Limits on Sending Norwegian Kroner from Danske Bank in Norway to Bangkok Bank in Thailand

[vibration]

I am a British Citizen very happily retired in Thailand for many years and very happily married to a Thai Lady.

 

I will shortly be receiving some Iheritance money sent from the UK to my Danske Bank Norway account.

 

I pay tax on my pensions in Norway as I am tax resident due to my daughters owning property there and I am also tax resident in Thailand and pay tax here also.

 

My question is do any Members know if the sending of 1 million THB in a single transaction from Norway to my wifes Bangkok Bank Account as a GIFT TO MY WIFE will raise any red flags with the Bank of Thailand or with any other Institutions here or anyway else.

 

I have previously sent GIFTS TO MY WIFE of much smaller amounts several times however the total yearly amount has always been considerably less than the 20 million per year Thai Tax Revenue Department Limit.

 

Many thanks in advance for any help.

[sometimewoodworker]

You / your wife are responsible for deciding if it actually a gift (you gain nothing from the gift, she doesn’t use any of it for household expenses, she doesn’t give you anything or buy anything for you)

 

if it is not really a gift it is probably assessable income so taxable 

 

if is truly a gift there is no tax to pay

 

you may sometime in the next few years be audited by the TRD you will then have to prove that it was actually a gift, so it behooves you to keep account of what it was spent on

[Mike Lister]

The following may help you:

 

GIFT TAX  

 

67) First and foremost, our confidence levels that we understand all the Gift Tax rules is not high.

 

What the Rules Say

 

68) The TRD does not consider what the purpose is of remitted funds, only whether they are assessable or not. If a foreigner remits non-assessable funds and then gifts them in Thailand, that is the end of the matter for the gifter.

 

69) If however the foreigner remits assessable funds to Thailand and then gifts them inside Thailand, those funds must be reported as assessable income on the foreigners tax return, no matter that they are later gifted.  

 

70) The third scenario is not agreed by everyone and is contingent upon further input from the TRD. It suggests that if the foreigner gifts offshore assessable income, direct to a Thai resident, the foreigner must report that income as if they themselves had received it directly.

 

71) "PIT is levied on gifts given by persons who are still alive. The tax is collected on the assets or the amount given to parents, ascendants, descendants, spouse, or others based on the value of the gift that exceeds a prescribed threshold, which depends on the type of gift and donor. Assets or amounts given that do not exceed the threshold are exempt from tax.

 

72) The following gifts are exempt from PIT:

 

a) Income derived by a parent from the transfer of ownership or possessory right in an immovable property without any consideration to a legitimate child, excluding an adopted child, in the amount not exceeding THB 20 million throughout a tax year in respect of each child.

 

b) Maintenance income or gifts from ascendants, descendants, or spouse, in the amount not exceeding THB 20 million throughout a tax year.

 

c) Maintenance income derived under a moral obligation or gifts made in a ceremony or on occasions in accordance with established custom from persons who are not ascendants, descendants, or spouse, in the amount not exceeding THB 10 million throughout a tax year.

 

d) Income from gifts in the case where the person who receives the gifts will use them for religious, educational, or public benefit purposes according to the intention of the donors under the criteria and conditions referred to in the Ministerial Regulations.

 

73) Gifts in excess of the above thresholds will be subject to PIT at the rate of 5% and will not need to be included together with other income when computing the annual PIT liability.

 

74) For ascendants/descendants the threshold is THB 20 mill, nor non-ascendants and descendants, it's THB 10 mill".

 

What Some Members Think:

 

75) The following summary points compiled by a member may help guide readers in the use of Gift Tax:

 

a) Gifts must be traditional gifts based around a fixed date or occasion.

b) Traditional gifts include supporting the spouse or other persons, mainly family, based on a moral obligation.

 

c) Gifts to non-family members are more likely not to meet the moral obligation criterion.

 

d) A ceremonial act may be required, in particular for non-spouses.

 

e) Gifts must not be returned to the donor and used as a way to avoid income taxes, except under very specific Gift Tax rules which are likely to void the earlier tax advantage.

 

f) Moral obligation is subject to interpretation, there is no single definition.

 

g) TRD may apply additional criteria.

 

h) TRD assessment may differ from self-assessment which risk must be evaluated in each case individually.

 

76) Additional points on this subject are:

 

a) Funds that are gifted, must be for the use of the person to whom they are gifted.

 

b) Gifts can be revoked later and reclaimed, under specific circumstances, such as if the receiver of the gift defames the Gifter or fails to take care of their serious medical needs.

 

c) Gifts to a spouse become Sin Suan Tua or the sole property of the spouse, under marital law the gift is not regarded as conjugal property.

 

d) Gifts made outside Thailand appear to be safe.

 

e) The Gift must be formally documented and recorded, the more documentation the better.

 

f) No more than THB 20 mill should be remitted to Thailand per year, unless 5% Gift Tax is paid on the balance.

 

77) Until the circumstances surrounding Gift Tax and all it entails, becomes more clear,, it is critical that anyone wishing to use Gift Tax, seeks professional advice.Note: Because Gift Tax is predominantly a domain of the wealthy and depends to a large extent on local practice, there is a shortage of confirmed information on this subject. One field of thought is that Gift Tax cannot be used to escape Thai tax by Gifting untaxed money from overseas. On the other hand, many Western countries, including the UK, do not tax gifts from overseas. Members wishing to exercise this option should seek qualified advice before using this option to Gift untaxed funds.

 

 

 

 

[vibration]

Many thanks to all members for very helpfull input.

 

Before I started providing my wife with small monetary gifts we made and signed an agreement regarding the reasons for the gifts, conditions under when they will be made, confirmation that the gifts can be used by my wife for whatever purpose she sees fit (so far she has helped her family and bought gold) and also confirming that all GIFTS TO MY WIFE would only be remitted from overseas on funds that have previously been subject to tax in the country of origon.

 

Due to the Double Taxation Agreements between Norway and Thailand I have always legally received all tax that I have paid in Norway back.

 

 

[Mike Lister]

1 hour ago, vibration said:

Many thanks to all members for very helpfull input.

 

Before I started providing my wife with small monetary gifts we made and signed an agreement regarding the reasons for the gifts, conditions under when they will be made, confirmation that the gifts can be used by my wife for whatever purpose she sees fit (so far she has helped her family and bought gold) and also confirming that all GIFTS TO MY WIFE would only be remitted from overseas on funds that have previously been subject to tax in the country of origon.

 

Due to the Double Taxation Agreements between Norway and Thailand I have always legally received all tax that I have paid in Norway back.

 

 

It sounds like you are on fairly safe ground with all of that.