With the current tax laws. I understand you need you need to file a tax return if you are on a retirement visa and spend more than 180 days in any calendar year in Thailand and you need to pay tax on the money that is remitted into Thailand, excluding pensions where you have paid tax in your home country. On the tax return does it ask you to state your worldwide income or just the money remitted to Thailand.

With the current tax laws. I understand you need you need to file a tax return if you are on a retirement visa and spend more than 180 days in any calendar year in Thailand

NO YOU DO NOT. Immigration isn't involved at all in Thai taxation. 

 

and you need to pay tax on the money that is remitted into Thailand, excluding pensions where you have paid tax in your home country.

 

It depends on your specific case. Some pensions are not accessible in Thailand and don't need to reported at all on Thai tax returns (such as US social security)  if you need to file at all otherwise.

Some pensions are accessible to Thai taxation and must be reported on a Thai tax return but the specific rules are dependent on your nation's specific DOUBLE TAXATION AGREEMENT treaty if any. Can't generalize for all nations.

 

On the tax return does it ask you to state your worldwide income or just the money remitted to Thailand.

No requirement to state worldwide income under current law. May change later. 

 

 

 

Thanks for the info. I am a few years away from receiving pensions so the money I remit into Thailand will be from savings and earnings. I understand the law about paying tax on remitted money you take into Thailand maybe changing in Feb 2026.

1 minute ago, CFC said:

Thanks for the info. I am a few years away from receiving pensions so the money I remit into Thailand will be from savings and earnings. I understand the law about paying tax on remitted money you take into Thailand maybe changing in Feb 2026.

That non pension money when remitted to Thailand may be taxable as well depending on individual details. Seek local professional advice on your specific case.

Are there any Tax Specialists that Aseannow.com recommends?

1 minute ago, CFC said:

Are there any Tax Specialists that Aseannow.com recommends?

I don't think so.

Ok thanks

Just now, CFC said:

Are there any Tax Specialists that Aseannow.com recommends?

No. 

There have been zillion posts/threads re this topic. 

Just one person's opinion. Do nothing. 

File tax returns in your home country and transfer funds as required. 

This thread belongs in grave yard of all the other tax threads. 

I agree with Jingthing and DrJack54.

 

What Jingthing stated about Double Tax Agreements between Thailand and the source country of your income is very relevant.

 

Let me give you an example (where for this and other examples i assume one is a Thai tax resident).  In the case of the Canadian-Thailand Double tax agreement, any Canadian sourced pension or similar (retirement) remuneration, is ONLY taxable in Canada, and NOT in Thailand, even if one remits such a Canadian sourced pension to Thailand to the expat tax resident of Thailand.  There are no relevant tax credits involved.  Simply put, per the Canada-Thai DTA, Thailand can not tax such Canadian pension type income and hence per Royal Decree-18 such income is exempt Thai tax (and hence not assessable) even if brought into Thailand.

 

However other Country DTAs, for some pensions,  ONLY Thailand has taxation rights on such pension.  (and in some cases both countries where tax credits get involved).

 

Case in point, German-Thailand Double Tax Agreement, where a regular citizen's German pension (not a civil-servant, and not military), may be taxable in Thailand if remitted to Thailand and if the person's income exceeds the Thailand Tax filing threshold.

 

 However German civil-servant/military pensions remitted to Thailand to expats in Thailand are not taxable in Thailand (as long as one is not a Thai citizen).

 

These things can get complicated. So may be no simple answer if you look for details - dependent on your situation.

 

I recommend you look up the DTA of the country of your source income with Thailand, and then I recommend if you have questions (as those DTA IMHO are difficult to read), post questions NOT on this subforum area, but rather on this forum's "Property & Finance >>> Jobs, Economy, Banking, Business, Investments" subforum area.

Give them a few more years to flip-flop on the tax situation a few more times...

On 12/12/2025 at 1:06 AM, Caldera said:

Give them a few more years to flip-flop on the tax situation a few more times...

i haven’t seen any flip-flopping in the tax laws, except for the adjustment (effective january 1, 2024) regarding remitted money transfers to thailand for all tax residents ... 

48 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

i haven’t seen any flip-flopping in the tax laws, except for the adjustment (effective january 1, 2024) regarding remitted money transfers to thailand for all tax residents ... 

Since May this year there has been talk of Thailand amending the ruling that came in on 1st January 2024 such that income remitted in the same year it was earned or the following year, would not be tax assessable. 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/3028760/thailand-to-amend-tax-on-foreign-income-remittance

  

Unfortunately the Government collapsing put this on hold, hopefully it will get back on the table when the new Government is elected in February & fingers crossed we might see something Q2/Q3 2026. 

I am currently in Laos and I’ve met loads of Thailand based retirees who are spending time here in order to be no more than 179 days in Thailand because of all this tax hysteria. 

 

I tried reasoning with a few of them but they don’t believe me, only whatever crap they saw on Youtube. One of them was getting angry when I poked holes in the idea.

 

I think this hysteria will be more or less permanent and will never go away. 20 years could go by and people will still be saying “next year they will enforce it, they will drag you off your bar stool in Pattaya and bang you up for not declaring your pension.” It’s just the latest way to scam retirees. this time with uneeded tax “advice.”

Is it hysteria though? With the possibility that the Thai tax authorities could demand to see all your remittances to Thailand going back several years,  it's understandable that people are nervous. Anybody who has dealt with tax authorities in other countries will know that disputing tax demands can be a lengthy and expensive business. 

1 hour ago, persimmon said:

Is it hysteria though? With the possibility that the Thai tax authorities could demand to see all your remittances to Thailand going back several years,  it's understandable that people are nervous. Anybody who has dealt with tax authorities in other countries will know that disputing tax demands can be a lengthy and expensive business. 

 

How many retirees living on pension income has this happened to so far? Why would they go after such small fish? Those foreign tax authorities aren’t auditing grandma in her beach chair living on social security in Florida. 

 

Mind you there are cases where it makes more sense to be cautious, like bringing in lots of money to run a business or buy property. 

 

Im really just talking about retirees living on state or private pensions. 

1 hour ago, Everyman said:

How many retirees living on pension income has this happened to so far? Why would they go after such small fish?

 

no one knows whether the tax law will be strictly enforced in the future or not, could we agree on this?

 

if you think about it, 20 years ago many things were not a problem, and nobody thought anything would change:

30-day visa runs were possible without limits for years / overstaying for years only cost 20k with no further consequences / the tm30 form was never an issue / opening a bank account was so easy / buying a motorcycle or car and getting a driver’s license was not a problem at all ... and so on!

 

to belief that the revenue department will never go after small fish can quickly turn into the opposite (smal fishs are easier to catch). everyone has to decide for themselves how to handle the whole tax situation and whether to follow the tax laws as a guest in thailand, or to listen to people who claim that this is not necessary because they seems to know the (tax) future ...

On 12/11/2025 at 9:06 PM, DrJack54 said:

Just one person's opinion. Do nothing. 

File tax returns in your home country and transfer funds as required. 

This thread belongs in grave yard of all the other tax threads ...

 

every individual case is different and cannot be answered with general statements.

 

there are also home countries where you are considered a non-tax resident and do not have to pay taxes, neither on pensions nor on assets.

 

the advice to “file tax returns in your home country,” and the comment that “this thread belongs in the graveyard of all the other tax threads,” are not well thought out and reflect a general disrespect of thai law shared by (too) many foreigners ... 

 

1 hour ago, motdaeng said:

the advice to “file tax returns in your home country,” and the comment that “this thread belongs in the graveyard of all the other tax threads,” are not well thought out and reflect a general disrespect of thai law shared by (too) many foreigners ... 

Respect is earned not given.

This whole situation started when the government decided to amend the existing tax laws due to Thai citizens earning large sums of money offshore (online earnings) and bringing them onshore tax-exempt. For some reason, the entire expat community thought it was an exercise to tax our pensions/earnings. The amendment, effective from January 1st, 2024, means that any untaxed money you bring onshore is liable for tax, regardless of the tax year in which you earned that money. If you are an expat, that applies to you after you have spent 180 days in Thailand in any tax year. If you are not employed in Thailand, do not have any investments (stocks and shares) in Thailand, and do not bring untaxed money onshore, then your tax liability will be minimal to zero. The money expats spend in the community is worth far more to the Thai economy than some small change tax.

On 12/11/2025 at 9:06 PM, DrJack54 said:

No. 

There have been zillion posts/threads re this topic. 

Just one person's opinion. Do nothing. 

File tax returns in your home country and transfer funds as required. 

This thread belongs in grave yard of all the other tax threads. 

Totally agree this Subject is like flogging a dead horse again 

On 12/14/2025 at 10:46 AM, Everyman said:

I am currently in Laos and I’ve met loads of Thailand based retirees who are spending time here in order to be no more than 179 days in Thailand because of all this tax hysteria. 

 

I don't think its hysteria.  If a resident of Thailand (and thus considered a Thai tax resident) it really depends on one's foreign income source, the amount of one's income,  and whether one has both Foreign and Thai savings,  and how much money one is remitting to Thailand, and whether that is savings from before 1-Jan-2024 or income derived since. All of which forms a picture as to where one's money is from in order to live.  And whether there are tax obligations.

 

 

On 12/14/2025 at 10:46 AM, Everyman said:

 

I tried reasoning with a few of them but they don’t believe me, only whatever crap they saw on Youtube. One of them was getting angry when I poked holes in the ide a.

 

Depending on one's financial situation, it may make financial sense not to be a resident of Thailand. There are many other countries that are good to stay in.

 

Of course as one is getting older, travelling to spend time outside of Thailand for > 180 days per year gets more and more difficult. 

 

If one has a lot of income (earned from between 1-Jan-2024 and now) and yet also wishes to remit it to Thailand tax free, then what those retirees are doing (to stay outside of Thailand > 179 days) may make perfect sense (if no DTA protects their post 1-Jan-2024 income).  In a year in which they are not a resident of Thailand they could remit a massive amount of money to Thailand, legally Thai tax free. Then in subsequent years stay in Thailand and live off of that already remitted money.

 

However there are downsides to most approaches.

 

In that case (remitting a bunch of money to Thailand when not a Thai tax resident), one likely will earn far less profit off of that money when the money is in Thailand, in comparison to the money one may earn if the money is kept outside of Thailand.

 

As one gets older thou, and travel becomes more difficult, one may then decide simply to remain in Thailand, and deal with any Thai tax 'hit' if and when it occurs - paying for such to avoid the inconvenience of leaving the country.

 

3 hours ago, Jaggg88 said:

The amendment, effective from January 1st, 2024, means that any untaxed money you bring onshore is liable for tax, regardless of the tax year in which you earned that money. If you are an expat, that applies to you after you have spent 180 days in Thailand in any tax year.

Not completely true. If the money was earned prior to January 1st 2024, it can be brought into Thailand any year without being liable to tax. (Unless the law has changed, but I am not aware of that.)

It is worthwhile to work out what your potential tax liability would be if you have to do a tax return (in the future, not now). If you are over 65 (or 60?) and receive  a pension the allowances can be quite generous; if on a marriage extension you may have no tax liability at all bringing in the minimum required amount for the extension (my case) even without any DTA. Plus can gift quite a large sum to a wife tax free.

 

Currently local tax offices often have no idea of the tax rules about DTA's and will make a wild guess as to your tax liability. Trying to challenge that could be a headache. Best to wait and see - clarity may still be years away!

On 12/14/2025 at 12:10 PM, persimmon said:

Is it hysteria though? 

 

 

Yes it is........fuelled by those who make money by doing so.

14 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

Yes it is........fuelled by those who make money by doing so.

who could that be? do you mean the thai revenue department ... 

9 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

who could that be? do you mean the thai revenue department ... 

 

 

Ha Ha....they would certainly have the motive.................but I think they are as confused as the rest of us.

 

 

I actually had third party so-called tax advisers......................but your point is equally valid...🙂

On 12/15/2025 at 10:04 AM, Yumthai said:

Respect is earned not given.

What rubbish.  In this case, "respect" relates to 'self-respect' of residents who are lawfully required to abide by the kingdom's laws - including Tax Laws. 

20 minutes ago, dinga said:

What rubbish.  In this case, "respect" relates to 'self-respect' of residents who are lawfully required to abide by the kingdom's laws - including Tax Laws. 

What is rubbish is bending to comply with inconsistent, unfair rules that are changing every other day.

On 12/11/2025 at 8:54 PM, CFC said:

receiving pensions

Consider a 10-year Long Term Resident visa based on Wealthy Pensioner.

https://ltr.boi.go.th/documents/LTRbrochure-2022-EN.pdf

20 hours ago, oldcpu said:

As one gets older thou, and travel becomes more difficult, one may then decide simply to remain in Thailand, and deal with any Thai tax 'hit' if and when it occurs - paying for such to avoid the inconvenience of leaving the country.

 

Depending on your circumstances the cost of travelling outside Thailand for 181 days might be more than your tax liability if you don't leave.