Obtaining Refund Of Tax Withheld On Thai Bank Fixed Savings Account

[meatboy]

if you cant prove that you have been in thailand for the period in question?what about your passport,dates in and out,immigration reports,residence address.

to save yourself time take photo copies of your passport dates as proof.

[Cpkt8]

if you cant prove that you have been in thailand for the period in question?what about your passport,dates in and out,immigration reports,residence address.

to save yourself time take photo copies of your passport dates as proof.

What I mean is not able to meet the required minimum 180 days stay in Thailand during the period.

My first tax refund was successful in 2013. They didn't ask me to prove my stay. But in 2014, maybe my tax refund claim amount is much more. They need me to prove my stay in Thailand had to be 180 days at least.

[meatboy]

if you cant prove that you have been in thailand for the period in question?what about your passport,dates in and out,immigration reports,residence address.

to save yourself time take photo copies of your passport dates as proof.

What I mean is not able to meet the required minimum 180 days stay in Thailand during the period.

My first tax refund was successful in 2013. They didn't ask me to prove my stay. But in 2014, maybe my tax refund claim amount is much more. They need me to prove my stay in Thailand had to be 180 days at least.

surely your passport can prove that you were here or not.i now that last yr, they did question my wifes claim as it was on the limit and also they asked for some more of my details.this yr.it all went smoothly and i got my refund within 4working days.request went in on fri.8th.cheque recieved wed.13th.

[Cpkt8]

But my passport can only prove that my stay in Thailand for that period totalling at most 30 days. They require me to have at least 180 days. Even if I show them my passport my refund claim will not be approved.

[meatboy]

looks like youve been tango'd.they must have spotted it.i must say they are the most efficant staff in thailand.

[chiang mai]

But my passport can only prove that my stay in Thailand for that period totalling at most 30 days. They require me to have at least 180 days. Even if I show them my passport my refund claim will not be approved.

In which case you cannot possibly be tax resident in Thailand and as such you are not entitled to file a tax return.

[chiang mai]

I made my tax reclaim last week at the small tax office in Maejo.

The woman in charge took my tax ID number plus information from my bank tax certificates and set up an online account and entered all the information directly. Five minutes later she printed off the two relevant pages and gave back all the paperwork I had given to her. All done she said, next year there's no need to come into the office because you can make a claim online from home, apparently the system checks electronically for the amount of tax paid and if it tallies with the tax return, issues a refund cheque.

I did the same at the Mae Rim office, everything is done online now hence no need to give them the tax with holding certificates etc., everything is verified and reconciled electronically via the banks involved. It's worth mentioning that you still need the tax certificates in order to be able to complete the online tax return since they contain bank ID, amounts and account number details.

[Cpkt8]

But my passport can only prove that my stay in Thailand for that period totalling at most 30 days. They require me to have at least 180 days. Even if I show them my passport my refund claim will not be approved.

In which case you cannot possibly be tax resident in Thailand and as such you are not entitled to file a tax return.

Should I still go to their tax office as told by the officer 6 months ago? Or just leave this issue alone?

[chiang mai]

But my passport can only prove that my stay in Thailand for that period totalling at most 30 days. They require me to have at least 180 days. Even if I show them my passport my refund claim will not be approved.

In which case you cannot possibly be tax resident in Thailand and as such you are not entitled to file a tax return.

Should I still go to their tax office as told by the officer 6 months ago? Or just leave this issue alone?

My understanding is that if you are not tax resident here and if your home country, the one where you live for tax purposes, has a double taxation agreement with Thailand, you can declare the income and tax gained/paid here on your home country tax return. Tax residency typically requires at least 180 days (6 months) in a particular country during each tax year, I would guess that the request to return to the tax office in 6 months is geared to towards seeing if you've actually met that criteria or not, you tell us you haven't so why go back.

[Pib]

I got around to filing for my bank interest refund today here at my western Bangkok tax office. For this 2015 tax year they used the one page Kor 10 form since I earned less that Bt30K interest compared to last 2014 tax year when I earned over Bt30K interest and they used the multipage PND 10 form.

Anyway, the office was busy but I only had to wait about 3 minutes to get called as they seemed to handle "farangs" with a little special attention. Set down with the nice tax lady, she had me write in my full name on the Kor 10 form, then she filled out the rest while asking me a few easy questions (it's a very simple form). She took the original bank tax letter, copy of passbook, copy of passport cover page, etc., had me sign the form. Pulled my tax number up in their computer system and there I was. They gave me a receipt for the tax filing and said the check should arrive in around 4 weeks.

This is my fourth straight year filing and previous refund checks arrived around 6 weeks after filing although the first year I filed they sent me a slip instead of a check saying I could come get a "cash" refund at their office which I did. We also chatted a little bit about how long I have been in Thailand, chatted a little about the U.S. since I'm American, in and out the door in approx 15 minutes. The nice tax lady's English was pretty fair and she was definitely helpful and all smiles. A fast, efficient, pleasant experience.

Update: Got my tax refund check in the mail today/25 Jan...10 days after filing for the refund on 15 Jan. That's a record for me at the Bangkok tax office I always file at...my past filings have taken around 6 weeks to get the check.

[ChouDoufu]

On 7/5/2014 at 9:18 AM, Pib said:

It's nice to see more farangs taking action to obtain refund of bank interest withheld due to tax like the 15% withholding tax on fixed savings accounts. It's an easy process and the tax office is very helpful...

i'd love to apply, but not sure how to begin.  have read some

older threads but...

 

retired, O visa, have been in thailand >180 days in 2017.

only thai income is from fixed accounts and dividends. 

15% and 10% tax deducted respectively. 

not a large amount of tax paid last year, but expect

more this year, and want to get the procedure down.

 

currently staying with the GF, lease and utilities in her name.

 

does this mean i have to:

 

1.  visit immigration, apply for certificate of residence

2.  visit local tax office, apply for tax number (kor 10.1)

3.  visit different local tax office to apply for refund (kor 10)

 

 

[Pib]

Just go to your local tax office and apply for the tax number and refund in one trip.   Shouldn't be any need for a certificate of residence....I never needed one....in Thailand on a retirement visa/extension of stay.

[ChouDoufu]

On 1/21/2018 at 1:04 PM, Pib said:

Just go to your local tax office and apply for the tax number and refund in one trip.   Shouldn't be any need for a certificate of residence....I never needed one....in Thailand on a retirement visa/extension of stay.

i was going by your first post in the thread where you said:

 

" the nice tax lady sent me downstairs to make a copy of my main passport page and my Yellow Book tabien baan which was needed to be filled with the Kor 10 Form along with the one page tax document the bank gave me. I expect a Certificate of Residence, Blue Book, or similar document would substitute for a Yellow Book. "

 

got the tax form from the bank this morning.  the GF has a day off

first week of february, and we live a short walk from the tax office. 

will see how it goes.

 

[Pib]

1 hour ago, ChouDoufu said:

i was going by your first post in the thread where you said:

 

" the nice tax lady sent me downstairs to make a copy of my main passport page and my Yellow Book tabien baan which was needed to be filled with the Kor 10 Form along with the one page tax document the bank gave me. I expect a Certificate of Residence, Blue Book, or similar document would substitute for a Yellow Book. "

 

got the tax form from the bank this morning.  the GF has a day off

first week of february, and we live a short walk from the tax office. 

will see how it goes.

 

Oh, I see now.   I just showed I had a Yellow Book when first setting down with the tax office lady along with my passport.  From my experience having a Yellow Book just seems to make Thai govt office reps more comfortable in processing something you want/need.

 

She asked for a copy of the Yellow Book along with the my passport while filling out the refund paperwork.  Whether she would have asked for a Certificate of Residence if I didn't have the Yellow Book I can't say for sure.  

[orientalist]

I did my tax return today. It took only 10 minutes to submit it, but then 10 minutes to make a copy of it. I had to fill out a request form and the receipt for 30 baht had to be signed by two different officials. Thailand 4.0. Lol.

 

Thailand is still in the lowest tier of digitally ready countries.

[topt]

5 hours ago, orientalist said:

I did my tax return today. It took only 10 minutes to submit it, but then 10 minutes to make a copy of it. I had to fill out a request form and the receipt for 30 baht had to be signed by two different officials. Thailand 4.0. Lol.

 

Thailand is still in the lowest tier of digitally ready countries.

Are you saying you had to pay 30 baht for a copy - for the one sided Form 10 or a complete return?

[orientalist]

30 baht for the complete Por Ngor Dor 90 return.

[ChouDoufu]

here in huamak we have 3 revenue offices.  visited what we thought

was the big one near ram uni.  was able to get the tax id number

with no difficulties.  only needed copies of passport id page and visa.

but they do not take refund applications there, must go to office

next to ladprao police station for that.

 

upstairs lady helpful, but seemed not entirely sure of the procedures. 

she had much difficulty confirming  the 180+ days in thailand,

trying to calculate time periods between entry and o-visa application

and annual renewal and re-entry permit and 90-day report.

 

had to ask superiors a few times about regulations, finally sent downstairs

to other office to "try online", but that lady thinks retirement visa holders

can't apply, must go back upstairs.  oh, and she claims foreigners must pay

tax on any cash transferred into thailand, apparently because if money comes

in, then it's in-come.

 

now upstairs lady is agreeing that retirees must pay tax on all money

brought into thailand (including the 800k for the visa) and can maybe

apply for a refund each following year.  she called a lawyer to confirm.

the lawyer said yes, maybe, but not sure.....says it's all money that

comes in the first year. 

 

explained it's from savings in the usa, not from current income, so she

wanted to see the passbook from the usa account, said needed to see

the total value of that account. and and and.  i suppose i'm to keep

providing papers until i can't produce one?

 

as closing time came around, she said she needed to consult with

another lawyer.  have called her several times in the past few weeks

with nothing further.

 

 

[orientalist]

14 hours ago, ChouDoufu said:

oh, and she claims foreigners must pay

tax on any cash transferred into thailand, apparently because if money comes

in, then it's in-come.

 

Not only foreigners - anyone tax-resident in Thailand. But there is an apparently unwritten rule that if the money was earned in a previous tax year from the one it is brought into Thailand it is considered savings rather than income. I think this is just a rule of thumb the Revenue Dept can use, if they want to, as differentiating savings from other income might be complicated in many cases. 

[ChouDoufu]

On 2/17/2018 at 9:47 AM, orientalist said:

 

Not only foreigners - anyone tax-resident in Thailand. But there is an apparently unwritten rule that if the money was earned in a previous tax year from the one it is brought into Thailand it is considered savings rather than income. I think this is just a rule of thumb the Revenue Dept can use, if they want to, as differentiating savings from other income might be complicated in many cases. 

ok. so does this mean that anyone on a retirement visa

is liable to pay income tax on the 800,000 baht brought

in to satisfy immigration requirements?  also must pay

tax on money used for living expenses?.....if they decide

not to read the unwritten rule?

 

0-150k exempt

150-300k  5%

300-500k 10%

500-750k 15%

750-1000k 20%

1000-2000k 25%

2000-5000k 30%

5000k+         35%

 

so i if brought in 800k for the visa, plus another 200k

for daily expenses, then i have to pay 125,000 baht tax?

[topt]

10 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

ok. so does this mean that anyone on a retirement visa

is liable to pay income tax on the 800,000 baht brought

in to satisfy immigration requirements?  also must pay

tax on money used for living expenses?.....if they decide

not to read the unwritten rule?

 

0-150k exempt

150-300k  5%

300-500k 10%

500-750k 15%

750-1000k 20%

1000-2000k 25%

2000-5000k 30%

5000k+         35%

 

so i if brought in 800k for the visa, plus another 200k

for daily expenses, then i have to pay 125,000 baht tax?

No - I believe that the people you are speaking to do not really seem to know what they should be doing especially if that is what was actually said.

 

The tax office I use (Pattaya) have never suggested anything of the sort and I have never heard of anybody else having this issue in all the threads to do with reclaiming tax on interest.. I think it was parkington or another TV poster who said they were called in for a chat by a senior Revenue official as he was reclaiming quite a lot of interest but he was able to show it was savings not income and no issues.

 

Unless you are trying to reclaim a substantial amount of tax back it may be better to let sleeping dogs lie?

 

Oh and I have never had anybody try and work out how many days I have spent in Thailand in a tax year............

[ChouDoufu]

oh, i agree they don't know what they are doing.  surprising, i thought

they dealt with more foreigners at this office.

 

so far, downstairs lady thinks any funds coming in would be taxed.

upstairs lady wants to consult with lawyers.

she has been informed the funds are for visa and living expenses,

and come from long-term savings.  regardless it should fall under

the 1997 us-thai tax treaty, yes?

 

they did not mention a tax amount....that was just me researching

the tax liability.

 

not a huge amount this year.  wanted to get the tax number issued

and get into the system so that next year, probable much higher

amount, should be less trouble.

 

[watcharacters]

27 minutes ago, topt said:

Unless you are trying to reclaim a substantial amount of tax back it may be better to let sleeping dogs lie?

 

 

 

Just curious as to what is substantial?.

 

 

 

[topt]

3 minutes ago, watcharacters said:

 

 

 

Just curious as to what is substantial?.

 

 

 

Relative to the OPs situation so I would not suggest either way. My point being if he continues to be faced with supposedly paying tax on his transfers in it would have to either be a big refund or he would need to probably pay someone (accountant/lawyer for example) to resolve it.

I have to say I am very surprised by the situation and wonder if anything may be lost in translation........

[watcharacters]

8 minutes ago, topt said:

Relative to the OPs situation so I would not suggest either way. My point being if he continues to be faced with supposedly paying tax on his transfers in it would have to either be a big refund or he would need to probably pay someone (accountant/lawyer for example) to resolve it.

I have to say I am very surprised by the situation and wonder if anything may be lost in translation........

 

 

500. USD would be my point of action.    Does that sound about right to you?

 

 

[topt]

2 minutes ago, watcharacters said:

 

 

500. USD would be my point of action.    Does that sound about right to you?

 

 

Sorry but I do not fully understand your question?

If to do with the OP situation then as I said - depends on the nos.

If you mean whether to bother claiming in the first place people talk about claiming a few thousand baht. No reason not to as all you need to do normally is just get a letter from the bank and submit a one page form (once you have a TIN).

[simoh1490]

In years gone by not too long ago, my tax refund was between THB 35k and THB 40k but with rates being what they are, this year's refund was only THB 8k. I'm still going to claim it back because it's the same amount of effort, hardly any at all plus it doesn't cost me anything to do so.

[watcharacters]

3 minutes ago, topt said:

Sorry but I do not fully understand your question?

If to do with the OP situation then as I said - depends on the nos.

If you mean whether to bother claiming in the first place people talk about claiming a few thousand baht. No reason not to as all you need to do normally is just get a letter from the bank and submit a one page form (once you have a TIN).

 

 

Sorry.

 

I did my best..

[ChouDoufu]

i took my favorite longhair translator with me for this.

let her do all the talking.

 

have the TIN, the bank statement, passport/visa copies

as requested.

 

getting the vibe that the downstairs lady doesn't know how

to process foreigner forms, so the tax thing is her way of

saying get lost if you know what's best.

 

 

[simoh1490]

2 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

i took my favorite longhair translator with me for this.

let her do all the talking.

 

have the TIN, the bank statement, passport/visa copies

as requested.

 

getting the vibe that the downstairs lady doesn't know how

to process foreigner forms, so the tax thing is her way of

saying get lost if you know what's best.

 

 

All you need is the TIN and details of which bank and the amounts, nothing more, it's mostly all electronic nowadays.