Baffled

[MangoKorat]

Can someone please explain what this means - I'm baffled.

 

Employment Income Deduction

• You can deduct 50% of your employment income, up to a maximum of 100,000 baht, from your taxable income. However, you can’t claim business-related expenses against this.

 

https://www.expattaxthailand.com/thailand-expat-tax-rates-allowances-and-deductions/

 

 

[KhunHeineken]

Looks like just a flat fee income tax deduction. 

[MangoKorat]

5 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

Looks like just a flat fee income tax deduction. 

Yes but my interpretation (probably wrong) is that you don't pay tax on the first 50% of your salary (up to 100,000). If that is correct then why not apply it to the tax threshold in the first place?

[gamb00ler]

3 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

Yes but my interpretation (probably wrong) is that you don't pay tax on the first 50% of your salary (up to 100,000). If that is correct then why not apply it to the tax threshold in the first place?

If instead of that deduction they just increased the tax threshold then the tax reduction would be applied to ALL income instead of just employment income.

[MangoKorat]

4 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

If instead of that deduction they just increased the tax threshold then the tax reduction would be applied to ALL income instead of just employment income.

So for example, those working pay less tax than those getting income from investments?

[Ben Zioner]

23 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

Yes but my interpretation (probably wrong) is that you don't pay tax on the first 50% of your salary (up to 100,000). If that is correct then why not apply it to the tax threshold in the first place?

100000 a month? Otherwise not point mentioning it. The amazing thing is that, if it is 200k a year, they expect some people to earn less,

[gamb00ler]

51 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

So for example, those working pay less tax than those getting income from investments?

To give a correct answer I would have to know if other forms of income are given special deductions or exemptions.  What I know about Thai tax rates isn't exactly zero, but zero would be a very good approximation.

[TigerandDog]

12 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

Yes but my interpretation (probably wrong) is that you don't pay tax on the first 50% of your salary (up to 100,000). If that is correct then why not apply it to the tax threshold in the first place?

not correct. It's a deduction that can be claimed against your total assessable income. You have the option of either reducing your assessable income by 50% of your employment related expenses up to a maximum of 100k OR you claim your employment related expenses. You cannot claim both. This deduction has nothing to do with the tax free threshold, it just reduces the amount your tax is calculated against. e.g. Your income for the year is 240k. You claim the 100k employment expenses as a deduction. Your tax is then calculated against the balance of 140k. As the 140k falls below the tax free threshold of 150k, no tax would be payable.

[kingstonkid]

I think the challenge is that you are talking about 2 different things.  Personal income tax and business tax.  the flat fee is for people that make money; however, as soon as you say business, that implies that you have a business, and that is usually a separate income tax.

 

Then  again I am not an expert and would suggest that you contact an accountant for real advice not on here