Thailand to tax residents’ foreign income irrespective of remittance

[Presnock]

6 minutes ago, CharlesHolzhauer said:

Q.: How does the RD in your home country handle the language problem?

A.: They don't as the language of your home country takes priority.

Why should Thailand accommodate all the languages on earth...

The US Internal Revenue Service does offer foreign-language assitance in just about every language to assist filling workers.

[bob smith]

1 minute ago, brianthainess said:

Well bobby boy we know you are a very rich man, but 1 billion a year ? or around $28 million a year? who in their right mind would chose Thailand to live full time. 

I agree.

 

If I had that kind of money I would be booking a one-way flight to Monaco and never looking back!

 

bob.

[abrise]

3 hours ago, nickmondo said:

its just one piece of bull<deleted> after the other in this country.

I always said i would never buy a house here, and in a moment of stupidness, I did.

Not that expensive though, at 5 million baht, so not a huge deal

For sure I will be using Thailand as my home base for 1 day under 6 mnths a year.

Vietnam for 3, maybe Philippines for 3 months also

Might even buy myself a cheap house in the north of England from Auction for under 10k GBP.

I have had it with the bull<deleted> here now...........its just ridiculous.

Still a lot to enjoy here however, the normal Thai people, the food, the countryside, the beaches, etc........and also my Thai GF.

So i will ljust cut myself off from this crap and enjoy for under 6 months.

Will keep Retirement Extension though, as cheaper and easier than any other method, unless they do actually bring n the 60 day visa, and that might be an option, but that does not work for six months, even with extensions.

The problem is the thai girl friend shall you bring her abroad for 6 months ? Is she going to be happy far from home ? 

[brianthainess]

Just now, bob smith said:

I agree.

 

If I had that kind of money I would be booking a one-way flight to Monaco and never looking back!

 

bob.

Think I'd buy a huge mansion somewhere and fill it with Thai hookers   

[bob smith]

Just now, brianthainess said:

Think I'd buy a huge mansion somewhere and fill it with Thai hookers   

or a hotel even? 😉 

 

bob.

[lordgrinz]

1 minute ago, bob smith said:

I agree.

 

If I had that kind of money I would be booking a one-way flight to Monaco and never looking back!

 

bob.

 

I would be heading for Kauai to a beachside mini-mansion, with my own private beach, never to step foot in another city ever again. 

[brianthainess]

2 minutes ago, abrise said:

The problem is the thai girl friend shall you bring her abroad for 6 months ? Is she going to be happy far from home ? 

Oh I think $30Million a year would make her very happy.

[bob smith]

1 minute ago, lordgrinz said:

 

I would be heading for Kauai to a beachside mini-mansion, with my own private beach, never to step foot in another city ever again. 

I have a few beach residences dotted about Thailand.

 

I love them but they are a fast track to alcoholism. 

 

Not much else to do except get hammered or go for a walk.

 

bob.

[brianthainess]

1 minute ago, bob smith said:

or a hotel even? 😉 

 

bob.

Switzerland or by a lake in Bulgaria ? 

[grain]

4 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

 Thais who pay tax don't get free healthcare because of this. 

Well he did also say free/cheap healthcare, and it's a very valid point. If we are to be classified as Tax Residents and pay tax to the country, then we should be issued with residents ID cards to distinguish us from the other foreign non-residents/tourists. With these cards we don't pay the foreigner rates at national parks and historical sites, and we pay the Thai rates at government hospitals. That would be a fair system, but of course it ain't gonna happen.

[bob smith]

Just now, brianthainess said:

Switzerland or by a lake in Bulgaria ? 

I've heard Bavaria is nice this time of year..

 

bob.

[brianthainess]

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Kulaya mentioned plans to expand the tax base by requiring platforms with an income of 1 billion baht or more to report their sources of income.

Just to remind posters what will be taxed if at all.

[Captain Flack]

Post removed. If you post a quoted statement, as facts, then please supply link to that quote.

[TheAppletons]

1 minute ago, brianthainess said:

Just to remind posters what will be taxed if at all.

 

  Just to remind you that you are confusing two different initiatives.

 

  One is to tax multinational corporations - those are the "platforms" being mentiioned.

 

  The other is to tax worldwide income from individuals who are tax residents.  They do not need to earn over a billion baht to qualify, as you seem to think.

[lordgrinz]

5 minutes ago, bob smith said:

I have a few beach residences dotted about Thailand.

 

I love them but they are a fast track to alcoholism. 

 

Not much else to do except get hammered or go for a walk.

 

bob.

 

Loved Kauai, would love to return and go hiking, eating, reading, swimming, surfing, etc.....but yes, it would include some Corona's and limes too 😉

[brianthainess]

1 minute ago, bob smith said:

I've heard Bavaria is nice this time of year..

 

bob.

Oops that is where I meant. slap me with a wet fish.

 

[retarius]

A few simple questions:

 

1) I have read that the tax liability in Thailand is only on folk who 'stay over 180 days'. Does anyone know what the Thai tax department means when it says this ie does it mean that if you stay 181 days you have to file taxes with them and if you stay 180 days you do not have to? I have decided to avoid tax residency and to spend 180 or more days outside of Thailand each year. 

2) I have taxes deducted at source from bank accounts etc that pay interest. I currently deduct any taxes on interest earned from my US taxes and don't bother claiming the tax back here in Thailand. Will I still be able to do this? 

3) If I pay tax here on my worldwide income, will I be able to deduct the taxes I pay in Thailand from my US taxes under US/Thailand DTA rules? 

4) Some US retirement savings plans eg 401Ks allow you to put cash into a plan untaxed and pay taxes on the funds when you withdraw them after retirement. Would such income be taxed in Thailand? 

5) Much of Thailand's plan depends on them being able to coerce 'platforms' in other nations (and that they currently might not do any exchange business with) into telling them each year how much certain clients are earning. This sounds a bit like FACTA. I'm not sure that all US banks and financial companies are going to contact all of their customers to check whether they are Thai tax residents, and then 'informing' on their customers to Thai tax authorities. I have an idea that not many Thai banks comply with FACTA since the only bank that will accept SS payments in Bangkok Bank, kinda implying that other banks don't have enough US business to turn their business upside down to fill in annual reports for another government. Anyone in the know about this?

 

If anyone has any info please let me know.

[martinafr]

The German DTA dont make things better.

For example If someone earns 100.000€ and pays tax in Germany. The person can easy pay another 5-7k € in Thailand on top after tax credit via DTA.

 

Never i will give the RD information about my already taxed foreign world income. So i will not stay longer than 180 days. But i think next step could be to change the 180 days to 90 days and then the transformation is completed...

[Chongalulu]

17 hours ago, redwood1 said:

Well....Lucky for me I have less than 1 billion baht in income....

 

I have a ways to go, to go from my 1,800 dollars a month to reach 1 billion baht.......

So it's an "I'm alright Jack” from you. No sympathy for us 1 billion baht per year paupers? Selfish! 😡 

[Chongalulu]

17 hours ago, redwood1 said:

Well....Lucky for me I have less than 1 billion baht in income....

 

I have a ways to go, to go from my 1,800 dollars a month to reach 1 billion baht.......

So it's an "I'm alright Jack” from you. No sympathy for us 1 billion baht per year paupers? Selfish! 😡 

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, Mugi said:

So when you transfer money from abroad to buy a Condo you have a 35% tax problem?😉

 

No tax on transfers per se. Tax is on income. If the source of the funds transferred is savings of funds earned/acquired before 2023 then no tax implication.

[brianthainess]

5 minutes ago, Chongalulu said:

So it's an "I'm alright Jack” from you. No sympathy for us 1 billion baht per year paupers? Selfish! 😡 

I am absolutely sure You do Not get 1 billion baht a year. 

[NoDisplayName]

21 minutes ago, Presnock said:

Imagine anyone in the local TRD offices trying to interpret all the different language queries other than English/Thai

 

This could be handled as with DLT.  English language licenses can be directly converted, other languages require a translation.

 

But what documentation would be required?  USA doesn't send a receipt or an official copy of a tax return.  All I normally have is a downloaded copy of the return I file electronically.  Immigration won't accept my downloaded/printed bank statements, so I doubt the tax office will accept potentially photoshopped tax returns.

 

And while the kind and gentle taxfolk are perusing my "official" US tax return, what numbers are they considering as assessable?  Total income, adjustments and deductions, US taxable income?

 

Will Thailand recognize exclusions on income available to US taxpayers, IRA/Roth, Foreign earned income, capital gains for certain tax brackets - income that may be claimed on US tax returns, but not taxed?

 

Does this mean the amount brought in to Thailand will no longer be a concern, as worldwide income will be assessable and taxed, whether brought in or not.  This would suggest that the allowance for bringing in savings would no longer apply. 

 

And would this eventually be linked to the immigration process, whereby an official, stamped Thai tax return.....not a photocopy....will be added to the checklist for extensions?

 

I'm so excited to learn about potential new places to reside.

[NoDisplayName]

4 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

No tax on transfers per se. Tax is on income. If the source of the funds transferred is savings of funds earned/acquired before 2023 then no tax implication.

 

Savings should no longer be relevant if current year worldwide income is taxed.  Bring it in, don't bring it in - if earned this year, pay tax.  Should be no need to specify savings or income on amounts brought in.

[pentagara]

1 minute ago, Chongalulu said:

So it's an "I'm alright Jack” from you. No sympathy for us 1 billion baht per year paupers? Selfish! 😡 

Well, in this case, luckily you're not a person, but a platform corporation, since the 1 billion baht revenue (not income) number applies to those. My sympathy for corporations like airbnb, aliexpress, lazada, shopee, amazon and the like is indeed limited haha.

 

In case you're an individual ('human'): The 1bn Baht limit doesn't apply to you. You would have to declare from 1 THB income if this change goes into effect and if you stay in Thailand more than 180 days. Then you'd have to pay tax as per tax code on this declared income. Yes, I feel sympathy.

[Neeranam]

24 minutes ago, grain said:

Well he did also say free/cheap healthcare, and it's a very valid point. If we are to be classified as Tax Residents and pay tax to the country, then we should be issued with residents ID cards to distinguish us from the other foreign non-residents/tourists. With these cards we don't pay the foreigner rates at national parks and historical sites, and we pay the Thai rates at government hospitals. That would be a fair system, but of course it ain't gonna happen.

Yes, my point being paying tax is not related to health benefits. 

 

I agree, you should get a Resident ID card to get certain discounts. 

[Sheryl]

10 minutes ago, retarius said:

A few simple questions:

 

1) I have read that the tax liability in Thailand is only on folk who 'stay over 180 days'. Does anyone know what the Thai tax department means when it says this ie does it mean that if you stay 181 days you have to file taxes with them and if you stay 180 days you do not have to? I have decided to avoid tax residency and to spend 180 or more days outside of Thailand each year. 

 

 

You are not required to file taxes if you have no assessable income/owe no tax, or are not tax resident in Thailand (exception being if you earned income in Thailand).

 

10 minutes ago, retarius said:

 

2) I have taxes deducted at source from bank accounts etc that pay interest. I currently deduct any taxes on interest earned from my US taxes and don't bother claiming the tax back here in Thailand. Will I still be able to do this? 

 

3) If I pay tax here on my worldwide income, will I be able to deduct the taxes I pay in Thailand from my US taxes under US/Thailand DTA rules? 

 

 

Yes and yes. (I do the same as you re #3).

 

10 minutes ago, retarius said:

4) Some US retirement savings plans eg 401Ks allow you to put cash into a plan untaxed and pay taxes on the funds when you withdraw them after retirement. Would such income be taxed in Thailand? 

 

 

IF the proposed change to the law goes through, and IF it applies to non-Thai citizens, then yes you could be taxed here on income paid out of a 401K or similar instrument. Possible exception being if you can establish the funds are from earnings prior to becoming a Thai tax resident but that is beyond my pay grade.

 

Regarding your last point, the Common Reportiung System (CRS), which Thailand recently joined, is designed to share such inofrmation.  While there may be soem gaps now, can expect the system to be tightened in the near future. I would not count on income abroad being unknown to Thai tax authorities.

 

[Thingamabob]

2 hours ago, Cornishman said:

 

The time to worry is when this becomes part of the annual visa renewal...I am looking at Vietnam for my next step.

If this ever becomes a reality the Thai immigration authority will stand to lose a large part of it's income as a result of the departure from Thailand of many foreign residents who will no longer be applying for annual extensions of stay costing 1,900 baht. 

[Neeranam]

3 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

If this ever becomes a reality the Thai immigration authority will stand to lose a large part of it's income as a result of the departure from Thailand of many foreign residents who will no longer be applying for annual extensions of stay costing 1,900 baht. 

They are not worried about foreigners leaving as they will get huge dividends from rich Thais, more than making up for any monies foreigners spend.

[Sheryl]

5 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Savings should no longer be relevant if current year worldwide income is taxed.  Bring it in, don't bring it in - if earned this year, pay tax.  Should be no need to specify savings or income on amounts brought in.

By definition, if earned this year it is not savings.

 

I referred to savings accumulated from pre-2023 earnings (and in many cases prior to becoming a Thai tax resident).  This is not taxable to Thailand, and indeed was likely taxed at source back when earned.