How to get a Thai Tax number?

[Chris.B]

How to get a Thai tax number? What documents will I need?

[userabcd]

From the tax office in your district.

 

Documents needed are application form at tax office in person, reason, documents supporting income in thailand that tax needs to be paid/reimbursed on income, a passport, evidence of tax residence and depending on location preferable to have a Thai speaker with you.

Edited January 18, 2022 by userabcd

[OJAS]

1 hour ago, Chris.B said:

How to get a Thai tax number?

Are you being pressed by your home country bank for this number?

 

[Captain Monday]

Tax office in Chiang Mai Area 1 (Near RatiLanna Resort Hotel)

• Passport
• TM30 (Must have)
• Bank book and tax document from Bank, Might have needed a residence certificate or affidavit from US Embassy cannot recall. There are some lady there who speak a little Angrit.

I have no income in Thailand only to claw back a portion of interest automatically withheld from savings accounts. "Thailand" does not care where you think you are tax resident that is between you and your home country. You pay the required  income tax on Thai income. 

 

[skatewash]

At your local Thai Revenue Department Office.  If you pick the wrong one they should be able to send you to the right one. ????

Easiest way for someone who has earned interest on a savings account from a Thai bank and has had 15% of that interest withheld for taxes.  Go to your Thai bank and ask for a Tax Withholding Certificate (many people do that in January at the start of the New Tax Year.  If they don't understand what you want point to the entry in your passbook showing the tax withholding and ask for an "aek-ga-san pa-see" or tax document in Thai (more or less).

Now visit your local Thai Revenue Department.  Show your tax withholding document to someone and ask to apply for a Thai Tax ID Card (yes, you need the card, not just the number that comes on the card!).  You will need passport and proof of residence (one of: yellow house registration book, residence certificate from immigration, rental agreement, letter with from electric company (PEA/MEA), letter from internet provider, back of Thai driver's license, etc.).  Ask to get a Personal Income Tax Return PIT-90.  The PIT-90 is all in Thai.  Often they will take pity on you and actually fill in your PIT-90 for you while you wait.  They can be very nice at the Revenue Department.  Keep your copy of your PIT-90 return because you can duplicate it next year (changing the obviously different amounts withheld) and file it yourself the next year.

Once you have your Thai Tax ID visit every Thai bank at which you have a savings account and get your Thai Tax ID registered with that account.  The reason is if you do this they will not withhold 15% tax of the interest earned from your savings account from your first baht of interest, but only after you have earned 20,000 baht in interest (a threshold that not many will reach).  Now, you won't even need to file a Thai Income Tax Return because the tax won't be withheld to begin with.  Note: this trick doesn't work for fixed deposit accounts, you always have to file a tax return to get the tax withheld on that sort of account.

Eventually, you will receive in the mail a letter that explains how to get your refund.  You will have to take the letter to Krung Thai bank (only that bank) and when you show them the letter and your Thai Tax ID card you will be given a eMoney card (like an ATM card).  They may ask you for money to add to the card to bring the value up to an even 100 baht.  The reason is that you can go out to an Krung Thai ATM machine at that branch (or anywhere else) and completely withdraw the balance of the eMoney card which is equal to your refund (and any extra you added to the card).  Keep the eMoney card as it can be re-used next year.

[DrJoy]

I went with my PP and Driver's License and was issued a Thai Tax Id on the spot.

 

This was HQ of RD at Phaholyothin Road -

 

90 Soi Phahonyothin 7, Phahonyothin Road,
Phayathai, Bangkok 10400

[StayinThailand2much]

1 hour ago, skatewash said:

You will have to take the letter to Krung Thai bank (only that bank) and when you show them the letter and your Thai Tax ID card you will be given a eMoney card (like an ATM card). 

LOL. I just understood why Krung Thai Bank is the only one that does not pay me any interest for my savings. Seems they want to save themselves extra work...

[alanrchase]

On 1/18/2022 at 4:27 PM, skatewash said:

At your local Thai Revenue Department Office.  If you pick the wrong one they should be able to send you to the right one. ????

Easiest way for someone who has earned interest on a savings account from a Thai bank and has had 15% of that interest withheld for taxes.  Go to your Thai bank and ask for a Tax Withholding Certificate (many people do that in January at the start of the New Tax Year.  If they don't understand what you want point to the entry in your passbook showing the tax withholding and ask for an "aek-ga-san pa-see" or tax document in Thai (more or less).

Now visit your local Thai Revenue Department.  Show your tax withholding document to someone and ask to apply for a Thai Tax ID Card (yes, you need the card, not just the number that comes on the card!).  You will need passport and proof of residence (one of: yellow house registration book, residence certificate from immigration, rental agreement, letter with from electric company (PEA/MEA), letter from internet provider, back of Thai driver's license, etc.).  Ask to get a Personal Income Tax Return PIT-90.  The PIT-90 is all in Thai.  Often they will take pity on you and actually fill in your PIT-90 for you while you wait.  They can be very nice at the Revenue Department.  Keep your copy of your PIT-90 return because you can duplicate it next year (changing the obviously different amounts withheld) and file it yourself the next year.

Once you have your Thai Tax ID visit every Thai bank at which you have a savings account and get your Thai Tax ID registered with that account.  The reason is if you do this they will not withhold 15% tax of the interest earned from your savings account from your first baht of interest, but only after you have earned 20,000 baht in interest (a threshold that not many will reach).  Now, you won't even need to file a Thai Income Tax Return because the tax won't be withheld to begin with.  Note: this trick doesn't work for fixed deposit accounts, you always have to file a tax return to get the tax withheld on that sort of account.

Eventually, you will receive in the mail a letter that explains how to get your refund.  You will have to take the letter to Krung Thai bank (only that bank) and when you show them the letter and your Thai Tax ID card you will be given a eMoney card (like an ATM card).  They may ask you for money to add to the card to bring the value up to an even 100 baht.  The reason is that you can go out to an Krung Thai ATM machine at that branch (or anywhere else) and completely withdraw the balance of the eMoney card which is equal to your refund (and any extra you added to the card).  Keep the eMoney card as it can be re-used next year.

I went last December and was not issued a card. I was issued a sheet of A4 paper with the revenue department crest, date of application, my full name, various other sets of numbers and in a fairly central position my handwritten tax number. My understanding was that some sort of official card should be issued  and you could choose to have it posted or you could pick it up. I have not recieved anything. Should I go to the tax office and ask about a card?

[skatewash]

23 minutes ago, alanrchase said:

I went last December and was not issued a card. I was issued a sheet of A4 paper with the revenue department crest, date of application, my full name, various other sets of numbers and in a fairly central position my handwritten tax number. My understanding was that some sort of official card should be issued  and you could choose to have it posted or you could pick it up. I have not recieved anything. Should I go to the tax office and ask about a card?

Maybe.  The issue about having the card is when you get your refund letter and go to Krung Thai Bank to get an e-Money card to withdraw the refund from an ATM (the usual process), they ask to see your Thai ID Card, having the number doesn't seem to be enough.  Now if you showed them the paper you describe I guess that could be enough, but probably better to try to obtain the card.  I'm guessing the reason you didn't get a card on the day you applied is that maybe they were having a problem printing them that day.  So going back, showing what you do have, and asking for an actual Thai Tax ID card is probably advisable.

[Hamus Yaigh]

On 1/18/2022 at 4:27 PM, skatewash said:

Once you have your Thai Tax ID visit every Thai bank at which you have a savings account and get your Thai Tax ID registered with that account.  The reason is if you do this they will not withhold 15% tax of the interest earned from your savings account from your first baht of interest, but only after you have earned 20,000 baht in interest (a threshold that not many will reach). 

Is that 20,000THB interest per year? I got a Tax ID# on a small piece of paper from the local tax office (Klong Toey, Bangkok) and showed it to my KBank in March last year. In June and Dec I was still deducted WHT from my interest that was less than 20,000THB .

 

[skatewash]

1 hour ago, Hamus Yaigh said:

Is that 20,000THB interest per year? I got a Tax ID# on a small piece of paper from the local tax office (Klong Toey, Bangkok) and showed it to my KBank in March last year. In June and Dec I was still deducted WHT from my interest that was less than 20,000THB .

 

My understanding is that your Thai Tax ID Number needs to be added to the registration of the account, maybe that didn't happen in your case despite showing them the Tax ID Number.  In my case I was able to amend my Krungsri Bank Mee Thai Dai account to include the Tax ID Number, while I think that Bangkok Bank had to actually issue me a new passbook when I tried to add the Tax ID to that savings account.

But yes, if both cases there is no tax withholding on earned interest in either account.  I believe the 20,000 baht threshold applies to the aggregate of all accounts you have at a particular bank.

[lungbing]

My UK bank were wittering on about this a few years ago.  I went to the local tax department in the sala klang complex of Khon Kaen and as I am retired with no Thai income they point blank refused to give me a Thai tax ID.  Not only that but they were extremely rude to my wife showing her some paperwork and asking if she could read and write as she was married to a farang.  She has a BA and an MA.  (Not much use now as it's in Tourism and Hotel Management!).

 

My UK bank were not happy but finally accepted it and the reason.

[Neeranam]

13 hours ago, lungbing said:

My UK bank were wittering on about this a few years ago.  I went to the local tax department in the sala klang complex of Khon Kaen and as I am retired with no Thai income they point blank refused to give me a Thai tax ID.  Not only that but they were extremely rude to my wife showing her some paperwork and asking if she could read and write as she was married to a farang.  She has a BA and an MA.  (Not much use now as it's in Tourism and Hotel Management!).

 

My UK bank were not happy but finally accepted it and the reason.

They don't seem to like farang at that office. The women who deals with foreigners is married to one who owned the kiwi cafe.

 

[hereforgood]

On 1/18/2022 at 6:13 PM, DrJoy said:

I went with my PP and Driver's License and was issued a Thai Tax Id on the spot.

 

This was HQ of RD at Phaholyothin Road -

 

90 Soi Phahonyothin 7, Phahonyothin Road,
Phayathai, Bangkok 10400

Same for me but only PP needed at the revenue office in Jomtien 15 mins in and out

[alien365]

14 hours ago, lungbing said:

 Not only that but they were extremely rude to my wife showing her some paperwork and asking if she could read and write as she was married to a farang. 

Wow, those are strong words. I hope you at least spoke to the manager about her. We'd have stated we are closing our accounts because of that one person, unless something was done immediately. She should be on the ground kow-towing to you. 

[clivebaxter]

22 hours ago, Hamus Yaigh said:

Is that 20,000THB interest per year? I got a Tax ID# on a small piece of paper from the local tax office (Klong Toey, Bangkok) and showed it to my KBank in March last year. In June and Dec I was still deducted WHT from my interest that was less than 20,000THB .

 

Same happened to me at Krungsri after giving them the tax info. Had to go back, they said they never realised I wanted the tax stopped! Also took 6 months to get the tax back after a few phone calls. They claimed I had not handed in all the paper work which was untrue. You have to persist.

[alanrchase]

15 hours ago, lungbing said:

My UK bank were wittering on about this a few years ago.  I went to the local tax department in the sala klang complex of Khon Kaen and as I am retired with no Thai income they point blank refused to give me a Thai tax ID.  Not only that but they were extremely rude to my wife showing her some paperwork and asking if she could read and write as she was married to a farang.  She has a BA and an MA.  (Not much use now as it's in Tourism and Hotel Management!).

 

My UK bank were not happy but finally accepted it and the reason.

You have to give a reason for requesting a TIN. I am the same as you, retired with no income in Thailand. I showed them the entry for withholding tax in my Thai bank book, gave the reason that if I was paying tax I should have a TIN and they agreed. 

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

I was asked by my home country bank to supply the TIN for Thailand, which they will pass on to the tax authority there (according to FATCA & CRS).

I have a pink ID card, and at the Jomtien revenue office they said my tax ID number is the same as my pink ID card number. I just left it at that and sent it to my home country bank.

 

Now I have never bothered to reclaim the tax on interest before (yes such a lazy, rich sad old <deleted> I am ????), but I guess I will start, since interest rates will probably go up going forward.

 

Can I go back in time to previous years (say up to 10 years back) to claim back interest, or is it just for the current tax year? Going back I can find some worthwhile amounts, before rates nosedived.

 

Since I have the pink ID card, do I still need a separate tax ID card for this? I have no other income in Thailand, except bank interest (@BBL, savings and FC accts.)

[YT3k72Em]

On 1/26/2022 at 11:31 PM, MeaMaximaCulpa said:

I was asked by my home country bank to supply the TIN for Thailand, which they will pass on to the tax authority there (according to FATCA & CRS).

I have a pink ID card, and at the Jomtien revenue office they said my tax ID number is the same as my pink ID card number. I just left it at that and sent it to my home country bank.

 

Now I have never bothered to reclaim the tax on interest before (yes such a lazy, rich sad old <deleted> I am ????), but I guess I will start, since interest rates will probably go up going forward.

 

Can I go back in time to previous years (say up to 10 years back) to claim back interest, or is it just for the current tax year? Going back I can find some worthwhile amounts, before rates nosedived.

 

Since I have the pink ID card, do I still need a separate tax ID card for this? I have no other income in Thailand, except bank interest (@BBL, savings and FC accts.)

I would go and get a real tax ID card (it's actually a small slip of paper) from them to confirm your Tax ID is the same as the Pink ID card. Mine are not the same.

 

You can only claim back 2 years I think, you have to pay a 200 baht late filing fee if you do.

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

10 hours ago, YT3k72Em said:

I would go and get a real tax ID card (it's actually a small slip of paper) from them to confirm your Tax ID is the same as the Pink ID card. Mine are not the same.

 

You can only claim back 2 years I think, you have to pay a 200 baht late filing fee if you do.

Thanks,

I guess if you applied for a tax ID before getting the yellow book/pink ID they might be different. I got the pink ID card when I didn't have a tax ID already.

 

I will go and check this out with my wife to translate, she has experience with these things.

[JimGant]

What a goat rope. If you're a Yank just declare the Thai withholding tax as a tax credit. Don't even need the Form 1116 (but, no big problem if you do) if filing jointly -- $600 in withholding, filing singly,  $300.

 

Yes, the rules say, if you can get the withholding refunded, you're prompted to do so. However, if you ever got a letter audit (unlikely), you'd just say: "Was advised by a stalwart group of expats on TVF that, without a work permit, I would be denied a tax ID, thus no refund of withholding." Anyway, this is all fanciful, as you'll never be audited for such a situation, particularly with such a paltry amount.

 

Plus, the right people are keeping your tax receipts (tax treaty gives Thailand first dibs in this situation). And you're not evading taxes -- just pointing them in the right direction.

 

Why, then, as a Yank would you subject yourself to the time and procedural hassles highlighted above?

 

 

[skatewash]

6 minutes ago, JimGant said:

What a goat rope. If you're a Yank just declare the Thai withholding tax as a tax credit. Don't even need the Form 1116 (but, no big problem if you do) if filing jointly -- $600 in withholding, filing singly,  $300.

 

Yes, the rules say, if you can get the withholding refunded, you're prompted to do so. However, if you ever got a letter audit (unlikely), you'd just say: "Was advised by a stalwart group of expats on TVF that, without a work permit, I would be denied a tax ID, thus no refund of withholding." Anyway, this is all fanciful, as you'll never be audited for such a situation, particularly with such a paltry amount.

 

Plus, the right people are keeping your tax receipts (tax treaty gives Thailand first dibs in this situation). And you're not evading taxes -- just pointing them in the right direction.

 

Why, then, as a Yank would you subject yourself to the time and procedural hassles highlighted above?

 

 

Because a US tax credit does one no good at all unless one owes US taxes.  

My yearly effort (after the first time doing it) consists of visiting my local bank branch to get the Tax Withholding document on interest-bearing accounts, filing my Thai Personal Income Tax return (PND 90) online (about 9 minutes work), and then after receiving my refund letter visiting my local Krung Thai bank and withdrawing my refund from their ATM. 

If you are talking about just getting a Thai Tax ID, I believe that's worth it as if you register the Tax ID at banks at which you have savings accounts you won't have the tax withheld (15% of interest earned from the first baht).  This is a one-time only thing and then you are free from tax withholding on interest earned on regular savings accounts as long as you have less than 20,000 baht interest at a particular bank.  I only have to file a Thai tax return in those years I'm foolish enough to have a fixed deposit account (which always has 15% tax withheld regardless of having the Thai Tax ID or not).
 

[skatewash]

Good news for those expecting refund checks from the Thai Revenue Department on Personal Income Tax Returns (e.g., PND-90).  It appears that they are back to sending out checks that can be cashed anywhere rather than letters that you have to take to Krung Thai Bank.  I just received my refund of tax withheld for interest on a fixed deposit account.  This is much more convenient and consistent with how they used to be done in the past.