Thai Income Tax On Widow'S Pension

[clifric]

I'm hoping this question precedes the event by quite a few years and I will have time to receive lots of replies!!!!

When I die my Thai wife will receive a widows pension from my occupational pension fund; at a later date she will get a UK state widows pension when she reaches whatever pensionable age applies at that time.

My query is, does anyone know if she will have to pay Thai tax on the pension? I've looked at some sites and it seems personal allowances are 150,000 plus allowances for dependants (children and surviving parents).

But is pension income taxable? I know mine is taxed in the UK.

[learningcurve]

I can tell you what I know from my experience from several years ago, of course things may have changed since then, and if they have I am sure someone with more up to date knowledge will tell you how things stand now.

In the begining she will have to pay UK tax on any pension coming out of the UK. However if she does not want to pay UK tax, she can get a form from HMRC (I can not recall the name of the form), complete the form and send it to the Thai Tax Office, they will then do their stamping thing and return the form to HMRC. She will not then pay any UK tax but will be liable for Thai tax on the pension(s). I looked into this for the wife of a friend. I got the form, completed it, and then could not find who to send it to at the Thai Tax Office. As UK tax and Thai tax was about the same at the time, she decided to leave things as they were, and she pays UK tax on both pensions coming from the UK. Before I tried to find who to send the form to at the Thai tax office I had missgivings that things would probably fall apart at this stage anyway. So in short, she will have to pay tax either to the UK or Thai Gov.

[Beetlejuice]

Your wife would not be required to pay tax on a foreign based income in Thailand. On a UK pension paid from the UK, it still falls under the UK tax system whether tax is deducted or not.

For example: if the tax payments are covered by her UK personal allowance, or even excempt from paying UK tax, she will still be allocated a tax code, meaning that the UK pension is registered with the Inland Revenue as being under the tax system.

As far as I know, the UK and Thailand have a tax double treaty agreement. This means that your wife will have the option to opt out of the UK tax system and pay tax on the income in Thailand. She can pick and choose which one is best for her.

So providing the Inland Revenue give your wife a tax code on her UK income, there is no need to declare this income to the Thai tax office, no matter how much or how little amount of tax is deducted from the pension in the UK.

[BngkkB]

I'm not sure but, when you die she will inherit the money? I beleive there is no Thai Tax on inheritence? You might want to ask a Tax expert that way instead of asking about her income when you die?

B

[clifric]

I can tell you what I know from my experience from several years ago, of course things may have changed since then, and if they have I am sure someone with more up to date knowledge will tell you how things stand now.

In the begining she will have to pay UK tax on any pension coming out of the UK. However if she does not want to pay UK tax, she can get a form from HMRC (I can not recall the name of the form), complete the form and send it to the Thai Tax Office, they will then do their stamping thing and return the form to HMRC. She will not then pay any UK tax but will be liable for Thai tax on the pension(s). I looked into this for the wife of a friend. I got the form, completed it, and then could not find who to send it to at the Thai Tax Office. As UK tax and Thai tax was about the same at the time, she decided to leave things as they were, and she pays UK tax on both pensions coming from the UK. Before I tried to find who to send the form to at the Thai tax office I had missgivings that things would probably fall apart at this stage anyway. So in short, she will have to pay tax either to the UK or Thai Gov.

Thanks, that's useful because I just assumed she would not pay UK tax. Since the pension is of the order of £7.5k at curent rates she would be below the tax threshold in UK. I can get confirmation from HMRC.

[clifric]

Your wife would not be required to pay tax on a foreign based income in Thailand. On a UK pension paid from the UK, it still falls under the UK tax system whether tax is deducted or not.

For example: if the tax payments are covered by her UK personal allowance, or even excempt from paying UK tax, she will still be allocated a tax code, meaning that the UK pension is registered with the Inland Revenue as being under the tax system.

As far as I know, the UK and Thailand have a tax double treaty agreement. This means that your wife will have the option to opt out of the UK tax system and pay tax on the income in Thailand. She can pick and choose which one is best for her.

So providing the Inland Revenue give your wife a tax code on her UK income, there is no need to declare this income to the Thai tax office, no matter how much or how little amount of tax is deducted from the pension in the UK.

Thanks, also to BngkkB, these answers have been helpful