B800k savings? - get your tax refund

[10years]

The Thai government now requires personal income tax to be automatically withheld from all interest income. There's no minimum limit before the withholding kicks in.

 

Even if you have no other Thai income besides interest income, you can file form 90 to get all your withheld tax refunded to you.

 

First, go to your bank and request a statement of total interest paid and tax withheld for each account. You will receive for free the statement to be filed with the tax return as well as a carbon copy for your records.

 

Go to rd.go.th, then click on English. On this page you will find e-Form. Download the first form. It is in English and fillable online. Fill in your personal info, print it out and take it to a nearby government office for filing returns. There is one on the ground floor of the Sino-Thai Tower on Asoke. Get a queue number if available. When your turn comes up, go to one of the two seats to the right of the counter and hand the agent your Form 90 and bank statements. The agent will complete the form for you at no charge. After the form is formally accepted, you will be told to go to another window to pick up your receipt. Normally they will send you a paper refund check at no charge by mail.

 

You can request an official copy of your return. They will do this on the spot but charge you handsomely for it.

Edited March 20, 2023 by 10years

[10years]

How do I edit my topic? Haven't finished it yet.

 

Never mind. Was finally able to finish it.

Edited March 20, 2023 by 10years

[NoDisplayName]

I've done it before when the interest rate was higher, and when I lived a couple blocks from the tax office and my bank.

 

Now I've moved out to the provinces, and it generally takes 3-4 hours to reach the lone customer service desk at my bank branch.  Then would have to drive an hour to the big city to find a tax office to wait in line a couple hours to file a claim.

 

For what?  My 800K earns me the princely sum of 4000 baht at 0.5% interest.  The 15% tax amounts to 600 baht.............about $17.

[Skeptic7]

That "stolen" B5000 isn't worth even an iota my time, but thanks for the info. Good post.

 

It's just another Thai ripoff money grab. They know many/most foreigners, like me!, won't bother going thru that tedious and time consuming BS process and they reap many free millions of baht. Only surprise is it took them so long to come up with it❗ 

[Satcommlee]

I just dont think it is worth the hassle or risk of a tax inspector digging into your business!

[CMBob]

The "form 90" the OP refers to is a Thai personal income tax return.  And one is required to first have a Thai tax ID number.  I obtained one of those here in CM about 10 years ago and to get one, besides copies of a couple of pages of your passport, they wanted a certificate of residence (in my case, I had one that was several months old but they accepted a photocopy of that). You get the tax ID number at your local revenue office.

 

Here in Chiangmai, one can do this by simply going to your relevant revenue office and they will fill out and file the income tax return for you.  About three weeks later you'll get your check(s) in the mail which you take to Kasikorn bank and you can retrieve the funds.

 

I understand, given the lousy interest rates the last few years, one can decide to not bother for low amounts withheld; however, you can file for 3 years back (I just did this a month+ ago and got three checks for the amounts withheld for 2020, 2021, and 2022).  Easy process and worth my time.

 

Edit:  If you had other Thai income and you owe personal income taxes, maybe you do or do not simply get the withheld funds back. In my case, I'm retired and have no Thai income.  Once they asked me if I had any other Thai income (answer was "no") whereas on at least two other occasions they never asked me anything (i.e., there was zero "digging into my business").

Edited March 21, 2023 by CMBob

[cracker1]

8 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

I've done it before when the interest rate was higher, and when I lived a couple blocks from the tax office and my bank.

 

Now I've moved out to the provinces, and it generally takes 3-4 hours to reach the lone customer service desk at my bank branch.  Then would have to drive an hour to the big city to find a tax office to wait in line a couple hours to file a claim.

 

For what?  My 800K earns me the princely sum of 4000 baht at 0.5% interest.  The 15% tax amounts to 600 baht.............about $17.

600 BAHT, probably would buy a dozen bottles of beer!

[HampiK]

You don't need to travel to the tax office.

It can be filled out online completely.

The only downside it's in Thai, and the first time you need probably some help (Even some tax office will help).

 

But when you have done it one time, the next year you can use your old version to check what you have to click. it's done in about 10 minutes online. if you fluent in reading Thai even much faster.

[connda]

10 hours ago, 10years said:

The Thai government now requires personal income tax to be automatically withheld from all interest income. There's no minimum limit before the withholding kicks in.

What interest income?

[connda]

1 hour ago, CMBob said:

The "form 90" the OP refers to is a Thai personal income tax return.  And one is required to first have a Thai tax ID number.  I obtained one of those here in CM about 10 years ago and to get one, besides copies of a couple of pages of your passport, they wanted a certificate of residence (in my case, I had one that was several months old but they accepted a photocopy of that). You get the tax ID number at your local revenue office.

 

Here in Chiangmai, one can do this by simply going to your relevant revenue office and they will fill out and file the income tax return for you.  About three weeks later you'll get your check(s) in the mail which you take to Kasikorn bank and you can retrieve the funds.

 

I understand, given the lousy interest rates the last few years, one can decide to not bother for low amounts withheld; however, you can file for 3 years back (I just did this a month+ ago and got three checks for the amounts withheld for 2020, 2021, and 2022).  Easy process and worth my time.

 

Edit:  If you had other Thai income and you owe personal income taxes, maybe you do or do not simply get the withheld funds back. In my case, I'm retired and have no Thai income.  Once they asked me if I had any other Thai income (answer was "no") whereas on at least two other occasions they never asked me anything (i.e., there was zero "digging into my business").

Given the absurdly low interest rates, it's better to file three years at a time.  I haven't even bothered for over a decade.  When I first got here I was getting 4%.  Then it went to peanuts and isn't worth filing.
Now - with the global banking crisis on the horizon, banks may actually need to start paying interest to attract deposits.  Remember back in the day when commercial banks actually wanted deposits to lean out as loans.  <laughs>  Now they just wave a magical wand over a bank loan and "Voila!" - Money!  Who needs depositors?  Deposits and interest are just liabilities on the bank's books.

Edited March 21, 2023 by connda

[Eff1n2ret]

10 hours ago, 10years said:

You will receive for free the statement to be filed with the tax return as well as a carbon copy for your records.

Really? When they charge 100 Baht for a one-line letter to submit to Immigration?

[OJAS]

5 hours ago, cracker1 said:

600 BAHT, probably would buy a dozen bottles of beer!

Doubt whether 600 THB would cover the cost of a return trip to his big city via the lone customer service desk at his bank branch, though!

[Mickeymaus]

Get a Thai Tax ID and give it to your banks. Then you will not have this problem. 

[Sheryl]

Be forewarned that, depending on where you live, filing this may trigger extensive questioning.

 

I did this 3 years running and all 3 times was called into provincial tax office for a very intrusive 3rd degree by junior staff completely unfamiliar with the concept of a retirement visa and convinced I must be working here (which I am not). I had to make multiple trips, bring in stacks of documents proving money transferred from abroad, and ultimately work my way up the food chain of officers. Very time consuming and unpleasant.

 

Decided not to bother this year, simply not worth it for around 500 baht.

 

YMMV of course and apparently in some places all goes smoothly enough.

 

 

[Mickeymaus]

9 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Be forewarned that, depending on where you live, filing this may trigger extensive questioning.

 

I did this 3 years running and all 3 times was called into provincial tax office for a very intrusive 3rd degree by junior staff completely unfamiliar with the concept of a retirement visa and convinced I must be working here (which I am not). I had to make multiple trips, bring in stacks of documents proving money transferred from abroad, and ultimately work my way up the food chain of officers. Very time consuming and unpleasant.

 

Decided not to bother this year, simply not worth it for around 500 baht.

 

YMMV of course and apparently in some places all goes smoothly enough.

This is correct. When I applied for my Tax ID I had to fill in a questionnaire and the main focus was how I finance my life in Thailand and if I get a pension. But no documents were required. I gave this Tax ID to my banks here and no tax is deducted. But even some European banks insisted that I give them my Thai Tax ID. Good that I had one already.

[NoDisplayName]

9 hours ago, CMBob said:

I understand, given the lousy interest rates the last few years, one can decide to not bother for low amounts withheld; however, you can file for 3 years back (I just did this a month+ ago and got three checks for the amounts withheld for 2020, 2021, and 2022).  Easy process and worth my time.

I believe if you file late, you will be charged a late fee of 200 baht for each late return, so checks two years should have 200 baht deducted.

[keithsimmonds]

18 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

I've done it before when the interest rate was higher, and when I lived a couple blocks from the tax office and my bank.

 

Now I've moved out to the provinces, and it generally takes 3-4 hours to reach the lone customer service desk at my bank branch.  Then would have to drive an hour to the big city to find a tax office to wait in line a couple hours to file a claim.

 

For what?  My 800K earns me the princely sum of 4000 baht at 0.5% interest.  The 15% tax amounts to 600 baht.............about $17.

Maybe change your bank?  Scb pays 1.5% =12000baht per annum......almost all other Banks are paying just over 1% so double your "4000baht"....this is the land of "up to you" ????

[scubascuba3]

8 hours ago, HampiK said:

You don't need to travel to the tax office.

It can be filled out online completely.

The only downside it's in Thai, and the first time you need probably some help (Even some tax office will help).

 

But when you have done it one time, the next year you can use your old version to check what you have to click. it's done in about 10 minutes online. if you fluent in reading Thai even much faster.

Can translate easy enough on Google Lens app

[NoDisplayName]

4 minutes ago, keithsimmonds said:

Maybe change your bank?  Scb pays 1.5% =12000baht per annum......almost all other Banks are paying just over 1% so double your "4000baht"....this is the land of "up to you" ????

That is possible. 

 

I could move the 800K retirement stash from Bangkok Bank to another bank.  I could hope the transfer is completed in one day with no break in time held in accounts.  I could stand in line for hours at TWO banks next extension, and get TWO bank letters and TWO bank statements.  I could hope immigration won't give me too much grief for having two bank accounts, both for less than the full year.

[scottiejohn]

18 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

That is possible. 

 

I could move the 800K retirement stash from Bangkok Bank to another bank.  I could hope the transfer is completed in one day with no break in time held in accounts.  I could stand in line for hours at TWO banks next extension, and get TWO bank letters and TWO bank statements.  I could hope immigration won't give me too much grief for having two bank accounts, both for less than the full year.

Don't do the transfer in one lump sum.  Transfer 400,000 first time and once in the new account do the second transfer.  Do this during the period you only need to keep 400,000 in the account.

[NoDisplayName]

1 hour ago, scottiejohn said:

Don't do the transfer in one lump sum.  Transfer 400,000 first time and once in the new account do the second transfer.  Do this during the period you only need to keep 400,000 in the account.

 

 

Opening a new account will likely need a residence certificate, so another trip to the big city to visit immigration, and I'd still be wasting a whole day getting two bank letters and two statements for next extension.  All this so I can get a little more interest, and claim a tax refund?  I probably won't bother.  The extra interest earned and the tax refund isn't worth the trouble.

 

 

[CMBob]

4 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

I believe if you file late, you will be charged a late fee of 200 baht for each late return, so checks two years should have 200 baht deducted.

Hasn't happened to me.....and, as mentioned, just got checks for the three years (2020, 2021, and 2022) I filed returns for.

[10years]

23 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

I've done it before when the interest rate was higher, and when I lived a couple blocks from the tax office and my bank.

 

Now I've moved out to the provinces, and it generally takes 3-4 hours to reach the lone customer service desk at my bank branch.  Then would have to drive an hour to the big city to find a tax office to wait in line a couple hours to file a claim.

 

For what?  My 800K earns me the princely sum of 4000 baht at 0.5% interest.  The 15% tax amounts to 600 baht.............about $17.

For me, part of it is the principle of the thing. The government forcibly grabs my money and hopes I won't bother getting it back. No way I'm going to let them keep what's not theirs.

[10years]

16 hours ago, CMBob said:

The "form 90" the OP refers to is a Thai personal income tax return.  And one is required to first have a Thai tax ID number.  I obtained one of those here in CM about 10 years ago and to get one, besides copies of a couple of pages of your passport, they wanted a certificate of residence (in my case, I had one that was several months old but they accepted a photocopy of that). You get the tax ID number at your local revenue office.

 

Here in Chiangmai, one can do this by simply going to your relevant revenue office and they will fill out and file the income tax return for you.  About three weeks later you'll get your check(s) in the mail which you take to Kasikorn bank and you can retrieve the funds.

 

I understand, given the lousy interest rates the last few years, one can decide to not bother for low amounts withheld; however, you can file for 3 years back (I just did this a month+ ago and got three checks for the amounts withheld for 2020, 2021, and 2022).  Easy process and worth my time.

 

Edit:  If you had other Thai income and you owe personal income taxes, maybe you do or do not simply get the withheld funds back. In my case, I'm retired and have no Thai income.  Once they asked me if I had any other Thai income (answer was "no") whereas on at least two other occasions they never asked me anything (i.e., there was zero "digging into my business").

I wondered about the tax ID number. If a depositor doesn't have a tax number, how does the bank file his withheld tax? And if he gets a new number, how is his past withheld taxes going to connect with that new number?

 

I have filed many times for a tax refund and have never been asked anything. 

[10years]

16 hours ago, cracker1 said:

600 BAHT, probably would buy a dozen bottles of beer!

Exactly. As a retiree, you probably can spare some time to run this errand. And getting "paid" B600 for an hour of your time seems worthwhile to me.

 

Edit: You can pick up the tax withholding statements from any branch of your bank on your way to the tax office. The bank teller can print them fairly quickly while you wait. The tellers are now familiar with these statements.

Edited March 21, 2023 by 10years

[10years]

14 hours ago, HampiK said:

You don't need to travel to the tax office.

It can be filled out online completely.

The only downside it's in Thai, and the first time you need probably some help (Even some tax office will help).

 

But when you have done it one time, the next year you can use your old version to check what you have to click. it's done in about 10 minutes online. if you fluent in reading Thai even much faster.

I was told foreigners shouldn't file online. Also, the Form 90 is completely in English. And what do you do with required supporting documents such as the bank paper statements? Can you access online versions of the forms?

[10years]

13 hours ago, Eff1n2ret said:

Really? When they charge 100 Baht for a one-line letter to submit to Immigration?

Probably the immigration letter is a special, optional request. The tax withholding statement is probably something that banks must legally provide. The statements are free.

[CMBob]

3 minutes ago, 10years said:

I wondered about the tax ID number. If a depositor doesn't have a tax number, how does the bank file his withheld tax? And if he gets a new number, how is his past withheld taxes going to connect with that new number?

I have no idea how they file the withheld tax if one doesn't have a tax ID number.....but presume it's filed under the person's name and account number.  Given revenue would also have the written bank verification of the account number, amount withheld, person's name, and address (all that information is on the forms issued by SCB and Bangkok Bank), I'd guess that the revenue department wouldn't have any problem matching it up.  

[10years]

1 hour ago, CMBob said:

Hasn't happened to me.....and, as mentioned, just got checks for the three years (2020, 2021, and 2022) I filed returns for.

I retired in Thailand and moved back to the States. For three years I didn't go to Thailand. When I finally came last year, I filed returns for 2019, 2020 and 2021. There was no fine. 

[HampiK]

7 hours ago, 10years said:

I was told foreigners shouldn't file online. Also, the Form 90 is completely in English. And what do you do with required supporting documents such as the bank paper statements? Can you access online versions of the forms?

I scan my paper documents from the bank and upload them as PDFs at the end.

I have now done online tax returns for 4 years.

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by HampiK