New tax era in Thailand begins as Revenue now shares data with 138 countries within the OECD

[Srikcir]

58 minutes ago, koolkarl said:

all thanks to Obama. 

huh?

In 1924 the Supreme Court ruled in a case brought by a U.S. citizen living in Mexico that taxing non-resident citizens on their global income was indeed constitutional.

https://www.taxesforexpats.com

In 1924 Calvin Coolidge won the 35th presidential election. 

[Mike Lister]

35 minutes ago, smedly said:

I pay tax in the uk, there is no avoinding it if you have a legit income like a pension

 

how many people do you think have an "income" and don't pay tax ?

 

this is why governments are now pushing hard for a cashless system, the ultimate control

By comparison, the UK informal economy is as follows:

 

"The size of United Kingdom's informal economy is estimated to be 10.3% which represents approximately $326 billion at GDP PPP levels. United Kingdom's data is highlighted in the table below, use the filter and sort order options to allow easy comparison with other countries".

 

https://www.worldeconomics.com/Informal-Economy/United Kingdom.aspx#:~:text=The size of United Kingdom's,easy comparison with other countries.

 

Interestingly that is not that much larger in USD terms than Thailand where the USD value is around $260 bill.

[Presnock]

2 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

I'm not sure the masses are that lazy, perhaps they're more thrifty and less socially aware of the need to pay tax. Over 50% of the workforce has earnings in the informal sector or grey market, ranging form 1% to 100% of their earnings. Given that only 11% of the workforce file tax returns, it might be safe to assume that most of the informal workers don't pay any tax at all. So the problem is more about collection and enforcement rather than anything else.

well, when the official rate has just ZOOMED up to 11 US dollars a loooooong day, most don't make enough to have to pay taxes on that income.  But those ex-pats here for the most part in my opinion make a lot more than any of these low paying Thais and apparently some fail to either pay taxes here or to their own country.  That is what this new interpretation is trying to do according to the Renue Dept announcement about Thailand doing what their agreement is with 138 other countries under the OECD agreement.

[Presnock]

1 hour ago, Ben Zioner said:

You and many others, for various reasons. And not only pensioners PIT will hit others groups, such as digital nomads. And beyond PIT cost of living, health care requirements, etc will nullify Thailand's attractiveness.

One can most likely bet that anyone from other countries that is contemplating retirement or working overseas to re-think their plans or to alter them, that is my opinion.  Some countries will realize this and not tax pensions at all but income earned that is not taxed elsewhere will most likely be taxed in most other countries in  my opinion or retirees will go to other taxless countries.

[mikebell]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

My UK pension starts in 2025, start taxing that I'll be gone.

Don't tell DWP you're living in Thailand.  I did & my pension has been frozen for 16 years!  Worse HMRC have been taxing me as if I was on the full rate (presently 100% more than I get.)

[The Cyclist]

3 minutes ago, Presnock said:

But those ex-pats here for the most part in my opinion make a lot more than any of these low paying Thais and apparently some fail to either pay taxes here or to their own country. 

 

You nailed it with this

 

4 minutes ago, Presnock said:

That is what this new interpretation is trying to do according to the Renue Dept announcement about Thailand doing what their agreement is with 138 other countries under the OECD agreement.

 

The only people that should be concerned by any changes are those flying under the radar to avoid paying tax in either their home Countries or in Thailand.

[Mike Lister]

32 minutes ago, quake said:

 

Reading and comprehension is a hard on here for some.

How many pm's you had to date. 

Regarding tax? 16

How many have I answered? 11

[quake]

Just now, Mike Lister said:

Regarding tax? 16

How many have I answered? 11

 

Very good of you to do that.

Good job. .

 

[Presnock]

1 hour ago, Mike Lister said:

For others who are employed and pay tax via a PAYE equivalent, it depends on their marital status, number of children, insurance and mortgage products (all of which as tax deductible) and many other such things, there is no single standard amount.

for me anyway as a citizen of the US, those that pay my pension and I believe others that receive monies from US companies get a W2 form, and I know it doesn't cover all the deductions, etc but mine at least should satisfy the Thai Revenue Dept.  What we need to see is the OECD requirements for reporting of funds remitted into a country and paid out by individuals within a country.  At least we finally get some final results of the "new" tax law.

[lordgrinz]

So during the Pandemic I lost my Digital Nomad job, so living off savings (which can go for quite awhile until SS kicks in), and have money in a brokerage account and IRA in InteractiveBrokers in the US. My wife already has me on her taxes at the end of the years, which uses my Pink ID number as my TIN. 

 

My question would be, how are the following handled?

 

1) Just sending over savings that has been in the US for several years.

2) Selling stock purchased in the US, where profit would just go into savings in the US and not be sent here for a while, or maybe never.

3) Obviously there is quite a bit of interest on savings and brokerage accounts in the US, is that income that needs to be shown here, even though the money isn't coming here? At least not for several years?

4) Do I continue to have my wife just do the taxes as married filing jointly here, or is this new tax scheme forcing us into doing tax separately now?

 

[Shoeless Joe]

38 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Are you having a laugh?

I have not read anything that long since I did my Uni studies!

If presented with that I would be tempted to just say 'how much do you want!

So you're saying you're just too lazy. 

That being the case you deserve to be taxed to the limit.

[Shoeless Joe]

40 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

If you're too lazy to read two pages of A4, don't expect a personalized answer from me.

Damn right!!

[Mike Lister]

2 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

So during the Pandemic I lost my Digital Nomad job, so living off savings (which can go for quite awhile until SS kicks in), and have money in a brokerage account and IRA in InteractiveBrokers in the US. My wife already has me on her taxes at the end of the years, which uses my Pink ID number as my TIN. 

 

My question would be, how are the following handled?

 

1) Just sending over savings that has been in the US for several years.

2) Selling stock purchased in the US, where profit would just go into savings in the US and not be sent here for a while, or maybe never.

3) Obviously there is quite a bit of interest on savings and brokerage accounts in the US, is that income that needs to be shown here, even though the money isn't coming here? At least not for several years?

4) Do I continue to have my wife just do the taxes as married filing jointly here, or is this new tax scheme forcing us into doing tax separately now?

 

1) not taxable

2)only taxable if remitted to Thailand

3) as above

4) you can file single or joint, it's up to you.

 

1. This guide has been compiled in an attempt to provide readers with the simplest possible over view of Personal Income Tax (PIT) in Thailand. The scope of this document is limited to PIT.

 

2. You may have heard that new tax laws came into effect on 1 January this year, in fact, that is not true! The old tax rules still exist and remain valid, albeit just one minor change to them was made in November last year. Previously, anyone who earned money overseas and remitted it to Thailand in a different tax year, received that money free of Thai tax. That loop hole in the Revenue Department (RD) tax code has been extensively exploited by wealthy Thai’s and is now closed, hence, any money earned overseas and remitted to Thailand in any year, is now liable to Thai tax. The purpose of the new rule is to reduce tax avoidance. Unfortunately, it now means that overseas funds transfers by foreigners living in Thailand, also have an increased risk of being taxed.

 

3. This guide is an overview of the core parts of the PIT system. It is not designed to be exhaustive and it doesn’t cover all aspects of PIT, nor is it intended to  override anything produced by the Thai Revenue or specialist tax companies such as Sherrings or Mazzars. This guide also does not address all types of income or the rules relevant to people from every country. What this guide will provide is a starting point for readers to manage their own tax affairs and it will also provide most of the answers for those with simple tax affairs, especially the average pensioner.

 

4. There are also certain types of visa that fall outside of the RD tax code. The LTR visa for example received its tax exempt status by royal decree hence visa holders will not to be assessed for Thai tax and they are specifically excluded from this explanation.

 

5. Terminology: this document uses the word “assessable” often. Assessable in the context of this document means income that is liable to tax and must be included on a Thai tax return. Not all income is assessable, some is excluded from tax assessment by its very nature or because of the terms of a specific tax agreement.

 

6. Dual Tax Agreement/Double Tax Agreement (DTA): is an agreement between two countries that sets out which of the two countries has the right to tax specific types of income and all the associated rules. It’s purpose, in part, is to ensure that the same funds are not taxed twice and provides a means by which tax that is paid twice, can be recovered, how and from where. Note: If the taxpayer income is sourced in one country but the tax  payer is resident in a second country, use of a DTA can result in increased tax being paid, if the second country has a higher rate of tax on the type of income in question, than the other.

 

7. If you stay in Thailand for more than a cumulative 180 days, between 1 January and 31 December each year, you will be considered to be Tax Resident in Thailand during that year, regardless of the type of visa you have. It doesn’t matter that you may be Tax Resident in your home country or elsewhere or that you pay tax in those countries, Thailand will still regard you as Tax Resident. Tax Residency and Immigration status (and the visa you hold) are different things. Tax residency is based solely on the number of days you spend in Thailand and where you are at midnight on each day.

 

8. Because you are Tax Resident, YOU must review your income each year to determine if it is regarded as assessable to tax in Thailand, nobody else will do this for you. If your income does not exceed 120,000 baht per year, you do not need to file a tax return (60,000 baht if your only income is bank interest paid to you by a bank in Thailand). If your income is over 120,000 baht per year, you must file a Thai tax return between 1 January and 31 March.

 

9. Your income in Thailand is defined as any money paid to you inside Thailand, as well as, any money you receive from overseas, both types are potentially assessable income for Tax Residents. There are many types of income that can be classed as assessable, the Thai RD lists some of them and is linked below, however, the list is not exhaustive:

https://sherrings.com/personal-income-tax-in-thailand.html#:~:text=Section%2040%20of%20Thailand's%20Revenue,Pensions%3B%20and

 

10. There are also classes or types of income that the RD does not regard as assessable and these are also linked below:

https://www.rd.go.th/english/37749.html

 

11. Income that is derived from  within Thailand is fairly clear, if you work and have a job and you are a Tax Resident, your income is assessable for tax.  Interest that is paid to you on Thai bank accounts is regarded as income, as is income from investments such as stocks and bonds within Thailand.  You should note that if you are generating income by working while staying in Thailand, it is (and has always been) irrelevant where that money is paid and whether you bring the money into the country or keep it offshore. That money arises in Thailand hence it is taxable here.

 

12. It is not possible to give the same blanket rule to everyone to determine whether income is assessable or not because of the variable factors involved. Overseas income has to pass several tests to determine if it is assessable to Thai tax or not. It is still early days and all the rules are not yet clear. It has been said that tax residents who import funds from countries that have a DTA with Thailand, will not be effected. Exactly how that will work leaves many questions unanswered hence this document attempts to look at only the most popular types of income based on what is known at present. This document does not speculate as to what may happen in the future, other than in the segment at the end concerning likely future Immigration rules.

 

13. If we take the simplest type of income and say that you transfer personal savings from overseas to Thailand and those savings  were earned before 1 January 2024, those funds are not assessable. But savings earned after that date are, hence the date when the income is earned is extremely important. A word of caution, you may be asked to provide proof that savings were earned before 1 January 2024.  

 

14. Another common type of income is pensions, which can be complicated, depending on the type of pension and the country that it comes from. The country of origin is important because there are over 60 different types of Dual Tax Agreements, sometimes called Double Taxation Agreements (DTA’s), between Thailand and those 60+ countries and each one is different. As a general rule, most private or company pensions from most countries appear to be assessable here but YOU will need to confirm that yours is or is not. If that is true, private and company pension income IS assessable income in Thailand.

 

15. US Social Security payments, a form of pension paid to some older people, can only be taxed by the US under DTA rules and Thailand is forbidden from taxing them, this means those payments are NOT assessable income. UK State pension on the other hand is not covered by a DTA so it is assessable income in Thailand whilst UK Government or Civil Service pensions are not!

 

16. The proceeds from the sale of a capital item such as overseas property, where funds are remitted to Thailand, is one popular source of funds, the sale of some investment products such as stocks, shares and bonds is another. Those proceeds typically comprise two parts, capital and profit. If the capital was acquired before 1 January 2024, it is free of Thai tax. One way to separate capital and profit may bee to have an official valuation or statement that is dated 1 January 2024 since anything earned before that date, is not assessable. Also, if the profit has been the subject of a Capital Gains return in the home country, that also may be free of Thai tax but this cannot be guaranteed at this time, until things are made more clear and are once again subject to the terms of any DTA. YOU will need to review the DTA between Thailand and your home  country to fully understand what particular clauses affect you.

 

17. It appears as though most property rental income that is remitted to Thailand is considered to be assessable income and is taxable here, unless of course it has been taxed in the home country and/or the DTA prohibits its taxation (which seems unlikely).

 

18. YOU are responsible for determining if your assessable income in Thailand exceeds the threshold and means you must file a tax return. That assessable income might comprise, pension payments, investment income, rental income or any of the other types of income listed in the link above. If you have assessable income of over 120,000 baht per year, you must file a tax return (60,000 baht if your sole source of assessable income is bank interest paid in Thailand).

 

19. Before you can file a tax return in Thailand, you need to acquire a Tax Identification Number or TIN from the RD offices in your area. You will need your passport, a valid and current visa or extension and in many areas, a Certificate of Residency from the Immigration Department.

 

20. Completing a tax return is a simple affair for most people, if you have difficulty, the Revenue Department staff are extremely helpful. Tax returns must be filed between 1 January and 30 March each year, if you file later than that, penalties will apply.

 

21. Thai tax is layered in bands and is payable based on the amount of assessable income that  falls within each band and are shown and linked below:

 

Taxable Income per year(Baht) Tax rate

0 – 150,000 Exempt

150,000 – 300,000 5%

300,000 – 500,000 10%

500,000 – 750,000 15%

750,000 – 1,000,000 20%

1,000,000 – 2,000,000 25%

2,000,000 – 4,000,000 30%

Over 4,000,000 35%

https://www.mazars.co.th/Home/Insights/Doing-Business-in-Thailand/Payroll/Personal-Income-Tax

 

22. The Thai tax system contains a series of Allowances, Deductions and Exemptions that will help you reduce your tax bill and they are very generous. It is easily possible for the average expat foreign retiree to reduce their taxable income by 500,000 baht or more each year. For example, a retiree aged 65 years of age, married and living here full  time, supporting a Thai wife who has no income and doesn’t file tax return, is allowed the following:

 

a. Personal Allowance for self - 60,000

b. Personal Allowance for wife - 60,000

c. Over age 65 years exemption - 190,000

d. 50% of pension income received, up to 100k - 100,000

e. In addition, the first 150,000 of assessable income is zero rated and free of tax

 

23. Additional deductions and allowances exist for health or life insurance premiums paid in Thailand. A complete list of deductions, allowances and exemptions can be found here

https://www.rd.go.th/english/6045.html  or from Sherrings below.

https://sherrings.com/personal-tax-deductions-allowances-thailand.html

 

24. The Thai Revenue  tax filing system is online but is only available in Thai language at present. The tax forms are however available in English and they can be downloaded from the link below. CAUTION, the forms are updated every year and the 2023/24 forms for full year PIT are NOT yet available:

https://www.rd.go.th/english/63902.html

 

25. A simple sample completed tax form for a person aged over 65 years is shown below as a guide.

26. https://aseannow.com/topic/1312534-taxation-of-ex-pats-pensions-etc/?do=findComment&comment=18532562

 

27. Tax filing in Thailand is based on the honour system, it relies on you declaring all the right information every year and there are severe penalties for evading Thai tax. It would be foolish and a gross under estimation of RD capabilities to think  that doing nothing and keeping a low profile means you should ignore Thai taxation. Very few sane people in the US and UK ignore the tax authorities who tend to have a long reach. It cannot be ruled out that at some point, a link may be established between tax filings and visa extensions. A law already exists that requires foreigners to apply for Tax Clearance Certificates before being allowed to depart the country but it is not being enforced currently. These things are possible because similar things have been adopted in several countries in the past, including the US.

 

28. There are several sources of detailed tax information and these web sites are linked below:

https://www.rd.go.th/english/6045.html

https://sherrings.com/personal-income-tax-in-thailand.html

https://www.mazars.co.th/Home/Insights/Doing-Business-in-Thailand/Payroll/Personal-Income-Tax

 

*** END ***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lordgrinz]

2 minutes ago, Presnock said:

for me anyway as a citizen of the US, those that pay my pension and I believe others that receive monies from US companies get a W2 form, and I know it doesn't cover all the deductions, etc but mine at least should satisfy the Thai Revenue Dept.  What we need to see is the OECD requirements for reporting of funds remitted into a country and paid out by individuals within a country.  At least we finally get some final results of the "new" tax law.

 

This is the part that gets a little screwy, is it just on remitted money, and if its much smaller than the senders worldwide income, how do they decide if this smaller amount remitted was taxed?

[Mike Lister]

4 minutes ago, Presnock said:

for me anyway as a citizen of the US, those that pay my pension and I believe others that receive monies from US companies get a W2 form, and I know it doesn't cover all the deductions, etc but mine at least should satisfy the Thai Revenue Dept.  What we need to see is the OECD requirements for reporting of funds remitted into a country and paid out by individuals within a country.  At least we finally get some final results of the "new" tax law.

There are no new tax laws, there's simply one existing rule that as been tweaked regarding income that is remitted in years subsequent to be being earned, not being taxable.

[Mike Lister]

2 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

 

This is the part that gets a little screwy, is it just on remitted money, and if its much smaller than the senders worldwide income, how do they decide if this smaller amount remitted was taxed?

Read the text I sent you, the answers are all in there!

 

Income earned prior to 1 January 2024 is not taxable, after that date it is.

Edited January 8 by Mike Lister

[lordgrinz]

2 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

1) not taxable

2)only taxable if remitted to Thailand

3) as above

4) you can file single or joint, it's up to you.

 

 

Yes, but how do you prove money sent here from a large savings account that would have mixed in profit from equities/interest/etc. was taxed? Say I have $100,000 in a saving account, and move money from profit of $5000 into the account, then I remit $20,000 to Thailand.......how do you handle tax on mixed money in a savings account?

[Presnock]

55 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

No! Here, read this:

 

1. This guide has been compiled in an attempt to provide readers with the simplest possible over view of Personal Income Tax (PIT) in Thailand. The scope of this document is limited to PIT.

 

2. You may have heard that new tax laws came into effect on 1 January this year, in fact, that is not true! The old tax rules still exist and remain valid, albeit just one minor change to them was made in November last year. Previously, anyone who earned money overseas and remitted it to Thailand in a different tax year, received that money free of Thai tax. That loop hole in the Revenue Department (RD) tax code has been extensively exploited by wealthy Thai’s and is now closed, hence, any money earned overseas and remitted to Thailand in any year, is now liable to Thai tax. The purpose of the new rule is to reduce tax avoidance. Unfortunately, it now means that overseas funds transfers by foreigners living in Thailand, also have an increased risk of being taxed.

 

3. This guide is an overview of the core parts of the PIT system. It is not designed to be exhaustive and it doesn’t cover all aspects of PIT, nor is it intended to  override anything produced by the Thai Revenue or specialist tax companies such as Sherrings or Mazzars. This guide also does not address all types of income or the rules relevant to people from every country. What this guide will provide is a starting point for readers to manage their own tax affairs and it will also provide most of the answers for those with simple tax affairs, especially the average pensioner.

 

4. There are also certain types of visa that fall outside of the RD tax code. The LTR visa for example received its tax exempt status by royal decree hence visa holders will not to be assessed for Thai tax and they are specifically excluded from this explanation.

 

5. Terminology: this document uses the word “assessable” often. Assessable in the context of this document means income that is liable to tax and must be included on a Thai tax return. Not all income is assessable, some is excluded from tax assessment by its very nature or because of the terms of a specific tax agreement.

 

6. Dual Tax Agreement/Double Tax Agreement (DTA): is an agreement between two countries that sets out which of the two countries has the right to tax specific types of income and all the associated rules. It’s purpose, in part, is to ensure that the same funds are not taxed twice and provides a means by which tax that is paid twice, can be recovered, how and from where. Note: If the taxpayer income is sourced in one country but the tax  payer is resident in a second country, use of a DTA can result in increased tax being paid, if the second country has a higher rate of tax on the type of income in question, than the other.

 

7. If you stay in Thailand for more than a cumulative 180 days, between 1 January and 31 December each year, you will be considered to be Tax Resident in Thailand during that year, regardless of the type of visa you have. It doesn’t matter that you may be Tax Resident in your home country or elsewhere or that you pay tax in those countries, Thailand will still regard you as Tax Resident. Tax Residency and Immigration status (and the visa you hold) are different things. Tax residency is based solely on the number of days you spend in Thailand and where you are at midnight on each day.

 

8. Because you are Tax Resident, YOU must review your income each year to determine if it is regarded as assessable to tax in Thailand, nobody else will do this for you. If your income does not exceed 120,000 baht per year, you do not need to file a tax return (60,000 baht if your only income is bank interest paid to you by a bank in Thailand). If your income is over 120,000 baht per year, you must file a Thai tax return between 1 January and 31 March.

 

9. Your income in Thailand is defined as any money paid to you inside Thailand, as well as, any money you receive from overseas, both types are potentially assessable income for Tax Residents. There are many types of income that can be classed as assessable, the Thai RD lists some of them and is linked below, however, the list is not exhaustive:

https://sherrings.com/personal-income-tax-in-thailand.html#:~:text=Section%2040%20of%20Thailand's%20Revenue,Pensions%3B%20and

 

10. There are also classes or types of income that the RD does not regard as assessable and these are also linked below:

https://www.rd.go.th/english/37749.html

 

11. Income that is derived from  within Thailand is fairly clear, if you work and have a job and you are a Tax Resident, your income is assessable for tax.  Interest that is paid to you on Thai bank accounts is regarded as income, as is income from investments such as stocks and bonds within Thailand.  You should note that if you are generating income by working while staying in Thailand, it is (and has always been) irrelevant where that money is paid and whether you bring the money into the country or keep it offshore. That money arises in Thailand hence it is taxable here.

 

12. It is not possible to give the same blanket rule to everyone to determine whether income is assessable or not because of the variable factors involved. Overseas income has to pass several tests to determine if it is assessable to Thai tax or not. It is still early days and all the rules are not yet clear. It has been said that tax residents who import funds from countries that have a DTA with Thailand, will not be effected. Exactly how that will work leaves many questions unanswered hence this document attempts to look at only the most popular types of income based on what is known at present. This document does not speculate as to what may happen in the future, other than in the segment at the end concerning likely future Immigration rules.

 

13. If we take the simplest type of income and say that you transfer personal savings from overseas to Thailand and those savings  were earned before 1 January 2024, those funds are not assessable. But savings earned after that date are, hence the date when the income is earned is extremely important. A word of caution, you may be asked to provide proof that savings were earned before 1 January 2024.  

 

14. Another common type of income is pensions, which can be complicated, depending on the type of pension and the country that it comes from. The country of origin is important because there are over 60 different types of Dual Tax Agreements, sometimes called Double Taxation Agreements (DTA’s), between Thailand and those 60+ countries and each one is different. As a general rule, most private or company pensions from most countries appear to be assessable here but YOU will need to confirm that yours is or is not. If that is true, private and company pension income IS assessable income in Thailand.

 

15. US Social Security payments, a form of pension paid to some older people, can only be taxed by the US under DTA rules and Thailand is forbidden from taxing them, this means those payments are NOT assessable income. UK State pension on the other hand is not covered by a DTA so it is assessable income in Thailand whilst UK Government or Civil Service pensions are not!

 

16. The proceeds from the sale of a capital item such as overseas property, where funds are remitted to Thailand, is one popular source of funds, the sale of some investment products such as stocks, shares and bonds is another. Those proceeds typically comprise two parts, capital and profit. If the capital was acquired before 1 January 2024, it is free of Thai tax. One way to separate capital and profit may bee to have an official valuation or statement that is dated 1 January 2024 since anything earned before that date, is not assessable. Also, if the profit has been the subject of a Capital Gains return in the home country, that also may be free of Thai tax but this cannot be guaranteed at this time, until things are made more clear and are once again subject to the terms of any DTA. YOU will need to review the DTA between Thailand and your home  country to fully understand what particular clauses affect you.

 

17. It appears as though most property rental income that is remitted to Thailand is considered to be assessable income and is taxable here, unless of course it has been taxed in the home country and/or the DTA prohibits its taxation (which seems unlikely).

 

18. YOU are responsible for determining if your assessable income in Thailand exceeds the threshold and means you must file a tax return. That assessable income might comprise, pension payments, investment income, rental income or any of the other types of income listed in the link above. If you have assessable income of over 120,000 baht per year, you must file a tax return (60,000 baht if your sole source of assessable income is bank interest paid in Thailand).

 

19. Before you can file a tax return in Thailand, you need to acquire a Tax Identification Number or TIN from the RD offices in your area. You will need your passport, a valid and current visa or extension and in many areas, a Certificate of Residency from the Immigration Department.

 

20. Completing a tax return is a simple affair for most people, if you have difficulty, the Revenue Department staff are extremely helpful. Tax returns must be filed between 1 January and 30 March each year, if you file later than that, penalties will apply.

 

21. Thai tax is layered in bands and is payable based on the amount of assessable income that  falls within each band and are shown and linked below:

 

Taxable Income per year(Baht) Tax rate

0 – 150,000 Exempt

150,000 – 300,000 5%

300,000 – 500,000 10%

500,000 – 750,000 15%

750,000 – 1,000,000 20%

1,000,000 – 2,000,000 25%

2,000,000 – 4,000,000 30%

Over 4,000,000 35%

https://www.mazars.co.th/Home/Insights/Doing-Business-in-Thailand/Payroll/Personal-Income-Tax

 

22. The Thai tax system contains a series of Allowances, Deductions and Exemptions that will help you reduce your tax bill and they are very generous. It is easily possible for the average expat foreign retiree to reduce their taxable income by 500,000 baht or more each year. For example, a retiree aged 65 years of age, married and living here full  time, supporting a Thai wife who has no income and doesn’t file tax return, is allowed the following:

 

a. Personal Allowance for self - 60,000

b. Personal Allowance for wife - 60,000

c. Over age 65 years exemption - 190,000

d. 50% of pension income received, up to 100k - 100,000

e. In addition, the first 150,000 of assessable income is zero rated and free of tax

 

23. Additional deductions and allowances exist for health or life insurance premiums paid in Thailand. A complete list of deductions, allowances and exemptions can be found here

https://www.rd.go.th/english/6045.html  or from Sherrings below.

https://sherrings.com/personal-tax-deductions-allowances-thailand.html

 

24. The Thai Revenue  tax filing system is online but is only available in Thai language at present. The tax forms are however available in English and they can be downloaded from the link below. CAUTION, the forms are updated every year and the 2023/24 forms for full year PIT are NOT yet available:

https://www.rd.go.th/english/63902.html

 

25. A simple sample completed tax form for a person aged over 65 years is shown below as a guide.

26. https://aseannow.com/topic/1312534-taxation-of-ex-pats-pensions-etc/?do=findComment&comment=18532562

 

27. Tax filing in Thailand is based on the honour system, it relies on you declaring all the right information every year and there are severe penalties for evading Thai tax. It would be foolish and a gross under estimation of RD capabilities to think  that doing nothing and keeping a low profile means you should ignore Thai taxation. Very few sane people in the US and UK ignore the tax authorities who tend to have a long reach. It cannot be ruled out that at some point, a link may be established between tax filings and visa extensions. A law already exists that requires foreigners to apply for Tax Clearance Certificates before being allowed to depart the country but it is not being enforced currently. These things are possible because similar things have been adopted in several countries in the past, including the US.

 

28. There are several sources of detailed tax information and these web sites are linked below:

https://www.rd.go.th/english/6045.html

https://sherrings.com/personal-income-tax-in-thailand.html

https://www.mazars.co.th/Home/Insights/Doing-Business-in-Thailand/Payroll/Personal-Income-Tax

 

*** END ***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excellent and very detailed .  Thanks for the information.

[Ben Zioner]

14 minutes ago, Presnock said:

But those ex-pats here for the most part in my opinion make a lot more than any of these low paying Thais and apparently some fail to either pay taxes here or to their own country.

Don't like your wording. I haven't paid income tax since 1991, but I have never "failed" to do so, I didn't have to. Until retirement my wages weren't taxable, than here I used the defunct seasoning rule, and since November 2022 I am under the LTR Visa regime. If that changes I'll minimise my burden by using pre 2024 savings and the 179 days rule, if I am still fit to do so. Did I do anything wrong? absolutely not, I did my duty as a tax payer: be aware of the rules and used them to your best advantage.

[couchpotato]

42 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

If you are the type to send 'War and Peace' when a few lines would suffice, sorry I disturbed you.

How much time I got left I need this!

 

 

 

@Mike Lister wrote an excellent piece that probably answered a lot of questions for many people.

If you found it boring, then scroll down the page, not have to be so negative. Some people's children!

[TigerandDog]

After reading the Australia/Thailand tax treaty, and just receiving advice from a tax expert, even though the Australian age pension is tax free in Australia it IS taxable here under the new Tax laws effective 1 Jan 2024.

[Freddy42OZ]

2 hours ago, KannikaP said:

I bring in Bht 40k per month totalling Bht 400k per year. With various allowances and the tax threshold, I shall have to pay around Bht 4000  at the end of the year even though there is an agreement with UK.. Confirmed by my local taxman.

If you take advantage of the Thai Government's "Easy E-Receipt 2024" Program then you can claim back up to 50,000 THB against your 2025 Tax bill. 

[Mike Lister]

7 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

After reading the Australia/Thailand tax treaty, and just receiving advice from a tax expert, even though the Australian age pension is tax free in Australia it IS taxable here under the new Tax laws effective 1 Jan 2024.

Not surprising really, so is the UK State Pension.

[roo860]

If you opened another different Thai bank account and transferred different amounts, as in one to be below a certain tax threshold etc, how would the tax office know you had 2 accounts, do banks have to disclose this information?

[Drumbuie]

https://www.gov.uk/tax-uk-income-live-abroad

 

UK citizens with state pensions may find this useful. Particularly 

 

"Non-residents do not usually pay UK tax on:

 

the State Pension

interest from UK government securities (‘gilts’). "

[Freddy42OZ]

30 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

There are no new tax laws, there's simply one existing rule that as been tweaked regarding income that is remitted in years subsequent to be being earned, not being taxable.

 

 

How do they determine when the income was earned?   

Say I have $1,000,000 in my account and I earn $100,000 per year.   If I bring in $50,000 was that $50k part of what I earned in the previous 10 years, or was that $50k considered part of what I earned last year?

Is it first in last out or last in first out?   

[Mike Lister]

4 minutes ago, Freddy42OZ said:

 

 

How do they determine when the income was earned?   

Say I have $1,000,000 in my account and I earn $100,000 per year.   If I bring in $50,000 was that $50k part of what I earned in the previous 10 years, or was that $50k considered part of what I earned last year?

Is it first in last out or last in first out?   

Anything pre-1January 2024 is not taxable, after that date it is. The onus is on the taxpayer to prove his or her case by keeping adequate records etc.

 

A SIMPLE GUIDE TO PERSONAL INCOME TAX IN THAILAND

8 January, 2024

Version 5, Rev A

 

1. This guide has been compiled in an attempt to provide readers with the simplest possible over view of Personal Income Tax (PIT) in Thailand. The scope of this document is limited to PIT.

 

2. You may have heard that new tax laws came into effect on 1 January this year, in fact, that is not true! The old tax rules still exist and remain valid, albeit just one minor change to them was made in November last year. Previously, anyone who earned money overseas and remitted it to Thailand in a different tax year, received that money free of Thai tax. That loop hole in the Revenue Department (RD) tax code has been extensively exploited by wealthy Thai’s and is now closed, hence, any money earned overseas and remitted to Thailand in any year, is now liable to Thai tax. The purpose of the new rule is to reduce tax avoidance. Unfortunately, it now means that overseas funds transfers by foreigners living in Thailand, also have an increased risk of being taxed.

 

3. This guide is an overview of the core parts of the PIT system. It is not designed to be exhaustive and it doesn’t cover all aspects of PIT, nor is it intended to  override anything produced by the Thai Revenue or specialist tax companies such as Sherrings or Mazzars. This guide also does not address all types of income or the rules relevant to people from every country. What this guide will provide is a starting point for readers to manage their own tax affairs and it will also provide most of the answers for those with simple tax affairs, especially the average pensioner.

 

4. There are also certain types of visa that fall outside of the RD tax code. The LTR visa for example received its tax exempt status by royal decree hence visa holders will not to be assessed for Thai tax and they are specifically excluded from this explanation.

 

5. Terminology: this document uses the word “assessable” often. Assessable in the context of this document means income that is liable to tax and must be included on a Thai tax return. Not all income is assessable, some is excluded from tax assessment by its very nature or because of the terms of a specific tax agreement.

 

6. Dual Tax Agreement/Double Tax Agreement (DTA): is an agreement between two countries that sets out which of the two countries has the right to tax specific types of income and all the associated rules. It’s purpose, in part, is to ensure that the same funds are not taxed twice and provides a means by which tax that is paid twice, can be recovered, how and from where. Note: If the taxpayer income is sourced in one country but the tax  payer is resident in a second country, use of a DTA can result in increased tax being paid, if the second country has a higher rate of tax on the type of income in question, than the other.

 

7. If you stay in Thailand for more than a cumulative 180 days, between 1 January and 31 December each year, you will be considered to be Tax Resident in Thailand during that year, regardless of the type of visa you have. It doesn’t matter that you may be Tax Resident in your home country or elsewhere or that you pay tax in those countries, Thailand will still regard you as Tax Resident. Tax Residency and Immigration status (and the visa you hold) are different things. Tax residency is based solely on the number of days you spend in Thailand and where you are at midnight on each day.

 

8. Because you are Tax Resident, YOU must review your income each year to determine if it is regarded as assessable to tax in Thailand, nobody else will do this for you. If your income does not exceed 120,000 baht per year, you do not need to file a tax return (60,000 baht if your only income is bank interest paid to you by a bank in Thailand). If your income is over 120,000 baht per year, you must file a Thai tax return between 1 January and 31 March.

 

9. Your income in Thailand is defined as any money paid to you inside Thailand, as well as, any money you receive from overseas, both types are potentially assessable income for Tax Residents. There are many types of income that can be classed as assessable, the Thai RD lists some of them and is linked below, however, the list is not exhaustive:

https://sherrings.com/personal-income-tax-in-thailand.html#:~:text=Section%2040%20of%20Thailand's%20Revenue,Pensions%3B%20and

 

10. There are also classes or types of income that the RD does not regard as assessable and these are also linked below:

https://www.rd.go.th/english/37749.html

 

11. Income that is derived from  within Thailand is fairly clear, if you work and have a job and you are a Tax Resident, your income is assessable for tax.  Interest that is paid to you on Thai bank accounts is regarded as income, as is income from investments such as stocks and bonds within Thailand.  You should note that if you are generating income by working while staying in Thailand, it is (and has always been) irrelevant where that money is paid and whether you bring the money into the country or keep it offshore. That money arises in Thailand hence it is taxable here.

 

12. It is not possible to give the same blanket rule to everyone to determine whether income is assessable or not because of the variable factors involved. Overseas income has to pass several tests to determine if it is assessable to Thai tax or not. It is still early days and all the rules are not yet clear. It has been said that tax residents who import funds from countries that have a DTA with Thailand, will not be effected. Exactly how that will work leaves many questions unanswered hence this document attempts to look at only the most popular types of income based on what is known at present. This document does not speculate as to what may happen in the future, other than in the segment at the end concerning likely future Immigration rules.

 

13. If we take the simplest type of income and say that you transfer personal savings from overseas to Thailand and those savings  were earned before 1 January 2024, those funds are not assessable. But savings earned after that date are, hence the date when the income is earned is extremely important. A word of caution, you may be asked to provide proof that savings were earned before 1 January 2024.  

 

14. Another common type of income is pensions, which can be complicated, depending on the type of pension and the country that it comes from. The country of origin is important because there are over 60 different types of Dual Tax Agreements, sometimes called Double Taxation Agreements (DTA’s), between Thailand and those 60+ countries and each one is different. As a general rule, most private or company pensions from most countries appear to be assessable here but YOU will need to confirm that yours is or is not. If that is true, private and company pension income IS assessable income in Thailand.

 

15. US Social Security payments, a form of pension paid to some older people, can only be taxed by the US under DTA rules and Thailand is forbidden from taxing them, this means those payments are NOT assessable income. UK State pension on the other hand is not covered by a DTA so it is assessable income in Thailand whilst UK Government or Civil Service pensions are not!

 

16. The proceeds from the sale of a capital item such as overseas property, where funds are remitted to Thailand, is one popular source of funds, the sale of some investment products such as stocks, shares and bonds is another. Those proceeds typically comprise two parts, capital and profit. If the capital was acquired before 1 January 2024, it is free of Thai tax. One way to separate capital and profit may bee to have an official valuation or statement that is dated 1 January 2024 since anything earned before that date, is not assessable. Also, if the profit has been the subject of a Capital Gains return in the home country, that also may be free of Thai tax but this cannot be guaranteed at this time, until things are made more clear and are once again subject to the terms of any DTA. YOU will need to review the DTA between Thailand and your home  country to fully understand what particular clauses affect you.

 

17. It appears as though most property rental income that is remitted to Thailand is considered to be assessable income and is taxable here, unless of course it has been taxed in the home country and/or the DTA prohibits its taxation (which seems unlikely).

 

18. YOU are responsible for determining if your assessable income in Thailand exceeds the threshold and means you must file a tax return. That assessable income might comprise, pension payments, investment income, rental income or any of the other types of income listed in the link above. If you have assessable income of over 120,000 baht per year, you must file a tax return (60,000 baht if your sole source of assessable income is bank interest paid in Thailand).

 

19. Before you can file a tax return in Thailand, you need to acquire a Tax Identification Number or TIN from the RD offices in your area. You will need your passport, a valid and current visa or extension and in many areas, a Certificate of Residency from the Immigration Department.

 

20. Completing a tax return is a simple affair for most people, if you have difficulty, the Revenue Department staff are extremely helpful. Tax returns must be filed between 1 January and 30 March each year, if you file later than that, penalties will apply.

 

21. Thai tax is layered in bands and is payable based on the amount of assessable income that  falls within each band and are shown and linked below:

 

Taxable Income per year(Baht) Tax rate

0 – 150,000 Exempt

150,000 – 300,000 5%

300,000 – 500,000 10%

500,000 – 750,000 15%

750,000 – 1,000,000 20%

1,000,000 – 2,000,000 25%

2,000,000 – 4,000,000 30%

Over 4,000,000 35%

https://www.mazars.co.th/Home/Insights/Doing-Business-in-Thailand/Payroll/Personal-Income-Tax

 

22. The Thai tax system contains a series of Allowances, Deductions and Exemptions that will help you reduce your tax bill and they are very generous. It is easily possible for the average expat foreign retiree to reduce their taxable income by 500,000 baht or more each year. For example, a retiree aged 65 years of age, married and living here full  time, supporting a Thai wife who has no income and doesn’t file tax return, is allowed the following:

 

a. Personal Allowance for self - 60,000

b. Personal Allowance for wife - 60,000

c. Over age 65 years exemption - 190,000

d. 50% of pension income received, up to 100k - 100,000

e. In addition, the first 150,000 of assessable income is zero rated and free of tax

 

23. Additional deductions and allowances exist for health or life insurance premiums paid in Thailand. A complete list of deductions, allowances and exemptions can be found here

https://www.rd.go.th/english/6045.html  or from Sherrings below.

https://sherrings.com/personal-tax-deductions-allowances-thailand.html

 

24. The Thai Revenue  tax filing system is online but is only available in Thai language at present. The tax forms are however available in English and they can be downloaded from the link below. CAUTION, the forms are updated every year and the 2023/24 forms for full year PIT are NOT yet available:

https://www.rd.go.th/english/63902.html

 

25. A simple sample completed tax form for a person aged over 65 years is shown below as a guide.

26. https://aseannow.com/topic/1312534-taxation-of-ex-pats-pensions-etc/?do=findComment&comment=18532562

 

27. Tax filing in Thailand is based on the honour system, it relies on you declaring all the right information every year and there are severe penalties for evading Thai tax. It would be foolish and a gross under estimation of RD capabilities to think  that doing nothing and keeping a low profile means you should ignore Thai taxation. Very few sane people in the US and UK ignore the tax authorities who tend to have a long reach. It cannot be ruled out that at some point, a link may be established between tax filings and visa extensions. A law already exists that requires foreigners to apply for Tax Clearance Certificates before being allowed to depart the country but it is not being enforced currently. These things are possible because similar things have been adopted in several countries in the past, including the US.

 

28. The RD tax return requires taxpayers to report assessable income, the tax rules even list some types of income that are not assessable to help in this. In addition, some types of income, from some locations, for some nationalities, are also known to be not assessable.

 

29. If a taxpayer is certain that some of their income is not assessable, they may not want to declare it on their Thai tax return.  Alternatively they may wish to ask the RD or employ specialist tax advisor's. It should go without saying that some taxpayers may try to suggest that some of their income is not assessable when really they don’t know for sure, or, they know that it is and say it that it isn’t, a sort of, chancing your arm and hoping you wont get found out. In that situation, the RD will not look favourably on such people and penalties are likely.

 

30. There are several sources of detailed tax information and these web sites are linked below:

https://www.rd.go.th/english/6045.html

https://sherrings.com/personal-income-tax-in-thailand.html

https://www.mazars.co.th/Home/Insights/Doing-Business-in-Thailand/Payroll/Personal-Income-Tax

 

*** END ***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lordgrinz]

2 minutes ago, Freddy42OZ said:

 

 

How do they determine when the income was earned?   

Say I have $1,000,000 in my account and I earn $100,000 per year.   If I bring in $50,000 was that $50k part of what I earned in the previous 10 years, or was that $50k considered part of what I earned last year?

Is it first in last out or last in first out?   

 

That's pretty much what I asked above, not sure how they are going to do this. Either they have to abandon the remitted only approach and tax all income made worldwide, or create an almost impossible way to handle this scenario. Like you you hinted though, they could just consider taxing all our remittance as last in first out.

[TigerandDog]

3 minutes ago, Freddy42OZ said:

 

 

How do they determine when the income was earned?   

Say I have $1,000,000 in my account and I earn $100,000 per year.   If I bring in $50,000 was that $50k part of what I earned in the previous 10 years, or was that $50k considered part of what I earned last year?

Is it first in last out or last in first out?   

under the changes it doesn't matter when it was earned, it's now based on when you bring the funds into Thailand. Using your example, if you were to bring the 50k into Thailand after Jan 1 2024, it is income for the 2024 taxation year regardless of whether that interest was earned last year or 10 years ago.

[sidgy]

10 minutes ago, Freddy42OZ said:

How do they determine when the income was earned?   

Say I have $1,000,000 in my account and I earn $100,000 per year.   If I bring in $50,000 was that $50k part of what I earned in the previous 10 years, or was that $50k considered part of what I earned last year?

Is it first in last out or last in first out?   

I think that if you can prove you already had that $100k in your account, before the start of this year, then you can subsequently bring in up to that $100k tax free. After that amount it will be assessable for tax.