Revenue Department Tax Residency certificate (R.O.22)

[DannyS1951]

Google asked me for this form last week. I didn't think it existed but my local Revenue office says it does but I have to go to the regional head office to collect it. This is proof that either you or your company pays tax in Thailand. If you already have the US IRS EIN number so that US sales come under the US-Thai treaty of 5% instead of the standard 30% withholding tax then you will also need this certificate with Google. I wouldn't be surprised if other global companies like Apple and Amazon start asking for it.

 

If anyone has already done it could you tell me the form/certificate R.O.22 is the same for both individuals and companies? Google told me they don't care whether it is a person or a entity. If nobody has done it then I will try and keep the forum informed on how I get on there data here for others to follow.

[Mike Lister]

3 minutes ago, DannyS1951 said:

Google asked me for this form last week. I didn't think it existed but my local Revenue office says it does but I have to go to the regional head office to collect it. This is proof that either you or your company pays tax in Thailand. If you already have the US IRS EIN number so that US sales come under the US-Thai treaty of 5% instead of the standard 30% withholding tax then you will also need this certificate with Google. I wouldn't be surprised if other global companies like Apple and Amazon start asking for it.

 

If anyone has already done it could you tell me the form/certificate R.O.22 is the same for both individuals and companies? Google told me they don't care whether it is a person or a entity. If nobody has done it then I will try and keep the forum informed on how I get on there data here for others to follow.

See Para 77 of the attached document for the certificate:

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1324294-the-simple-tax-guide/#comment-18857625

 

or this one maybe easier

 

 

[DannyS1951]

Mike, the second part of your comment didn't come through because of a permission problem. Am I looking at the wrong document when you say Para 77 which seems to be about penalties for false claims. If so I think we are talking about two different things. I am looking for a certificate, possibly called RO22 according to Google, which shows that a company already pays Thai tax and is resident in Thailand. (This is for a company or as Google says an 'entity', not an individual.)

 

For those selling through some of the large US online companies you already probably know about EIN numbers from the IRS and Thai/US tax treaty. Google are now asking for this new certificate. According to my local revenue department office this form has only been issued since the beginning of the year and has to be obtained from the revenue department's regional head office which in my company's case will be at Huay Kwang. I suspect if Google are asking for it, it won't be long before Amazon, Apple and the others will also want it. The difference it could make is between 5% and 30% of IRS withholding tax.

 

Now it seems that there are similar forms for individuals as well as companies, but they will need the individuals to be paying Thai taxes. Hope this is a bit clearer. The accountants that handle our company are now inquiring about it with the Revenue Department. I will try and post more information as I find out. I noticed the RD's website had slightly changed or update the required documents this morning. Here's a link.
https://www.rd.go.th/22740.html

[Mike Lister]

3 minutes ago, DannyS1951 said:

Mike, the second part of your comment didn't come through because of a permission problem. Am I looking at the wrong document when you say Para 77 which seems to be about penalties for false claims. If so I think we are talking about two different things. I am looking for a certificate, possibly called RO22 according to Google, which shows that a company already pays Thai tax and is resident in Thailand. (This is for a company or as Google says an 'entity', not an individual.)

 

For those selling through some of the large US online companies you already probably know about EIN numbers from the IRS and Thai/US tax treaty. Google are now asking for this new certificate. According to my local revenue department office this form has only been issued since the beginning of the year and has to be obtained from the revenue department's regional head office which in my company's case will be at Huay Kwang. I suspect if Google are asking for it, it won't be long before Amazon, Apple and the others will also want it. The difference it could make is between 5% and 30% of IRS withholding tax.

 

Now it seems that there are similar forms for individuals as well as companies, but they will need the individuals to be paying Thai taxes. Hope this is a bit clearer. The accountants that handle our company are now inquiring about it with the Revenue Department. I will try and post more information as I find out. I noticed the RD's website had slightly changed or update the required documents this morning. Here's a link.
https://www.rd.go.th/22740.html

Let me come back to you on this.

[DannyS1951]

So far from our accountants I found out I need 3 documents to take to the Revenue regional head office. They are:

 

1/ A copy of the latest PND 50 including the tax receipt.

2/ A copy of the certificate of incorporation issued by Ministry of Commerce issued not over 6 months. (Hopefully I can do this online with the DBD (Department of Business Development.)

3/ A filled in tax form RA01 ร.อ.01.

You will need the company stamp for sure and I guess all your usual personal ID documents.

I will tell you how I get on. It's a new tax document that Google is asking for, one that has only existed since the beginning of the year according to my local Revenue office. I always figure that when one company asks for it, the others are sure to follow.

[DannyS1951]

So I put in all the paperwork yesterday at Bangkok Region 2 head office. No problems but told to come back on the 7th May to pick up the company tax residence certificate. I'm not sure if this is the R.O.22 certificate or it has a different number. This is a document from the Revenue Department in English to be shown to foreign companies or tax authorities that you pay taxes in Thailand. I will post more after I have picked it up next month.

 

At the moment I suspect this is only needed if you or your company claims tax relief in the US under the Thailand-US tax treaty. This can reduce US withholding taxes on us sales from 30% to 5%. Not all countries have this type of tax treaty with the US and those that do have various set tax levels. The UK for instance has a 0% US withholding tax. To use the Thailand-US tax treaty you do have to jump through some hoops with the IRS in the US, but it may be easier now as I did it quite a few years ago. The IRS will issue you with EIN tax number once you are accepted.

 

So far it is only Google who have asked for this new certificate of tax residency to back up the information the IRS already has. The chances are that other US companies will follow this line. For me it is mainly used for online book selling companies. We do know that the government is looking at taxing foreigners here who are earning income from abroad so more people may be caught up in the need for a document like this. The tax residency certificates can be supplied to either individuals or companies, the stipulation being that you are paying Thai taxes.

 

As I find out more I will add to this thread so the next person that needs the information can find it.

 

I should add that I suspect this is part of the KYC (Know Your Customer) idea which I think comes from the US government to make corporations take the responsibility of stopping the likes of money laundering and tax avoidance. I may be totally wrong on this.

Edited April 24 by DannyS1951

[DannyS1951]

I picked up the Certificate of (tax) Residence R.O.22 from the Revenue Department regional head office today. I'm attaching a redacted copy to this post. I quick explanation of why I needed this again. I publish some eBooks on Google Play Books. As with the other US online book shop websites I claim under the US-Thai tax treaty a reduction in US withholding tax from 30% to 5%. I do this with documents issued by the IRS which also gives my company a EIN tax number. Google now ask for an additional document from the Thai Revenue department to show the company is tax resident in Thailand. This document is in English and has a Thai Revenue Department document number of R.O.22. Although in my case this was issued for a company, I'm pretty sure the same document can be issued to individuals and for reasons other than the US-Thai tax treaty.

 

Some things to note. It was only issued at the regional head office and not at the local Revenue Dept. branch in my case. I suspect that other companies like Amazon will follow Google in demanding more documentation. It is valid for just one year, but has no cost at the moment. It's a very new document according to what my local Revenue branch told me, only being issued from the beginning of this year. (This could well be wrong information.) I'm taking it as not being the same as the Thai language Tax Residency forms that are needed by some foreign Thai tax payers.

 

I doubt I'm the first person to be asked for this certificate, so hopefully this thread will be of help to others.

[DannyS1951]

Well, maybe this isn't all you will need. Maybe I will need to get a Thai language certificate and the above just becomes the English translation of it. More as I find out.

[DannyS1951]

Forget all of the above regarding the Thailand-US tax treaty, now Google has told me the document was needed for the Irish tax authorities. I have no idea why this is so and obviously my document is aimed at the US authorities not the Irish so wasn't accepted. I think Google bases some of its European operations in Ireland so it may be important if there is an EU withholding tax being mooted. I am trying to find out more and also why I have wasted so much time on this so far.

 

Apologies for causing a scare about extra documentation.

[DannyS1951]

I should add that the Revenue Department would issue the document to refer to the Irish-Thai tax treaty if I wanted to spend the time (two trips) to do it. Maybe I will just to stop the nag screen that Google has on my account page right now.