Registering a website in a Thai's name

[Flow]

Hi all,

I run a small website out of Thailand that has now become profitable. I do not have an office as all my clients are online, some are foreign customers, the majority are Thais. They pay through the bank. The bank account is not registered in my name for obvious reasons but in a trusted Thai family member of mine. The time is right to register the website also in a Thai family's name since it's become profitable and I want to pay taxes and just make sure it's a legal registered business.

I do not want an office but I think I will need an office address?

My current landlord of the condo I reside in isn't giving permission to have it registered at the address because she's using the address herself for one of her businesses.

I work from home and I'm on a retirement visa.

I have no idea how to get it registered either i.e. where to go? Does my Thai family need a lawyer or an accountant? 

Any tips?

Appreciated.

[ctxa]

Your question is very vague. What is the meaning of "registering a website in a Thai's name"? 

 

Do you mean the domain registration data? Domain WHOIS? The server on which the website is hosted? 

 

Or, on the other hand you just want to register a Thai company which will be the operator of said website? If so, you will have to get that Thai family of yours to establish a company in Thailand, apply a bank account, and update your website with all those information accordingly. Regarding the registered address for your new company, if your landlord really doesn't allow, you could find a co-working space which "rents" you an address which you can use to register the company and they even will scan or forward the mail which your company receives, not that expensive!

Edited December 13, 2020 by ctxa

[Flow]

I already have the domain name and all that including the website which has turned profitable. I run it myself though with the assistance of Thai family that assist it me with it e.g. translating.  But my Thai family also do not want it registered using their home address as they too use their addresses for various businesses.

Anywhere I could find co-working office space for rent in Bangkok? 

Is a lawyer even required as it won't be registered in my name but in a Thai's. I have no intention to pump 2 million Baht into the Thai economy just to have a website.

One of the main issues is that some of my Thai clients have started asking for invoices.

Thanks.

[KhaoNiaw]

10 minutes ago, Flow said:

Is a lawyer even required as it won't be registered in my name but in a Thai's. I have no intention to pump 2 million Baht into the Thai economy just to have a website.

One of the main issues is that some of my Thai clients have started asking for invoices.

Thanks.

I think you have to register with the Ministry of Commerce if you're based in Thailand and want to be taking money off Thais. 

[ctxa]

1 hour ago, Flow said:

I already have the domain name and all that including the website which has turned profitable. I run it myself though with the assistance of Thai family that assist it me with it e.g. translating.  But my Thai family also do not want it registered using their home address as they too use their addresses for various businesses.

Anywhere I could find co-working office space for rent in Bangkok? 

Is a lawyer even required as it won't be registered in my name but in a Thai's. I have no intention to pump 2 million Baht into the Thai economy just to have a website.

One of the main issues is that some of my Thai clients have started asking for invoices.

Thanks.

I can not recommend any particular company which offers such services, as it would probably be against this forum's rules. However, simply Google "Virtual Office for rent Bangkok" and you will see there are many, with prices around the 1000 THB / month even cheaper!!!

 

Registering a company for a Thai is rather straightforward, have your Thai family member reserver the company name, have him fill a memorandum of association at the local DBD (Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce), pay the company registration fees, register the company for tax, and finally open a bank account. 

 

If you wanted to save some time you could pay a lawyer or some sort of agent to prepare the paperwork and aid you through the process, though it's not really needed and I am sure that your Thai family member can do this all by himself. It's not that hard after all, and not particularly different to other countries.

 

Good luck!

[timendres]

26 minutes ago, Flow said:

One of the main issues is that some of my Thai clients have started asking for invoices.

 

This is the real issue. If you are a business, working with other businesses, they want invoicing for the purpose of expensing. At this point, you need to deal with VAT and WHT (withholding). To deal with that, you need a VAT license, or a ภ.พ. 20. To obtain the license, the company will need to be registered. Then you will need to deal with the accounting every month, submitting your VAT. Here, you will get screwed. You will collect only 4% of the invoice (7% VAT minus the 3% WHT), but you will have to pay the government the full 7% VAT. So you are out 3% of all of your invoicing. At the end of the year, you can file to get the 3% WHT back, but every accountant will tell you to not file for that, unless it is a significant amount. Furthermore, not only will you be paying the monthly accounting fees, but also the year end audit fees. Regardless, it is a lot of overhead. If your profits do not amount to at least 30,000 THB per month, it is likely not worth it. You would probably be further ahead to simply report the income on someone's personal return, and tell the clients wanting invoices that you cannot accommodate them.

[asiacurious]

1 hour ago, Flow said:

I already have the domain name and all that including the website which has turned profitable. I run it myself though with the assistance of Thai family that assist it me with it e.g. translating. 

 

I'm going to guess it is not a .co.th website, as companies have to provide paperwork to even sign up for a .co.th domain.  So you probably have a .com or other such domain.  If that's the case, then there is really no point to registering a .com (or other non- .co.th site) that I can think of, is there?  Is it even possible to "register" a non- .co.th site?  With whom would you register the site?  What benefits do you hope to gain from doing that?

 

2 hours ago, Flow said:

The time is right to register the website also in a Thai family's name since it's become profitable and I want to pay taxes and just make sure it's a legal registered business.

 

The website has nothing to do with registering a company and paying taxes.  Totally separate issues.

 

Of course, there is no making any work you do while on a retirement visa legal.  But if someone establishes a legally registered Thai company and hires 4 Thais as employees, you could get yourself a business visa and work here legally.  No need to sink millions of baht into establishing the company yourself if you have a trusted Thai person as the company's owner.

 

 

[Flow]

Very useful all the comments here. Many thanks to you all!

Edited December 15, 2020 by Flow