Thai gov. to tax (remitted) income from abroad for tax residents starting 2024 - Part II

[chiang mai]

For the benefit of those aged 50+.

 

I did a lot of my tax planning over twenty years ago, just before I moved to Thailand and whilst I was still earning income from work. Looking back, three of the things I got right were firstly, to bring over a large amount of money and invest in THB when exchange and interest rates were much better. Funds I exchanged at 70+ baht per Pound have now nearly doubled in value so this was an excellent move, if you can overcome your fear of Thai banks etc. If anyone wanted to trawl back through my mid year 2000 posts you can see where I proposed this as a good idea, whilst most other members were horrified or laughing and thought I was nuts! I remain Baht positive for the medium and longer term so this is still a viable proportion, I think. The tax aspect here is that it put my savings outside the UK where I was no longer tax resident. 

 

The second thing I got right was to buy our home and not rent accomodation, that's a strategy that has more than paid for itself already, even if I lose everything tomorrow. But to do this, you need to overcome your fear of the property market and ownership here. This move freed up income to divert to number three below. It also put the house into my wife's name , which helps with UK Inheritance Tax.

 

The third thing is that I funded my wifes business, which has produced a very healthy tax efficient revenue stream that will continue long after I am gone. This has meant I have not had to fund my wife or her family expenses for over a decade and that I can focus on other things. Once again, to do this you need to overcome some fears. From a tax perspective, my wife and I have separate financial affairs which means she can earn the same income as me every year and also not pay tax.

 

The last thing was that  I used my UK SIPP for my investments, in previous year I have opened two more. This has meant I have been able to grow significant amounts that remain tax free (currently) and are very tax efficient. Since I don't drawdown those SIPP's, my exposure to IHT is minimised. Eventually those funds will be transferred to my wife under inheritance tax rules which are also tax efficient.

 

The common theme here is to a) overcome your fear of incorporating Thailand  into your financial planning and not remain financially isolated overseas, and b) act early with a view to the longer term and what your future position will be in 10, 15 or 20 years hence.