17 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

When I visited my local RD office last year with my wife in tow they seemed to be completely baffled as to why I was there. They were not interested in looking at my statements for the previous year. All they did was ask me if I'd remitted more than one million baht to which I said no and that was that. 

Clearly, not all RD offices got the memo (if there ever was a memo) which pretty much proves that the only people pushing this are businesses trying to sell you a service, the English speaking media and self appointed, often illegally operating online tax "experts".

Exactly the same for me. My local tax office was not interested and told me I was not liable for tax having produced all the documents. 

15 hours ago, John Drake said:

The only people who might have made a problem for themselves are those who panicked when the taxes on remittances were first announced and went to a Thai tax office. Now, they might have put themselves on the radar for observation.

Not a case of panic, just following the law, I've seen in the past what playing around with the tax office can do to ones finances while in Germany, I've seen a colleague having to take out a second mortgage on his house to pay a tax bill on hidden extra earnings, it can take years before they find out and then you get slammed with  tax increased by 300% going back years into the past. Tax avoidance is a criminal offence, not a good idea for a foreigner to indulge in.

Consider the source of this information!!!!!

18 hours ago, bdenner said:

Here we go again!! Just when those with twisted nickers from the previous rounds had started breathing again some jerk has added to their anxiety.

Once again just await the knock on the door and go out to smell the roses.

I'm with you on that... keep your head down.

1 minute ago, Mark17AA said:

I'm with you on that... keep your head down.

 

52 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

Not a case of panic, just following the law, I've seen in the past what playing around with the tax office can do to ones finances while in Germany, I've seen a colleague having to take out a second mortgage on his house to pay a tax bill on hidden extra earnings, it can take years before they find out and then you get slammed with  tax increased by 300% going back years into the past. Tax avoidance is a criminal offence, not a good idea for a foreigner to indulge in.

 

Last time I checked this was not Germany......And most farangs would not owe a single baht in taxes anyways, not now not ever...

So I'll transfer my salary to my wife's UK account and she remit it here. As a Thai she pays no tax on it.

And yet, my Oct extension, and no mention of taxes at IMM.   I'll wait till I read something in the Royal Gazette stating enforce tax laws on expats.   If that ever happens ....

 

 

7 minutes ago, JimCM said:

So I'll transfer my salary to my wife's UK account and she remit it here. As a Thai she pays no tax on it.

 

Wrong.

18 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

"ATM withdrawals and credit card purchases may be considered in tax assessments"

 Using words like "may be considered in tax assessments" usually means the person does not know what he or she is talking about.   

an ATM withdrawal on savings or pension that is taxed is not able to be taxed a second time if you have a tax treaty, NZ, Australia, Britain and the USA do, plus many others, It is clearly written in the NZ tax treaty that pensions can not be taxed a second time.

1 hour ago, Jimbolkb said:

I am in the process to ask that kind of tax advisors about the price of getting a TIN

 

it ranges from 4-5000 an hour consultancy on the phone (I already calculated myself, thank you AI and people that replied to my post)

 

to 12.000 baht for just obtaining this FREE TIN that takes 30 min at the revenue office

 

and 25.000 baht for a simple yearly tax input on a website for a few numbers

 

so the thing is to scare foreigners and drive them to their office

 

for things the foreigner could in theory do themselves

 

I am heading to the RD myself in a few days.  

 

Wish me luck, lol

Did it myself at the local RD office three years ago. I go every March and they put data into their Windows 8 PC, and it says No Tax to Pay. 

9 minutes ago, JimCM said:

So I'll transfer my salary to my wife's UK account and she remit it here. As a Thai she pays no tax on it.

it’s getting better and better with these personal interpretations of the tax regulations!

 

thais and foreigners are treated the same under the tax laws. i’m not sure where you got the idea that thais don’t have to pay tax on remitted transfers ... 

 

as far as i know, the tax rules were adjusted on 01.01.2024, mainly because thais (companies / wealthy individuals) were using this legal loophole to transfer money into thailand without paying taxes. as an almost "unintended" consequence, foreign tax residents now also fall under this law ...

17 hours ago, ukrules said:

there was a massive deficit in the first quarter of money flowing into Thailand

Then why is the baht so high? should be the other way around!

23 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

 

Last time I checked this was not Germany......And most farangs would not owe a single baht in taxes anyways, not now not ever...

Tax offices are the same the world over, they are the governments purse. I paid 52,000 Baht last time at the tax office, stretched over three months.

Thanks for the podcast. Useful to listen to. I didn't really hear anything new, but the first in first out is interesting and needs a bit more explanation. Also, in earlier discussion on the forum some pointed out that there isn't anywhere on the Thai tax form to indicate the tax has been paid already in another country prior to remittance, that's also where the first-in-first-out rule would make an impact - again how to prove that (simply)? It's why many don't want to get a Thai TIN or file a return - it just complicates our lives. 

18 minutes ago, Will Iam Not said:

Did it myself at the local RD office three years ago. I go every March and they put data into their Windows 8 PC, and it says No Tax to Pay. 

 

yes, they could, maybe in the future, if they link everything together,  go back 10 years in time...

 

40% tax fine + 1.25% per month would totally ruin my plans

 

I might also pay nothing at the end, even with my rentals (cheap condos)

 

and I could finally deduction part of my health insurance, a child at uni, ...

 

I will sleep better knowing I will not get in trouble with immigration over it , now or in the future  and I am here for the long run...

2 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

Tax offices are the same the world over, they are the governments purse. I paid 52,000 Baht last time at the tax office, stretched over three months.

 

Well if you paid any tax it sounds like your a prime candidate for" Expat Tax Thailand" ....

3 minutes ago, Jimbolkb said:

 

yes, they could, maybe in the future, if they link everything together,  go back 10 years in time...

 

40% tax fine + 1.25% per month would totally ruin my plans

 

I might also pay nothing at the end, even with my rentals (cheap condos)

 

and I could finally deduction part of my health insurance, a child at uni, ...

 

I will sleep better knowing I will not get in trouble with immigration over it , now or in the future  and I am here for the long run...

Do Immigration and Taxman co-ordinate? Never any questions about Tax when I do my Extension.

8 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

Thanks for the podcast. Useful to listen to. I didn't really hear anything new, but the first in first out is interesting and needs a bit more explanation. Also, in earlier discussion on the forum some pointed out that there isn't anywhere on the Thai tax form to indicate the tax has been paid already in another country prior to remittance, that's also where the first-in-first-out rule would make an impact - again how to prove that (simply)? It's why many don't want to get a Thai TIN or file a return - it just complicates our lives. 

 

Yeah, because the way he explained the FIFO, it sounds like any payments/transfers (Within your home country, or remitted to Thailand) are counted against the FIFO on the balance of accounts as of 12/31/2023.  So if you are paying bills back home, you could be depleting what is tax exempt being sent to Thailand. Plus, like I said, does that tax exempt prior to 1/2024 include IRA's, brokerage accounts (cash), etc? Lot of questions unanswered, par for the course.

2 minutes ago, Will Iam Not said:

Do Immigration and Taxman co-ordinate? Never any questions about Tax when I do my Extension.

That can change with the stroke of a pen, if needed. 

 

Like this I'm losing the feeling to come to Thailand again. It's too stressful everywhere! It's only about money now, I don't like it anymore 

30 minutes ago, kiwikeith said:

an ATM withdrawal on savings or pension that is taxed is not able to be taxed a second time if you have a tax treaty, NZ, Australia, Britain and the USA do, plus many others, It is clearly written in the NZ tax treaty that pensions can not be taxed a second time.

How would the Thai Government know how many ATM withdrawls I make in Thailand from my US Bank Account?  This would mean I would have to submit 12 months of US Bank Statements to the Thai Government in order file a Thai Tax return. Of course US Bank documents are in English and would this require having the documents translatd into Thai?  This is about as clear as mud in a pit of mud. 

4 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

How would the Thai Government know how many ATM withdrawls I make in Thailand from my US Bank Account?  This would mean I would have to submit 12 months of US Bank Statements to the Thai Government in order file a Thai Tax return. Of course US Bank documents are in English and would this require having the documents translatd into Thai?  This is about as clear as mud in a pit of mud. 

 

not just translate

 

certified by your embassy, pay per page

translated officially, pay per page

get everything MFA certified, pay per page

 

you think too small... thai government wants something and you will say, jump how high, before you quit...

 

that day might come

 

why would, one day, immigration not just ask, show me you paid taxes, either in your home country and/or thailand...  

 

just one dude must come up with it and voila...

12 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

does that tax exempt prior to 1/2024 include IRA's, brokerage accounts (cash), etc? Lot of questions unanswered, par for the course.

To me, this is a main question. I have bank several accounts back home with money prior to Dec 2023 (like many others). But if I have multiple accounts, do they all count as 'ancient' money? Or does the FIFO relate only to the account number that actually made the transfer and its deposits and withdrawals through that year? It just gets murkier and murkier..

40 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

it’s getting better and better with these personal interpretations of the tax regulations!

 

thais and foreigners are treated the same under the tax laws. i’m not sure where you got the idea that thais don’t have to pay tax on remitted transfers ... 

 

as far as i know, the tax rules were adjusted on 01.01.2024, mainly because thais (companies / wealthy individuals) were using this legal loophole to transfer money into thailand without paying taxes. as an almost "unintended" consequence, foreign tax residents now also fall under this law ...

It's getting worse, all this misinformation from tax 'experts'.

Are you a tax expat consultant trying to cause fear?

There was no law change nor royal decree on Tax remittances, just an instruction to be stricter but no formal enactment. It is a proposed amendment.

5 minutes ago, Jimbolkb said:

 

just one dude must come up with it and voila...

And it's never a politician (policy maker) making the comments, always some senior bureaucrat at the RD

28 minutes ago, Will Iam Not said:

Did it myself at the local RD office three years ago. I go every March and they put data into their Windows 8 PC, and it says No Tax to Pay. 

Why in the world would you do this!? Can't you figure out yourself whether or not you owe any tax, as obviously you didn't, based on the past three years? Yes, there may be a grey area you wonder about. But all grey areas have two positions -- so obviously you self assess with the position that favors you. Why would you take the chance that some clueless RD agent would subjectively take the opposite position? Anyway, seems a waste of your time every March. 

24 minutes ago, JimGant said:

Why in the world would you do this!? Can't you figure out yourself whether or not you owe any tax, as obviously you didn't, based on the past three years? Yes, there may be a grey area you wonder about. But all grey areas have two positions -- so obviously you self assess with the position that favors you. Why would you take the chance that some clueless RD agent would subjectively take the opposite position? Anyway, seems a waste of your time every March. 

The tax office is 13 km from my home in the Amphur town. I can just about manage that once a year, to assure me that I am exempt from Thai tax. 

It was simple to figure out whether or not I owed any tax as the figures are published in many posts on here, and if you AI search for Thai Tax Rates.

I got my O level in Maths so it was fairly easy to add up all the available deductions, and then work out a percentage of the money remaining over my allowance. 

If Thailand thinks it has a problem now with reduced foreign visitor numbers, or LTRs, just wait to see what happens if it goes for the nuclear option - e.g. requiring all Thai residents to file a tax return assessing their global income. The exits wouldn't be jammed with foreigners only - we'd be at the back of the pack, with wealthy and upper-middle-class Thais jostling each other to get out the door first.

24 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

How would the Thai Government know how many ATM withdrawls I make in Thailand from my US Bank Account? 

And if all your US bank funds had US taxes withheld prior to US bank direct deposit, under US-Thai Double Taxation Treaty it would seem Thailand ATM withdrawals would not be taxable.