SCB EZ Savings

[shortstop2]

Opened a SCB EZ Savings account today.  Currently paying 1.5% interest so a pretty good deal.

 

The rep told me that even though other banks may not withhold tax that, SCB does withhold.  I know I can file a Thai tax return to recoup the withheld tax but would prefer it not be withheld in the first place. Does anyone NOT have tax withheld from a SCB account?

 

Does anyone use this account to satisfy the 800K bank requirement for an extension of stay or do you need a passbook account?

 

Are there any hidden traps when using this account that you think one might not be aware of?

 

 

[Kwasaki]

10 hours ago, shortstop2 said:

Are there any hidden traps when using this account that you think one might not be aware of?

That is a good interest rate, I see mine is only .3750%.

My extension money is in a fixed 3 month a/c with Bkk bank the interest I take out and buy KFC.

The tax amount I let them keep I can't be bother in claiming from the govt tax office yearly. 

[thequietman]

Can we assume that you pay a set amount each month and you can't lodge a lump sum ???

[HampiK]

21 minutes ago, thequietman said:

Can we assume that you pay a set amount each month and you can't lodge a lump sum ???

No you can put initially the whole amount.. no need of monthly deposits. This is a electronic saving account same as K-Bank, KTB and other banks have as well. Only SCB is the only bank, which offers this to foreigners!

[shortstop2]

On 6/21/2021 at 5:35 PM, thequietman said:

Can we assume that you pay a set amount each month and you can't lodge a lump sum ???

 

You can add funds or take out funds on any schedule that suits you.

 

1.5% is a good interest but my branch insisted on withholding tax.

 

I am not sure if you can withdraw cash from a teller.

 

I am not even sure if you can add cash with the aid of a teller.  I opened the account with cash and they seemed to say that all future transactions must be online.  Maybe they just meant withdrawals.  A few days after opening the account I made a substantial cash deposit which they accepted but perhaps they did so because it was a new account.

 

I don't have an ATM but perhaps I can use the "cardless ATM". which I haven't figured out yet.

 

The purpose of my account is to earn high interest and I won't be using it as an everyday account.  I can easily transfer money online to/from my Krungsri everyday account.

 

If I find out that the SCB Easy can be used for Immigration funds then I will do so but the lack of a passbook could be problematic.

 

 

[Mickeymaus]

In the meantime they will immediately withhold the tax if you are a foreigner. To avoid this you have to give them a Tax ID. Then they will start to withhold it when the amount exceeds 20000 Baht if I remember correctly. They might/will take the interest payments from all your banks for this limit. There was a nice time when they took this limit per bank account number. But this time is over. 

[shortstop2]

35 minutes ago, Mickeymaus said:

To avoid this you have to give them a Tax ID.

I have a Thai Tax ID but my branch says they are still withholding tax. 

[scubascuba3]

14 minutes ago, shortstop2 said:

I have a Thai Tax ID but my branch says they are still withholding tax. 

I think that's correct, you have to reclaim at the tax office every year or two

[Mickeymaus]

1 hour ago, shortstop2 said:

I have a Thai Tax ID but my branch says they are still withholding tax. 

I have accounts at the Bangkok Bank, Krungsri and Kasikorn. I gave them all my Tax ID. Krungsri continued to withhold the tax. When I complained I got the amounts refunded and since this time no tax is withheld. The nice thing was that the Revenue Department refunded me these amounts again since Krungsri paid the refunds from their money and didn't correct the tax payments. At SCB I don't have any accounts. 

[shortstop2]

Although SCB said they would be withholding tax, none was withheld in June. My account pays interest in June and December.   I see coding for my 38 baht in interest (money was in the account for only a few days)  but no coding for tax.

 

Maybe they only withhold when you reach 20K in interest?

 

For those of you who have SCB accounts, is tax being withheld before you reach 20K in interest?

[DrJoy]

On 6/21/2021 at 5:57 PM, HampiK said:

No you can put initially the whole amount.. no need of monthly deposits. This is a electronic saving account same as K-Bank, KTB and other banks have as well. Only SCB is the only bank, which offers this to foreigners!

@HampiK Krungsri also offers to foreigners.

In Krungsri u get pass book as well but interest is 1% upto 5 Mill Baht

It pays monthly interest

[CANSIAM]

Tried to open the SCB EASY account ( 1.50% ) in mid December. I was told that my rate would be 1.27415 % as I do not have a tax ID number. 2 million baht is the maximum for this easy account. I need an Embassy letter stating I'm retired as well. I do believe the issue here is that most of my money is in a different bank, anyway don't understand it, they have my recent OA extension copy, I assume if I was showing 800k plus at SCB, this notarized embassy letter requirement would not be necessary....... ridiculous.......

Edited January 9, 2022 by CANSIAM

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, CANSIAM said:

Tried to open the SCB EASY account ( 1.50% ) in mid December. I was told that my rate would be 1.27415 % as I do not have a tax ID number. 2 million baht is the maximum for this easy account. I need an Embassy letter stating I'm retired as well. I do believe the issue here is that most of my money is in a different bank, anyway don't understand it, they have my recent OA extension copy, I assume if I was showing 800k plus at SCB, this notarized embassy letter requirement would not be necessary....... ridiculous.......

Try a different branch, the embassy thing is nonsense

[shortstop2]

2 hours ago, CANSIAM said:

I was told that my rate would be 1.27415 % as I do not have a tax ID number.

That is what you would get net after the tax is withheld.   But you can file a Thai tax return every year and get the withheld tax back assuming you you have less than about 150,000 Thai income.   It's easy enough to get a Tax ID card at the Revenue Office.  My issue was the bank employee did not want to take my Tax ID number to stop the withholding but I "think" I got that sorted.

 

2 hours ago, CANSIAM said:

800k plus at SCB

Immigration may not accept this account for an Extension of Stay since there is no bankbook.     So I keep my 800K in a Mee Tae Dai account at Krungsri. 

[keithsimmonds]

On 7/2/2021 at 11:54 PM, shortstop2 said:

Although SCB said they would be withholding tax, none was withheld in June. My account pays interest in June and December.   I see coding for my 38 baht in interest (money was in the account for only a few days)  but no coding for tax.

 

Maybe they only withhold when you reach 20K in interest?

 

For those of you who have SCB accounts, is tax being withheld before you reach 20K in interest?

Yes tax is withheld on all 3 of my SCB accounts.....only 2 of which  are worth claiming the Tax back on which i did on Friday. I cant be bothered to give SCB my Tax id number as a trip to Inland revenue is no big deal.

[keithsimmonds]

4 minutes ago, shortstop2 said:

That is what you would get net after the tax is withheld.   But you can file a Thai tax return every year and get the withheld tax back assuming you you have less than about 150,000 Thai income.   It's easy enough to get a Tax ID card at the Revenue Office.  My issue was the bank employee did not want to take my Tax ID number to stop the withholding but I "think" I got that sorted.

 

Immigration may not accept this account for an Extension of Stay since there is no bankbook.     So I keep my 800K in a Mee Tae Dai account at Krungsri. 

Immigration excepted the Ez account from me in December (jomtien)

[gamb00ler]

On 6/25/2021 at 3:35 PM, shortstop2 said:

I have a Thai Tax ID but my branch says they are still withholding tax. 

 

On 6/25/2021 at 3:50 PM, scubascuba3 said:

I think that's correct, you have to reclaim at the tax office every year or two

 

On 7/2/2021 at 11:54 PM, shortstop2 said:

For those of you who have SCB accounts, is tax being withheld before you reach 20K in interest?

SCB required  that I have a Thai tax ID to open the EZ account.  My account was only opened in early Sep. so I didn't earn 20K of interest in 2021.  There was no tax withheld from the Dec. interest payment.

[gamb00ler]

1 hour ago, keithsimmonds said:

Immigration excepted the Ez account from me in December (jomtien)

What did you get from the bank to show that you maintained the appropriate balance?

I download my statement every month but I think it is quite likely Imm. will want something from the bank to prove the required balance for my retirement extension.

[DrJoy]

5 hours ago, CANSIAM said:

Tried to open the SCB EASY account ( 1.50% ) in mid December. I was told that my rate would be 1.27415 % as I do not have a tax ID number. 2 million baht is the maximum for this easy account. I need an Embassy letter stating I'm retired as well. I do believe the issue here is that most of my money is in a different bank, anyway don't understand it, they have my recent OA extension copy, I assume if I was showing 800k plus at SCB, this notarized embassy letter requirement would not be necessary....... ridiculous.......

Non sense about the embassy letter & Interest thing.

 

 

15 % tax is deducted whether you have tax id or not. You can get it all back from the R.D.

 

Any human can apply for a Thai Tax ID very easily.

 

@CANSIAM They probably cant speak English well then, thang chart (foreigner) cannot open account = BS

[DrJoy]

Krungsri pays 1 % in Mee Tae Daai but their ATM card is fantastic.

 

The card allows unlimited ATM withdrawals nationwide from any ATM (No conditions) which is fantastic.

 

Fee is THB 480/- for 3 yrs, I think one of the best in the industry.

 

SMS alerts @ of THB 19 pm have to be subscribed which is mandatory.

[gamb00ler]

30 minutes ago, DrJoy said:

15 % tax is deducted whether you have tax id or not. You can get it all back from the R.D.

 

Any human can apply for a Thai Tax ID very easily.

Wrong about the tax but correct about the ease of getting Thai Tax ID.  SCB insisted I get tax ID before they would open an account.  No tax withheld from my interest payment in Dec. '21.

[DrJoy]

2 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

Wrong about the tax but correct about the ease of getting Thai Tax ID.  SCB insisted I get tax ID before they would open an account.  No tax withheld from my interest payment in Dec. '21.

I don't have an EZ account but my normal savings account in K Bank, KrungThai, BB all decuct 15 % tax.

 

I have provided the Tax ID still it is being deducted.

 

Maybe you're a wisdom customer with AUM more than 10 Mill THB, so you get special treatment.

[gamb00ler]

43 minutes ago, DrJoy said:

I have provided the Tax ID still it is being deducted.

 

Maybe you're a wisdom customer with AUM more than 10 Mill THB, so you get special treatment.

I'm not surprised that tax is still being withheld despite you having provided the banks your tax ID.  When I took my tax ID card to my other two banks, there was considerable discussion amongst the staff as to what they should do with it.  At one branch I think it was only the branch manager that understood what should be done.  At the other bank, they called their support number at HQ to get the proper procedure going.  In the end it was successful for all accounts. Another poster said fixed deposit accounts would always have tax withheld.  I shall see at the next renewal.

 

I really blame the employers in Thailand for not investing enough time/money into training their staff well.  In my software career in the West, I was always provided substantial training on the job,  mentoring and often sent to courses and symposia relevant to my responsibilities.

 

I'm not sure I understand your last statement but I do not have 10M in banks in Thailand.

[keithsimmonds]

3 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

What did you get from the bank to show that you maintained the appropriate balance?

I download my statement every month but I think it is quite likely Imm. will want something from the bank to prove the required balance for my retirement extension.

As i said in the "other" Scb Ez topic...just a letter from the Bank stating opening balance of account as at Jan 21 and balance as at 13th Dec21...Yes.. if they wanted to be pedantic they could say there is nothing here thats states you had the required 800k in this account 2/3 months ago. Maybe in December (next extension) i will get Scb to produce letter/statement that shows/testifies that my balance never went under 800k...just to cover myself in case someones having a bad day. Anyway got to back in March to show i still got the 800k...

[Chris.B]

5 hours ago, shortstop2 said:

   So I keep my 800K in a Mee Tae Dai account at Krungsri. 

I understand the interest is 0.25%, is that correct?

[Chris.B]

Can someone on a retirement visa get a tax number?

 

If yes, how?

 

If I get a tax number, do I have to fill in a tax return every year?

 

Edited January 9, 2022 by Chris.B

[shortstop2]

1 hour ago, Chris.B said:

I understand the interest is 0.25%, is that correct?

No.

 

Mee Tae Dai is currently 1% but 1.1%. pn the first 100K.

 

1 hour ago, Chris.B said:

Can someone on a retirement visa get a tax number?

 

If yes, how?

 

If I get a tax number, do I have to fill in a tax return every year?

 

Yes. I have a retirement visa

 

Go to a Revenue Office and ask for one.  I forget exactly what documentation, if any, that I needed to provide as it was quite a while ago. 

 

No, you are not required to fill out a tax return every year but you have the option to do so. Hopefully, for the 2022 tax year I will have no interest withheld and therefore no reason to file a return. 

 

 

[Chris.B]

 

46 minutes ago, shortstop2 said:

No.

 

Mee Tae Dai is currently 1% but 1.1%. pn the first 100K.

 

Yes. I have a retirement visa

 

Go to a Revenue Office and ask for one.  I forget exactly what documentation, if any, that I needed to provide as it was quite a while ago. 

 

No, you are not required to fill out a tax return every year but you have the option to do so. Hopefully, for the 2022 tax year I will have no interest withheld and therefore no reason to file a return. 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the info. I found the following thread about the interest

 

 

 

 

[DrJoy]

9 hours ago, keithsimmonds said:

As i said in the "other" Scb Ez topic...just a letter from the Bank stating opening balance of account as at Jan 21 and balance as at 13th Dec21...Yes.. if they wanted to be pedantic they could say there is nothing here thats states you had the required 800k in this account 2/3 months ago. Maybe in December (next extension) i will get Scb to produce letter/statement that shows/testifies that my balance never went under 800k...just to cover myself in case someones having a bad day. Anyway got to back in March to show i still got the 800k...

Yes I had the same fear, so I went with Krungsri Mee Tae Dai A/c.

 

It gives 1% but with passbook. The IO is happy to see the passbook, no headache for me.

[DrJoy]

9 hours ago, Chris.B said:

Can someone on a retirement visa get a tax number?

 

If yes, how?

 

If I get a tax number, do I have to fill in a tax return every year?

 

If you're a human , you can get a Thai Tax Id number ????

 

Visit any Revenue Office with a Thai speaker who can translate for you.

 

Docs- Copy of PP photo page

 For address - Lease agreement/D.L/Pink ID card+Yellow Book/Letter from your Embassy or Immigration 

 

Any one of the above.

 

If I get a tax number, do I have to fill in a tax return every year?  = NO