I am a French citizen living in Thailand all year round and am therefore taxed on the income I remit to Thailand. My wife is Thai. If I transfer 200,000 THB to her bank account in Thailand to pay off her car loan, which was taken out four years ago, can this transfer be considered a “gift” and therefore not taxable? If so, does it need to be declared?

I plan to transfer this amount from my Wise account in France to my wife’s Kasikorn Bank account.

I don't want to hijack your topic , but I have a similar question.

If you let a Thai that you trust (could be your wife or other),

exchange say 10k euro cash for you at SuperRich or other (no bank)

will they get taxed on it ?

(So not a gift).

This thread should be fun once all the tax experts get here.

12 hours ago, karl73 said:

I am a French citizen living in Thailand all year round and am therefore taxed on the income I remit to Thailand. My wife is Thai. If I transfer 200,000 THB to her bank account in Thailand to pay off her car loan, which was taken out four years ago, can this transfer be considered a “gift” and therefore not taxable? If so, does it need to be declared?

I plan to transfer this amount from my Wise account in France to my wife’s Kasikorn Bank account.

You still have to pay tax on it, she doesn't.

11 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

You still have to pay tax on it, she doesn't.

No, you don't.

If the funds aren't earned in Thailand, nor remitted to you ( you being the donor), there's no thai tax liability for you.

The recipient has no tax liability either, as under the gifting thresholds.

People speculating that donors pay tax somehow on remitted gifts, consider:

For that to occur -the same funds - would need to be subject to thai taxation twice, once for the donor and again for the recipient, which is obviously nonsensical...........

25 minutes ago, anrcaccount said:

People speculating that donors pay tax somehow on remitted gifts, consider:

For that to occur -the same funds - would need to be subject to thai taxation twice, once for the donor and again for the recipient, which is obviously nonsensical...........

If your country has a Double Tax Treaty with Thailand, You can file some paperwork so you won't be taxed twice.

13 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

If your country has a Double Tax Treaty with Thailand, You can file some paperwork so you won't be taxed twice.

OK so if there is no DTA it's just "Som Nam Na!"

56 minutes ago, anrcaccount said:

No, you don't.

If the funds aren't earned in Thailand, nor remitted to you ( you being the donor), there's no thai tax liability for you.

The recipient has no tax liability either, as under the gifting thresholds.

People speculating that donors pay tax somehow on remitted gifts, consider:

For that to occur -the same funds - would need to be subject to thai taxation twice, once for the donor and again for the recipient, which is obviously nonsensical...........

Thank you very much. In addition, the 200,000 THB come from a fixed-term interest-bearing account that had been invested before 2023.

9 minutes ago, karl73 said:

Thank you very much. In addition, the 200,000 THB come from a fixed-term interest-bearing account that had been invested before 2023.

Welcome.

Here, the origin of the funds of the gift isn't relevant.

The gift is received in Thailand and is subject to assessment for the recipient. It's a gift - so falls into the threshold.

On 1/18/2026 at 1:53 PM, karl73 said:

I am a French citizen living in Thailand all year round and am therefore taxed on the income I remit to Thailand. My wife is Thai. If I transfer 200,000 THB to her bank account in Thailand to pay off her car loan, which was taken out four years ago, can this transfer be considered a “gift” and therefore not taxable? If so, does it need to be declared?

I plan to transfer this amount from my Wise account in France to my wife’s Kasikorn Bank account.

If you don't work in Thailand, you don't have to pay income tax in Thailand.

They won't ask you to

But if you really want to, they will let you ............

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

If you don't work in Thailand, you don't have to pay income tax in Thailand.

When did you become a tax adviser?

On 1/18/2026 at 1:53 PM, karl73 said:

I am a French citizen living in Thailand all year round and am therefore taxed on the income I remit to Thailand.

"I don't know your income source, but if you mean income from France, there may be some nuances you don't know. (or maybe it is me who does not know.).

How well have you researched this?

Just now i looked at the French-Thai DTA (I was curious as I have friends from France who live in the small luxury condo complex where I also live).

My (possibly incorrect) reading is if your French income was before 1-Jan-2024 (and it savings since), and only now brought into Thailand, per Thai ministerial directives Por-161/162, it is no longer considered income, but it is considered savings, and can be brought into Thailand tax free. Just keep a record of your savings on 31-Dec-2023 in case you are tax audited and also keep a paper trail to prove the money since remitted comes from that pre-1-Jan-2024 savings.

If your income is from a French Private pension, or a French Government pension (as a former government employee) or a French Government pension as a non-government employee, then France nominally taxes such and per article 23(2)(a) and 23(2)(b) in the Thailand-France DTA, Thailand does not tax such. Did I misread the DTA? Perhaps other French citizens who are now Thai tax residents can chime in.

The same is true for capital gains from real estate sales earned in France where France normally taxes such. I don't read anywhere that it states Thailand can tax such. Again, did I misread the DTA?"

On 1/18/2026 at 1:53 PM, karl73 said:

My wife is Thai. If I transfer 200,000 THB to her bank account in Thailand to pay off her car loan, which was taken out four years ago, can this transfer be considered a “gift” and therefore not taxable? If so, does it need to be declared?

My view is that would be taxable, as you would benefit by her driving the car (as she would run errands as a spouse by food, ... etc ... which benefits you). But I am not a taxation expert, so others likely have a far better assessment than myself and can chime in.

Best wishes in your efforts to legally manage your taxation exposure.

2 hours ago, oldcpu said:

My view is that would be taxable, as you would benefit by her driving the car (as she would run errands as a spouse by food, ... etc ... which benefits you).

You are kidding right? If not then let's push further the absurdity: just pay the wife and get a receipt each time she uses her car for the gifter's benefit.

1 hour ago, Yumthai said:

You are kidding right? If not then let's push further the absurdity: just pay the wife and get a receipt each time she uses her car for the gifter's benefit.

lol ... possibly also a receipt for other activities of the wife as well ?? lol ...

Actually thou. I am not kidding re: the risks of using gifts to one's wife to avoid paying taxes.

Providing one's wife a gift, to avoid paying taxes, is IMHO likely going to garner a LOT of attention if the Thai RD discovers that was done.

IMHO one is likely best served, if possible, to find less problematic legal ways to manage one's tax exposure.

10 hours ago, Yumthai said:

OK so if there is no DTA it's just "Som Nam Na!"

Yes, blame your country as they don't care.

9 hours ago, oldcpu said:

Providing one's wife a gift, to avoid paying taxes, is IMHO likely going to garner a LOT of attention if the Thai RD discovers that was done.

IMHO one is likely best served, if possible, to find less problematic legal ways to manage one's tax exposure.

We can agree here there are clearer ways to avoid paying tax in Thailand, however the intention of the OP is not to avoid tax.

Determining that the gift is tax assessible because gifter can somewhat punctually benefit from it is a bit of a stretch.

I stand my point, IMO a gift is not a remittance for the sender, until we can read TRD reports with audit + penalties.

I don’t pay any tax on money I send myself! You must be earning money in Thailand.

1 hour ago, Yumthai said:

We can agree here there are clearer ways to avoid paying tax in Thailand, however the intention of the OP is not to avoid tax.

Determining that the gift is tax assessible because gifter can somewhat punctually benefit from it is a bit of a stretch.

I stand my point, IMO a gift is not a remittance for the sender, until we can read TRD reports with audit + penalties.

If you check many of the previous posts on this subject you will see that a gift is only considered a gift if the sender gets no benefit.
One person checked similar about a car with their tax office and was told that it would not be considered a gift because they consider that the sender gets benefit.
Mind you, as we know, all thai offices may not think the same.
However, why say anything if you do not have to?
The only potential problem i can foresee, is if the wife does a tax return and they investigate her income.

30 minutes ago, jojothai said:

One person checked similar about a car with their tax office and was told that it would not be considered a gift because they consider that the sender gets benefit.

I'm sure you do understand the big nuance between walking in a TRD office to get a random answer and being audited and fined because they could find evidence that a gifter has benefited from a gift that was proven tax assessable income.

15 hours ago, oldcpu said:

Providing one's wife a gift, to avoid paying taxes, is IMHO likely going to garner a LOT of attention if the Thai RD discovers that was done

Thai tax office doesn't give a poop what foreigners do with their foreign earned money.

23 hours ago, karl73 said:

Thank you very much. In addition, the 200,000 THB come from a fixed-term interest-bearing account that had been invested before 2023.

All irrelevant - the key questions are a) are you legally married to your spouse and b) will you simply put purpose of transfer as 'gift to spouse'?

If yes to both, just send the money.

Another key point: it is up to your wife what she does with the money because it is a gift.

If you state purpose of transfer as 'repay auto loan' then she should declare it and pay tax on it.

17 hours ago, BKKBike09 said:

All irrelevant - the key questions are a) are you legally married to your spouse and b) will you simply put purpose of transfer as 'gift to spouse'?

If yes to both, just send the money.

Another key point: it is up to your wife what she does with the money because it is a gift.

If you state purpose of transfer as 'repay auto loan' then she should declare it and pay tax on it.

The answer of the 2 first questions is yes, thanks for your advice

The point of no gift tax is it is the receiver who has no tax liability on money gifted to them. If the money is classed as non-assessable, or is gifted by a non-resident, then the giver also has no liability, however, if a Thailand tax resident brings assessable money into the country for the purpose of using it as a gift then they still have the same liability as if it was for their own benefit.

The odds are very small that you, or your wife, would be asked to account for the money that appeared in her bank account, but, as another current thread where the OP was audited, and my own experience of being audited, (which I have posted on a number of previous tax threads) show, they are not zero. Unfortunately, these threads all turn into a clash between the scare mongers and the do nothing brigade. Over the years the "experts" on these threads have told us that all remitted income will be taxed on arrival..., every tax resident must file a return..., a tax certificate will have to be shown whenever you extend your stay..., you don't have to do anything, even if you remit assessable income... All of these are, or have so far proved to be, rubbish.

I stopped working here in 2018, remained full time in the country, and haven't filed a tax return since early 2019, covering the months I worked in 2018 before retiring. I was audited in 2022 and passed the audit, despite no tax returns. When I do start remitting assessable income into Thailand, then I will start filing a return. As it's pointless arguing on these tax, and political, threads, my final statement here will be that there is some good advice on the forum, but it get's swamped by the noise, so do whatever you feel comfortable with. I'm going back to the joke thread.

Clear Cut ภาษีการรับให้ (Gift Tax) ใครต้องเสียภาษี | กรมสรรพากร - The Revenue Department (rd.go.th)

Thailand Gift Income Personal Tax - SHERRINGS

On 1/21/2026 at 12:42 PM, ballpoint said:

The point of no gift tax is it is the receiver who has no tax liability on money gifted to them. If the money is classed as non-assessable, or is gifted by a non-resident, then the giver also has no liability, however, if a Thailand tax resident brings assessable money into the country for the purpose of using it as a gift then they still have the same liability as if it was for their own benefit.

OK, I'll bite on this:

Let's assume a Thai tax resident remits 50M THB of assessable foreign income, directly from a foreign country (as a gift) to their spouses Thai bank account. You honestly believe that both:

1) The spouse, will pay gift tax of 5% of 30M THB above the exemption (1.5M THB)

2) Somehow, the giver, will pay Thai PIT on this entire 50M THB at normal rates ( approximately 18.6M THB), even though they never received a cent into their Thai bank account?

3) The TRD will somehow assess and tax a single inbound remittance twice, for two different parties?

Does not compute, right?

3 hours ago, anrcaccount said:

2) Somehow, the giver, will pay Thai PIT on this entire 50M THB at normal rates ( approximately 18.6M THB), even though they never received a cent into their Thai bank account?

I believe a gift is a remittance to a third-party without direct compensation, unlike a payment for goods/service.

That's why gifts cannot enter into the remittance tax scheme for the Thai tax resident gift-giver.

Clear as mud - expect some clarity eventually from TRD.

To remove doubt, my thinking is it's best to direct the gifted funds into the giftee's overseas bank account - with the giftee then transferring those funds into their Thai bank account.

Thoughts?

On 1/19/2026 at 2:14 PM, anrcaccount said:

People speculating that donors pay tax somehow on remitted gifts, consider:

For that to occur -the same funds - would need to be subject to thai taxation twice, once for the donor and again for the recipient, which is obviously nonsensical...........

Thai gift tax came about in 2015 to cover the same loop hole the US saw a long time ago, whereby fat cats were gifting their estate assets (upon which income tax had already been paid) to avoid estate/inheritance tax. The US now treats gifts as subtractions from estate value, and taxes accordingly, meaning you can't gift away your estate free of estate tax.

This is nearly the Thai model, whereby a gift of over 10M/20M baht is taxable by the recipient (but in the US, it is taxable by the donor/estate). Thus, fat cat Thais can't avoid inheritance tax by gifting away their estate (or at least their gift recipients can't), whose value already includes any income taxes paid on value added to the estate. The 2015 gift tax law assumed gifts were all from after income tax assets in one's estate.

Thus, that assessable income money you remit to Thailand -- only becomes part of your taxable estate after net of income tax. Thai gift tax is completely divorced from tax rules on remitted assessable income.

On 1/19/2026 at 8:15 PM, Yumthai said:

You are kidding right? If not then let's push further the absurdity: just pay the wife and get a receipt each time she uses her car for the gifter's benefit.

Then those receipts are value/income paid to you while in Thailand and thus subject to income tax. Absurd, yes. But if that gift to your wife had subsequent value to you -- then, yes, there's an income element here -- either at the remitted end, or when subsequent value is realized.

On 1/20/2026 at 10:31 AM, Yumthai said:

I'm sure you do understand the big nuance between walking in a TRD office to get a random answer and being audited and fined because they could find evidence that a gifter has benefited from a gift that was proven tax assessable income.

Bingo. There's enough uncertainty on this subject that one should give himself the benefit of the doubt, gather up all the postings in favor of gift remittance exemptions, then don't declare on a tax return and await the less than 1% chance of an audit.