I am coming to work in Thailand next month, I will be working and paid by a UK company, but will be living and working in thailand..

Q. will i have to pay income tax?....tried the tax office but they were a bit vague and wouldn't commit until i submitted a p85 form....anyone had same experience, if so what happened?

TA

I am coming to work in Thailand next month, I will be working and paid by a UK company, but will be living and working in thailand..

Q. will i have to pay income tax?....tried the tax office but they were a bit vague and wouldn't commit until i submitted a p85 form....anyone had same experience, if so what happened?

TA

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this topic has been discussed many times ...

Technically, you need a work permit : Work Permit and Work in Thailand

Tax, rules are here: Personal Income Tax

Taxpayers are classified into "resident" and "non-resident". "Resident" means any person residing in Thailand for a period or periods aggregating more than 180 days in any tax (calendar) year. A resident of Thailand is liable to pay tax on income from sources in Thailand on a cash basis, regardless where the money is paid, as well as on the portion of income from foreign sources that is brought into Thailand. A non-resident is, however, subject to tax only on income from sources in Thailand.

Thanks for that....payment will be made into a uk account which i can access so i should be ok?

Thanks for that....payment will be made into a uk account which i can access so i should be ok?

I am thinking of doing the same. Are you saying if you keep the money outside of Thailand then you don't have to pay tax?

It depends how your employers have set up your pay and contract.

At the very least you will pay Thai tax on all of your income (minus Thai tax allowances).

You may however be landed with a tax bill in Thailand + a tax bill in the UK.

The UK tax bill is calculated on the basis of (The amount of tax you would have paid on the same income in the UK - The tax you have paid in Thailand).

If your employers have done their homework then you might get some of your pay and allowances tax free.

After your fist full tax year out of the UK, for you that will be after April 2007, you will no longer have a UK tax liability and will only be paying Thai tax.

However, be warned. Your employer may be doing a deal with the Thai tax authority, basically agreeing to pay extra tax or agreeing a total tax bill (adding your tax to their company tax).

Before you sign the contract you should get a written statement of what your tax liability is and an example calculation.

Also take a look at other benefits you may be loosing. For example, you should make sure that if you are in the company pension scheme, your membership continues.

Then take a look at your employment contract to make sure that you are not being moved from the UK company and hence loosing 'Service Years'. It is common practice for companies to move you offshore, and to do this you need to effectively resign from your present employer to join their offshore subsiduary.

My advice if this is the case is to at the very first oportunity, write an email to your boss back home and get him to clarify some point, ie holiday entitlement or condition of contract. Also keep any and all emails/letters your home office sends you. These are evidence that you still work for the home office and can be used to re-establish service and pension conditons... been there and done that.

It depends how your employers have set up your pay and contract.

At the very least you will pay Thai tax on all of your income (minus Thai tax allowances).

You may however be landed with a tax bill in Thailand + a tax bill in the UK.

The UK tax bill is calculated on the basis of (The amount of tax you would have paid on the same income in the UK - The tax you have paid in Thailand).

If your employers have done their homework then you might get some of your pay and allowances tax free.

After your fist full tax year out of the UK, for you that will be after April 2007, you will no longer have a UK tax liability and will only be paying Thai tax.

However, be warned. Your employer may be doing a deal with the Thai tax authority, basically agreeing to pay extra tax or agreeing a total tax bill (adding your tax to their company tax).

Before you sign the contract you should get a written statement of what your tax liability is and an example calculation.

Also take a look at other benefits you may be loosing. For example, you should make sure that if you are in the company pension scheme, your membership continues.

Then take a look at your employment contract to make sure that you are not being moved from the UK company and hence loosing 'Service Years'. It is common practice for companies to move you offshore, and to do this you need to effectively resign from your present employer to join their offshore subsiduary.

My advice if this is the case is to at the very first oportunity, write an email to your boss back home and get him to clarify some point, ie holiday entitlement or condition of contract. Also keep any and all emails/letters your home office sends you. These are evidence that you still work for the home office and can be used to re-establish service and pension conditons... been there and done that.

I agree with Guesthouse opinion and would like to add some more comment.

1. In order to perform the work in Thailand, must you resign from your current job in the UK and will enter into a new employment contract in Thailand?

If you must resign from the current job, then you should consider the continuty of your working period in the UK.

2. For tax purposes, if you derived income from your duty or from the business of an employer in Thialand, you are liable to personal income tax in Thailand, whether such income is paid in or outside of Thailand.

Therefore, even though your UK employer may pay the remuneration to your saving account in the UK, you must include such income to pay tax in Thailand.

The interesting point is that we do not know how Thai Revenue Department could check your account in the UK, though Thailand have Double Tax Agreement with the UK to exchange of information.

The best thing you can do is to make sure how your employer structure the project. If he structures it well, you may be exempt from Thai personal income tax.