I wonder how the term Savings" will be defined.

Easy if it is just money earned or otherwise, and put into a bank account (Savings Account)  But what if that money earns interest?  Is tat interest taxable income?

Or consider:  I make savings by buying a property in UK.  Money that I am saving is saved in the Building Society that holds the mortgage on the property.  Later when owner of this property, I sell it, no CGT as it is my dwelling in UK Is the remaining money 'savings'?

If I make my savings by putting the money in an Asset management account in Singapore, where as a non-resident i do not have to pay income tax or CGT, Is thee money in that account all savings?

Can I claim that all money in my UK 'savings' account is savings?

Is there an official definition of 'Saving'?  Most people would call any money earned or gifted that they do not spend, to be savings.

On 11/3/2025 at 10:55 AM, Robin said:

I wonder how the term Savings" will be defined.

Easy if it is just money earned or otherwise, and put into a bank account (Savings Account)  But what if that money earns interest?  Is tat interest taxable income?

Or consider:  I make savings by buying a property in UK.  Money that I am saving is saved in the Building Society that holds the mortgage on the property.  Later when owner of this property, I sell it, no CGT as it is my dwelling in UK Is the remaining money 'savings'?

If I make my savings by putting the money in an Asset management account in Singapore, where as a non-resident i do not have to pay income tax or CGT, Is thee money in that account all savings?

Can I claim that all money in my UK 'savings' account is savings?

Is there an official definition of 'Saving'?  Most people would call any money earned or gifted that they do not spend, to be savings.

just for a start ... not taxable savings are only saving before 31.12.2023 ...

i think it was discussed somewhere what the definition of "savings" could mean ... i am not aware of a official definition ... 

1 minute ago, motdaeng said:

just for a start ... not taxable savings are only saving before 31.12.2023 ...

i think it was discussed somewhere what the definition of "savings" could mean ... i am not aware of a official definition ... 

 

Not as simple as that.

 

If you didn't live in Thailand in 2024 than the profits you made are not taxable in Thailand.

See this :

 

Source - the Thai Revenue department themselves : https://www.rd.go.th/fileadmin/user_upload/lorkhor/newspr/2024/FOREIGNERS_PAY_TAX2024.pdf

Is there any news on the tax rules for 2026 on foreign income?

 

I am planning to be a tax resident for the first time in 2026, but I don't even have a Thai bank account, nor do I have a visa that allows me to have a Thai bank account. I do wonder if leaving my money in a Wise account that is registered to my Thai address counts as remittance, in case remittance of foreign income to Thailand will still be taxed in 2026.

 

Of course remittance is a debated topic and I would even call it outdated. I still have never seen any clear verdict on whether or not credit card payments, ATM withdrawals or foreign currency brought into Thailand and exchanged into THB count as remittance.

 

I've been sending my girlfriend money from my Wise account for rent and spending but I'm considering changing that strategy a bit for 2026.

3 hours ago, JimmyTobacco said:

Is there any news on the tax rules for 2026 on foreign income?

No change so current rules stand .

 

3 hours ago, JimmyTobacco said:

I still have never seen any clear verdict on whether or not credit card payments, ATM withdrawals or foreign currency brought into Thailand and exchanged into THB count as remittance.

Verdict from whom? Most of the tax 'advisory businesses' will say it is a remittance and depending on source of funds may or may not be taxable.

In practice you could argue how would they find out and unless you find yourself a target for a tax audit for some reason I wouldn't disagree.

 

However if you want a definitive opinion you would have to go and do a tax return and ask that office whether to include it 

 

"Remittance outdated" - Most of us are hoping they don't make the move from remittance based to world wide taxation as that would be a potential game changer for some.

 

 

15 hours ago, topt said:

No change so current rules stand .

 

Verdict from whom? Most of the tax 'advisory businesses' will say it is a remittance and depending on source of funds may or may not be taxable.

In practice you could argue how would they find out and unless you find yourself a target for a tax audit for some reason I wouldn't disagree.

 

However if you want a definitive opinion you would have to go and do a tax return and ask that office whether to include it 

 

"Remittance outdated" - Most of us are hoping they don't make the move from remittance based to world wide taxation as that would be a potential game changer for some.

 

 

 

Of course remittance is useful for tax "planning" 😉 I'm not arguing with that. I just find the whole concept outdated. If money is only taxed when I put it in a Thai bank account, why would I ever do so, if I can also pay with foreign creditcards/bank accounts/etc. or potentially find other ways around this.

 

If you look at this part of a video where someone is directly asking this question to the revenue department, it seems like they are not quite sure:

 

What I gather from the response is: no we do not track your creditcard payments in Thailand and no we do not ask you to include them in your tax filing, but if you only live from creditcard payments and never bring money into Thailand/a Thai bank account, you might get into trouble with the immigration department because they will ask what money you are living from.

 

Which seems to be an invitation to bring in money earned previously (before tax residency in Thailand), use that for small living expenses, and then spend as much with your creditcard as you can.

On 11/10/2025 at 1:11 PM, JimmyTobacco said:

I am planning to be a tax resident for the first time in 2026, but I don't even have a Thai bank account, nor do I have a visa that allows me to have a Thai bank account

 

a bit off topic: you become a tax resident if you stay in thailand for more than 180 days in the same calendar year. what kind of visa will you have that won’t allow you to open a bank account?

 

18 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

 

What kind of visa will you have that won’t allow you to open a bank account?

 

1. Visa Exempt  
2. Tourist Visa
3. DTV

I know a lot of us opened our accounts on a Visa Exempt but that's not only no longer the case, but nowadays there's a risk that unless you've moved to a long term visa or have bought your own Condo and have the yellow book, your account could be closed down.

 

Recent Siam Legal video covers the Visas that can open a Bank Account here... 

 

23 hours ago, JimmyTobacco said:

Which seems to be an invitation to bring in money earned previously (before tax residency in Thailand), use that for small living expenses, and then spend as much with your creditcard as you can.

Was argued ad nauseam in some of the previous very long tax threads. 

As I basically said in my earlier reply nobody knows 100% and chances are you would not have any issues.

TIT and up to you 

 

On 11/7/2025 at 5:42 PM, ukrules said:

 

Not as simple as that.

 

If you didn't live in Thailand in 2024 than the profits you made are not taxable in Thailand.

See this :

 

Source - the Thai Revenue department themselves : https://www.rd.go.th/fileadmin/user_upload/lorkhor/newspr/2024/FOREIGNERS_PAY_TAX2024.pdf

question on what they mean by "earned  "?  In the USA, Earned income is only income received due to wages, i.e think W2 form for your tax filing returns.  Monies from dividends, bond interest, capital gains, and some other things are NOT considered "earned income". And it is an important distinction between earned versus other monies because things such as SsA deductions are only based on wages/earned income, as well as are other things

8 hours ago, motdaeng said:

 

a bit off topic: you become a tax resident if you stay in thailand for more than 180 days in the same calendar year. what kind of visa will you have that won’t allow you to open a bank account?

 

DTV indeed.

4 hours ago, gk10012001 said:

question on what they mean by "earned  "?  In the USA, Earned income is only income received due to wages, i.e think W2 form for your tax filing returns.  Monies from dividends, bond interest, capital gains, and some other things are NOT considered "earned income". And it is an important distinction between earned versus other monies because things such as SsA deductions are only based on wages/earned income, as well as are other things

 

Further, in addition to any focus on that presentation slide,  I believe one needs to also carefully consider the Double Tax Agreement with Thailand of ones source income country  and also any relevant Thailand Royal Decrees ( such as that of the LTR visa)

6 hours ago, gk10012001 said:

question on what they mean by "earned  "?  In the USA, Earned income is only income received due to wages

Thailand's "earned income" definition doesn't match that of the US. In fact, the Thai-US DTA pretty much has only what the US deems "unearned income" as taxable by Thailand, if remitted. This includes private pensions, IRA and 401k distributions, and other "1099R" "unearned" distributions. 

 

In fact, Thailand only looks at US "earned Income" when you try and get an LTR visa -- whereby W-2 earned income is not allowed towards the $80k annual income.