax.  No more.  Krungsri told me it started last month and will be the same at all banks.  Kasikorn also took out 2 baht Tax. Check your bank books when you update after July 1 and see if the same is happening to you. 

Edited June 24, 2019 by how241

[how241]

  I get paid interest monthly at Krungsri and I first noticed it in May.  When I questioned them about it the staff said it is part of the new govt.  and you will see it on all bank accounts starting with the mid-year interest posting.  I am not sure if they do this to Thai people as Kasikorn posted my mid-year interest and tax already BUT did Not post the interest to my Thai lady acct. yet.  I will keep a eye on that,  not that it really matters.  The tax will cost somewhere around 1800 yearly.  I will try to reclaim it back in Jan .  I thought I was done going to the tax office and dealing with their b/s.  I guess not. 

[Kwasaki]

27 minutes ago, how241 said:

I will try to reclaim it back in Jan .

Yeah well just do that and stop moaning, when in Rome as saying goes.

[smo]

 A bit late to the party (myself included...). Read up here:

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/forum/13-jobs-economy-banking-business-investments/page/3/

 

 

[how241]

8 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Yeah well just do that and stop moaning, when in Rome as saying goes.

No moaning here.  Just starting a thread to share info and experiences.  Kind of like the total basis for this forum.  Thanks for your post. 

[how241]

Thanks, smo...I never knew about that thread. I will give it a good read.  Thanks

[smo]

No problem pal, this is what this forum is all about, to share common experience that all could benefit. For those who'd rather say, google it up, it's so easy why do you ask, or do like the romans do, etc. that simply shows a lack of empathy that doesn't deserve space in this kind of forum, let alone a proper response.

 

Additionally you'll find in the afore mentioned thread another link offered by forum's financial guru, Pib, that gives clear guidance how to start on the road to reclaiming your tax witholding. There are a couple more of recent threads upon same subject that could be found easily on same subforum.

 

I myself had no idea what that was all about, until I updated my bankbook this week and got a mini-shock. Went to the bank yesterday afternoon to have the staff told me that yes, it's happening, and it's the doing of the (Thai) IRS. I told them that we customers deserve a notice letter from bank about the change - since the account I opened with them Mee Tai Dai of Krungsri advertised itself as tax-free. The staff simply stone-faced, saying that there's a notice on the IRS website about this and left it at that.

Edited June 25, 2019 by smo

[how241]

58 minutes ago, smo said:

I myself had no idea what that was all about, until I updated my bankbook this week and got a mini-shock. Went to the bank yesterday afternoon to have the staff told me that yes, it's happening, and it's the doing of the (Thai) IRS.

Yes,  I had the same 'mini-shock' as you as I have had this acct.   for 7 years and they Never took any tax out.  I have been to the Jomtien tax office and did get a refund check mailed to me for a few passed years.  I thought I had everything set up so that would not be necessary again.  One year my refund check didn't come and after several trips back to the tax office I got a replacement check sent which I did receive.  I asked the tax office about sending the refund to 'Prompt Pay' but I think she was trying to tell me that is for Thai people only.  Her English was very limited. Oh Well,  back to the tax office in January.

[Pib]

Below news/doc from the  Thai Revenue Dept webpage.   And be sure to also read the separate TV thread titled Krungsri -Mee Tai Dai Savings.

http://www.rd.go.th/publish/fileadmin/user_upload/news/englishnews36_2562.pdf
.

 

 

[how241]

Thanks for this info.  I have many banks and they all started taking tax.  I never told them NOT to send in my tax info.  It seems like the banks are doing the opposite of what the letter says. I may be wrong. Many of my bank accts.  only have small money in them so I don't really care.

[johng]

20 minutes ago, how241 said:

I have been to the Jomtien tax office

Where is the Jomtien tax office ???

[Pib]

36 minutes ago, how241 said:

Thanks for this info.  I have many banks and they all started taking tax.  I never told them NOT to send in my tax info.  It seems like the banks are doing the opposite of what the letter says. I may be wrong. Many of my bank accts.  only have small money in them so I don't really care.

Do you mind mentioning some of your many banks and types of accounts?  

 

And if your other accounts are "fixed type" savings account the 15% tax withholding has always been a requirement for any amount of interest earned....even providing a tax ID will not stop that withholding. 

 

And you may be right about some banks doing the opposite of what the letter says "at least for farangs."  I say for at least farangs because in the Krungsri MTD thread you see where the bank rep said the withholding applied if you were a "farang and resident" (must meet both criteria) but not if you are a "Thai and resident."   If a farang and resident then they need your Thai tax ID to prevent the automatic withholding on Bt20K or less interest earned per year.   

 

Now in that same Krungsri MTD thread you see where my discussions with Bangkok Bank regarding my "regular savings" accounts that their answer was inline with the Thai Revenue Dept article....no withholding tax if earning Bt20K or less per year unless you told them not to send any info to the Thai Revenue Dept....then they must withhold the tax.  Didn't make a difference whether farang or Thai.  But if that Bangkok Bank rep (this rep seemed like a senior rep) was wrong then I should see a tax withholding occurring soon on my Bangkok Bank regular savings accounts since the mid year interest payment will be made by end of this month/June.  Then I will visit Bangkok Bank again and ask them why they told me a fib.

 

I'm still waiting for monthly Krungsri MTD interest payment (occurs last day or so of the month) to see if providing my tax ID did indeed stop the withholding....and also waiting for the Bangkok Bank interest payments on my regular savings accounts which occur twice a year in June and December.    Past years that Bangkok Bank interest payment occurred "mid" month...but mid month has come and gone with no interest payment yet...maybe this year it will change to the last day or so of June and December due to new tax withholding rule. 

 

Edited June 25, 2019 by Pib

[how241]

46 minutes ago, Pib said:

Do you mind mentioning some of your many banks and types of accounts?  

Excellent post, Pib. My other account are Kasikorn, SCB, LH but are just regular savings accounts that I keep very little money in.  Some have atm cards attached to them. I made these accts.  many years ago.

Yes,  you are correct in that those higher interest fixed accounts will always take out the 15% tax. I am going to talk with Krungsri and see if I can show them my tax card and a copy of the revenue dept. letter and ask them to stop taking tax money out.  The other accts.  I may not bother as it is only a few baht each year. 

[how241]

1 hour ago, johng said:

Where is the Jomtien tax office ???

It's right off of 2nd road in Jomtien.  Very close to Immigration. It's the first left turn as you pass the traffic light that goes to Jomtien beach. You won't see it from the main road as it is set back a little. Sorry I can't give better directions. If you get to the KISS restaurant and big market,  you have passed it. 

[how241]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

Below news/doc from the  Thai Revenue Dept webpage.   And be sure to also read the separate TV thread titled Krungsri -Mee Tai Dai Savings.

http://www.rd.go.th/publish/fileadmin/user_upload/news/englishnews36_2562.pdf
.

 

 

I put this on a memory stick to show the bank.  I  'think'  I might have found the same in thai but not 100% sure.  I will show the bank.  Does anyone have the Thai version of this letter ?  The bank is definitely doing the opposite of what the letter says.  

[johng]

 

8 minutes ago, how241 said:

It's right off of 2nd road in Jomtien

Ok I think I found it then (well the sign leading to it) thanks.

https://www.google.com/maps/@12.8998595,100.8710516,3a,34.8y,90.21h,86.58t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sp-hjSNEFN81GXWvGGuCTMA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

 

[how241]

25 minutes ago, johng said:

Ok I think I found it then (well the sign leading to it) thanks.

You found it.  Right down that soi.   Good Luck.

[Pib]

1 hour ago, how241 said:

I put this on a memory stick to show the bank.  I  'think'  I might have found the same in thai but not 100% sure.  I will show the bank.  Does anyone have the Thai version of this letter ?  The bank is definitely doing the opposite of what the letter says.  

http://www.rd.go.th/publish/fileadmin/user_upload/news/news36_2562.pdf

[Pib]

1 hour ago, how241 said:

Excellent post, Pib. My other account are Kasikorn, SCB, LH but are just regular savings accounts that I keep very little money in. 

And just to confirm, you are saying each one of above mentioned banks has started withholding tax on your "regular savings" accounts...repeat, regular savings accounts.  

 

And when I say regular savings account, I mean they are a typical bank account that comes with a debit card and pays around 0.5% interest right now....the kind of everyday account most people get for their day-to-day banking.    I'm not talking fixed/hybrid/high interest paying type accounts which have different tax withholding rules.

[how241]

1 minute ago, Pib said:

And just to confirm, you are saying each one of above mentioned banks has started withholding tax on your "regular savings" accounts...repeat, regular savings accounts.  

Yes,  The regular savings account that pay .5% interest.  I opened these accounts around 2011 and was Never changed any tax until this month. I think all the banks are misinterpreting the tax/revenue letter.  So far,  this is confirmed at Kasikorn after I just did the mid-year book update. They took a few baht tax.  Krungsri did also take tax on my Mee Tae Dai acct.  which I opened around 2011.  It pays 1.3% and posts interest monthly.

[how241]

16 minutes ago, Pib said:

http://www.rd.go.th/publish/fileadmin/user_upload/news/news36_2562.pdf

Thanks !!!   I will show this to the banks.   The problem is only the older-man managers can fix things and they usually speak very little English.  The cute young Thai girl staff, can speak some English but has no power to change things.  Those younger staff are afraid to question the managers and it becomes a 'catch 22'  situation...You will get a lot of "sorry sir"  and cute smiles.   I Love Thailand !!!    haha

[Pib]

30 minutes ago, how241 said:

Yes,  The regular savings account that pay .5% interest.  I opened these accounts around 2011 and was Never changed any tax until this month. I think all the banks are misinterpreting the tax/revenue letter.  So far,  this is confirmed at Kasikorn after I just did the mid-year book update. They took a few baht tax.  Krungsri did also take tax on my Mee Tae Dai acct.  which I opened around 2011.  It pays 1.3% and posts interest monthly.

Well, that sucks.  And I highly, highly, highly doubt the banks are misinterpreting anything, but there is some fine print triggering the tax....like maybe the fine print I talked about regarding the Krungsri MTD account where a different rule applied for a "farang resident" vs a Thai resident.   

 

And maybe such fine print is what meant by below partial quote from the Thai Revenue Dept news article I posted a little earlier where they talk "most savings account owners."  See the quote at the bottom.  Maybe what they mean by that is since most savings account owners are Thais then they are good to go....but if farang (as we are a minority in Thailand) a Thai tax ID will be needed to prevent tax withholding....fine print details not talked in the article...tax regs always come with details/fine print. 

 

Now that news article goes on to talk how if an account owner does not want their interest info sent to the revenue dept they they can request non-disclosure which although not mentioned in the article will trigger an automatic 15% tax withholding on interest.   Maybe since there will be some folks like this then the article can't say "all" are not affected and instead just say "most" are affected.

 

Yeap, I'll be pissed if what the Bangkok Bank rep told me about regular savings account is wrong...I'll be pissed but not surprised.  Should know for sure by the end of June once Bangkok Bank makes its semi-annual interest payment on regular savings accounts.

 

Quote

Mr. Predee Daochai, President of the Thai Bankers Association, further clarified, “By specifying that the banks have to transfer the interest information of every account to the Revenue Department, most savings account owners will enjoy the benefit of interest tax exemption.

 

[how241]

There might be something with the Thai-Farang part of this.  What I found strange was I just updated my Kasikorn books,  they posted the mid-year interest and Tax...When I tried to update my Thai ladies book,  it did NOT post the mid-year interest yet.  Strange. I guess we will know soon enough. 

[YT3k72Em]

I visited 2 different banks in the last 2 days armed with a Tax ID number, hoping to update my accounts with the tax information before the interest was paid in June after seeing it deducted from Kbank already.

 

After much discussion, both banks insisted there was simply no way to add the Tax ID number to my accounts that were opened with a Passport. i.e., there is no field in the computer for them to add it. The only option they have is the report to RD or not choice. I will try and get them set to report and then see what happens next week.

[KhunKenAP]

Just had a call from my bank Krungsri. If you have a Thai Tax Id, all those with a Work Permit will have one, if you bring your Thai Tax Id card or last years Income Tax form that shows the number, they will not take out tax out until you get over 20,000 baht in interest.

 

If not it is an automatic 15%. You could get it back at the end of the year, but I am sure very difficult.

[JimGant]

18 hours ago, Pib said:

Yeap, I'll be pissed if what the Bangkok Bank rep told me about regular savings account is wrong...I'll be pissed but not surprised.  Should know for sure by the end of June once Bangkok Bank makes its semi-annual interest payment on regular savings accounts

Pib, I've always gotten my Bangkok Bank interest posted mid June and mid Dec. So far this month, no posting as of June 26. So, I can only surmise that this new withholding goat rope has something to do with it. We'll see.

[Pib]

57 minutes ago, JimGant said:

Pib, I've always gotten my Bangkok Bank interest posted mid June and mid Dec. So far this month, no posting as of June 26. So, I can only surmise that this new withholding goat rope has something to do with it. We'll see.

Yea....ditto for me and the wife....we have 4 Bkk Bk accts between us....two joint and two single name....no interest payments as of 26 June at 1:45pm.  Past years the interest was paid plus or minus a few days of mid month.   I figure the interest will be paid by close of business 28 June which is this Friday....doubt they would accomplish an interest payment on a weekend.

 

I hope I'm wrong, but I have a bad feeling tax is going to be withheld on any of the accts my name as a farang is on although the Bangkok Bank rep said that would not occur.   I have that feeling right now because I'm just seeing too many posts from farangs with regular savings accts whose interest has been paid over the past week are getting hit with the tax withholding.  As mentioned earlier that's when the wife and I will go back to Bkk Bk and ask why the rep told us a fib.  But I hope I'm wrong...keeping my fingers crossed.

[Orton Rd]

On 6/24/2019 at 11:48 PM, Kwasaki said:

Yeah well just do that and stop moaning, when in Rome as saying goes.

They crucified people in Rome and threw unwanted babies onto the tarpian rock, why put up with that sort of carry on, or stopping tax when they never used to on some accounts?

[Kwasaki]

1 minute ago, Orton Rd said:

They crucified people in Rome and threw unwanted babies onto the tarpian rock, why put up with that sort of carry on, or stopping tax when they never used to on some accounts?

???? Yeah matter of principle OK but come on no matter what country your in if they change tax laws there's nothing you can do about it, it's just not worth worrying about.

OP can get his 3 bht back eventually.

[Vacuum]

On 6/25/2019 at 5:55 AM, smo said:

I told them that we customers deserve a notice letter from bank about the change

What change, this has been going on for years?