Is there a way to reclaim overpaid Thai income tax from overseas?

[r13522]

Here's my situation:

 

- Was employed from January 2019 - August 2019, earning 90,000 baht a month. Had a work permit, everything was fully legal. 

- I went home after August, thanks to a total breakdown in relations between myself and my employer.

- I was taxed per month on the basis that I would be there for all 12 months (i.e. under the assumption I'd be earning 90,000*12, rather than 90,000*8 as actually happened).

- Because of this, I've ended up overpaying about 63,000 baht in tax, as my yearly income was not 1,080,000, it was 720,000.

 

Is there anyway I can reclaim this amount from outside the country? I have no intention of coming back to Thailand, and the cost of the flight and the accommodation if this requires sorting out in person would make it a waste of time anyway. I have copies of all my wageslips and work permit. I also have a Thai Bank account still active for the refund to be processed into, if that is required.

Edited February 12, 2020 by r13522

[asiaexpat]

Read this, may be an option.

http://rdserver.rd.go.th/publish/sub_index.php?page=01

[r13522]

8 minutes ago, asiaexpat said:

Read this, may be an option.

http://rdserver.rd.go.th/publish/sub_index.php?page=01

 

Just getting a 404 on that link.

[asiaexpat]

1 hour ago, asiaexpat said:

Read this, may be an option.

http://rdserver.rd.go.th/publish/sub_index.php?page=01

Sorry, the site has a problem. I was trying to tell u that Thailand has a e-filing application called RD Smart Tax. I downloaded to my phone from the App store. It should also be available for android. Search for RDSmartTax. Online filing is recommended by Revenue Office.

[YT3k72Em]

If you have a Tax ID number (13-digit, might be on your payslip) you can do your tax return by web (in thai) or on RDSmartTax app (english and thai). You will need a Thai address to receive the refund cheque at.

Then you will also need to come to Thailand within 6 months of getting the refund to deposit the cheque or have it put onto a smartcard. It might be worth it for a free holiday!

 

[r13522]

1 hour ago, YT3k72Em said:

If you have a Tax ID number (13-digit, might be on your payslip) you can do your tax return by web (in thai) or on RDSmartTax app (english and thai). You will need a Thai address to receive the refund cheque at.

Then you will also need to come to Thailand within 6 months of getting the refund to deposit the cheque or have it put onto a smartcard. It might be worth it for a free holiday!

 

 

So essentially, there is no way whatsoever to get hold of this money, without travelling to Thailand to cash the cheque?

 

I understand I can file online, is there no way they can send a cheque to my home country address, and then I'd go cash the cheque at my home bank? (probably with a usurious forex fee applied, but still, something is better than nothing).

 

Alternatively, can't they just deposit the refund into my Thai bank account if I provide the account number?

Edited February 13, 2020 by r13522

[YT3k72Em]

Unfortunately you can't deposit directly into a bank unless you have a Thai ID card and promptpay.

The cheque can only be deposited at Krung Thai Bank, or converted to an prepaid card at Krung Thai Bank.  It may be possible to have someone else do it with a power of attorney, but haven't heard of any reports of that yet.

 

[r13522]

2 hours ago, YT3k72Em said:

Unfortunately you can't deposit directly into a bank unless you have a Thai ID card and promptpay.

The cheque can only be deposited at Krung Thai Bank, or converted to an prepaid card at Krung Thai Bank.  It may be possible to have someone else do it with a power of attorney, but haven't heard of any reports of that yet.

 

 

Might be a (super) long shot, but would it be possible to cash this cheque at a KrungThai Bank branch overseas?

 

The Thai bank account I have is actually with KTB. A quick look at KTB's website (here: https://www.ktb.co.th/en/contact-us/foreign-branch) indicates they have a handful of branches in Singapore, Cambodia, and Laos. I could go to one of those places (potentially), but cannot go back to Thailand. Would their foreign branch entertain cashing a cheque in THB from the tax office?

[Sophon]

21 minutes ago, r13522 said:

 

Might be a (super) long shot, but would it be possible to cash this cheque at a KrungThai Bank branch overseas?

 

The Thai bank account I have is actually with KTB. A quick look at KTB's website (here: https://www.ktb.co.th/en/contact-us/foreign-branch) indicates they have a handful of branches in Singapore, Cambodia, and Laos. I could go to one of those places (potentially), but cannot go back to Thailand. Would their foreign branch entertain cashing a cheque in THB from the tax office?

You don't get a cheque, you get a letter from the Revenue Office confirming the refund (at least that i what I got this year, IIRC I got a cheque last year). The letter contains a bar-code that Krung Thai Bank scans, and then deposits the money into your account with them. I very much doubt that this process could be done at a foreign branch of KTB.

[YT3k72Em]

Yes, not technically a cheque.  If you already had a bank account at KTB you might be able to get someone else to deposit it.  Last year they didn't ask for my passport, this year they did, and just glanced at it.