How to deal with taxes (if any) as a Thai Elite Visa member.

[wildparker]

Hey there, I hope your doing good! ????

 

I signed up to ask about a few doubts I have about the Thai Elite Visa program. I read through a lot of threads too and while it's been very informative I still feel a bit confused.
I saw a blogpost on Xolo about a German entrepeur lady that lives in Thailand and has the Estonian company through the e-residency program. I would like to do the same thing. I already have my e-residency card and basically I am ready to start my company in Estonia. 

 

What I would truly like to know about this Thai Elite Visa, am I able to get a Thai Tax ID and does it automatically make you a tax resident of Thailand? Or do you still only get that by staying 180 days a year, and this Thai Elite Visa is only the bells and whistles that makes it easier to do so. As mentioned earlier I have plans to net passive income out of a company in Estonia for my future. Estonia would be the country where I pay my corporate tax. 

 

I have no business plans at all in Thailand. If I was simply allowed to get tax residency in Thailand with this method then wouldn’t it allow me to receive all of my income from these foreign companies, 1 year after it’s generated, tax free for the next 20 years? Or am I missing something here? That would seem to be the greatest benefit of all. But if the Thai Elite Visa still makes you a slave to the 180 day time count then it doesn’t seem so good afterall.

[DrJack54]

Wrong forum

[JackGats]

Thai Elite is only a kind of visa. Tax residency can never rest on a visa alone, and I never heard anything about Thai Elite offering tax exemptions eg on your pension like retirement visas in some countries.

 

You can get a Thai TIN even if you do not pay taxes (or pay only withholding tax on some capital gains) in Thailand. I got one.

[Caldera]

Neither having a Thai Elite visa nor obtaining a Thai TIN automatically make you a tax resident of Thailand.

[KhaoNiaw]

Thai Elite is a class of tourist visa is it not? I don't know if this precludes you getting a tax ID or not

[freedomnow]

if you went out and in at 179 days would that not stop any tax issues.

or is it 180 days in a year that ropes you in to tax issues ?

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, wildparker said:

I have no business plans at all in Thailand. If I was simply allowed to get tax residency in Thailand with this method then wouldn’t it allow me to receive all of my income from these foreign companies, 1 year after it’s generated, tax free for the next 20 years? Or am I missing something here? That would seem to be the greatest benefit of all. But if the Thai Elite Visa still makes you a slave to the 180 day time count then it doesn’t seem so good afterall.

You're missing something.

 

You don't need a tax id to not pay any tax on money deposited a year (or more) after it's earned.

 

So keep all your money and investments outside the country and transfer it in as and when you need it.

 

I've heard tales of people who do large transfers right around the first week of January, the reason being that it's unlikely you earned it in the current year and almost certainly wouldn't need to show any proof if audited but those were Thai tax payers, they were foreigners but also in the Thai system and had companies and locally taxed salaries paid in Thailand.

 

So you can stay here for a very long time at the moment without having any kind of tax number.

That might change in the future but who knows.

 

If there are no rule changes then sure, I see no reason why you can't just do this for 20 years.

 

I was speaking to someone a couple of years back and I mentioned that I last paid tax back in the 90's and he said he's never paid any, now this guy was well into his 70's so he's spent the last 50+ years without paying a penny in tax and he too lives in Thailand and has done for a very long time.

 

There are some people who can benefit (quite a bit) from paying tax in Thailand, those who have to pay a sometimes far higher rate in the country where their money originates, if they can prove that they're going to be taxed in Thailand then that money won't be taxable in the origin country - this is something people who come from the Scandinavian countries tend to do based on what I've heard, they can pay far less tax on pension payments I believe.

 

So the visa is nothing to do with taxation and long may that last, if they come looking for tax off me then I think my days of remaining in Thailand would be numbered.

 

I've been here well over 10 years and spent more than half of those on the Elite visa.
 

[userabcd]

Tax is based on residence according to the tax rules and laws and in many cases is not so easy to break ones residence, ordinary residence or domicile with ones home country.

 

It has nothing to do with an elite visa which anyway is just a tourist visa between the holder and the immigration) which allows many visits/ extended stays, it is not a residence visa.

 

Thailand Tax is based the usual income, capital gains and salary and other income streams earned in and brought into Thailand and is based on the tax residence status of the tax payer in Thailand according to Thailand laws.

 

This transferring money into Thailand a year after it has been earned (to escape paying tax in Thailand on money transferred into Thailand) exists in many accounting brochures online. Have not been able to find it in  any of the official revenue department information.

 

I think it works on the premise that one has already paid tax on that income/savings elsewhere and so when brought into Thailand the tax has already been paid and so theoretically according to DTA (if one exists between the 2 countries) should not be subject to tax in Thailand. In Thailand at the moment I don't think they want to deal with all the complication tax of temporary foreigners in Thailand, preferring to leave most of them who are not working in Thailand to still be responsible to their home countries tax offices.

 

Thailand is joining the CRS so there will be income and financial account reporting back to the foreigners home country.

Edited January 16, 2022 by userabcd

[wildparker]

Thanks so much for the great input here. I paid a lot of money to so called experts in consultation calls and this here has already been more worth it then these two combined ????

 

I think the main thing I wonder about is that if I already pay my corporate taxes if this is enough to pull money out of the company? Because in Canada where I am currently at I have to pay corporate tax but then also have to document my personal salary that I pull out of it. 

 

My current setup is: 

 

1. Pay corporate tax on my company earnings

2. Pay salary to myself that also gets taxed (tax residency) 

3. Have it available to spend

 

My hope is

1. Pay corporate tax outside of Thailand wherever I have my company

2. Spend the money without any 'second' personal tax in Thailand due to the Elite Visa. 

 

This is the main thing I am struggling to understand . It might sound really dumb but I am having hardships finding an answer on this. A lot of people say it's better to have both company and tax residency outside of Thailand so that you have a full documentation on all your taxes done IF any agency ever starts digging around. My only problem with that is that if I have tax residency in another country I am also supposed to spend time there per year which I don't want.  (182 day rule) I just want to be in Thailand..

Edited January 16, 2022 by wildparker

[topt]

1 hour ago, wildparker said:

My hope is

1. Pay corporate tax outside of Thailand wherever I have my company

2. Spend the money without any 'second' personal tax in Thailand due to the Elite Visa. 

1 - Nothing to do with Thailand 

2 - You have already been told by at least 2 posters this is nothing to do with the Elite Visa.

 

@ukrules pretty much summed it up. 

 Simplistically (I stress this for those posters who may want to "expand" on what I say) as long as you are not working and being paid in Thailand the Thai Revenue service currently will have no interest in you or any money you remit to a Thai bank account. This is the same if you spend 60 or 360 days a year here - currently.

 

As to Estonia or Canada tax rules that is a completely separate question.