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Refund Of Tax Withheld On Thai Bank Fixed Savings Account

BobTH
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BobTH Advanced Member

BobTH

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I am planning on filing to get my tax refunded from my Thai fixed deposit accounts. Firstly I am wondering how many years back I am able to file? I am aware I will need to go to my bank and request a tax document confirming the paid taxes. I have also read that a yellow book tabian baan (which I do not have), Blue Book (which I do not have) or a certificate of residence ( which I refuse to pay my embassy $50 dollars again to receive as I did when getting my Thai drivers licence). My question is; are there other documents that are acceptable as proof of residence like say rental receipts ect.? I can to to immigration division 1 and request a certificate of residence but it is not easy for me to do, as I live quite far from it and would just prefer other options if available. If anyone here has suggestions for me that have been through the process I would greatly appriciate your comments. Thank you in advance.

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ajahnlau Gold Member

ajahnlau

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Your allowed to make some amount before taxes paid on it. So for those just earning a bit on interest and no job you should get it back.

Question 1: Why you think you will be able to return taxes? Your deposit interest is a profit and it as any profit (salary, etc) have a tax.

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meatboy Ruby Member

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Also planning the same. Think Thai dr. lic. should do it. What's the income level before one starts paying tax?

this has been posted so many times regarding "how to obtain tax witheld by your bank" check the forum bank interest rates and you will see all the info.you need.its posted by all of us that has done it many times.

happy new yr.taff.

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Jack Mountain Silver Member

Jack Mountain

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You can file for 3 years worth of fixed savings account tax withholdings. File Jan-Mar of each year.

Is a bankstatement enough or do I need the bank fixed-deposit books aswell? I hope not cuz i only have the current one

and not those of the last 3 years ...

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chiang mai Star Member

chiang mai

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You can file for 3 years worth of fixed savings account tax withholdings. File Jan-Mar of each year.

Is a bankstatement enough or do I need the bank fixed-deposit books aswell? I hope not cuz i only have the current one

and not those of the last 3 years ...

You need a tax with holding certificate from your bank, one for each year and each account that you are going to reclaim tax from.

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chiang mai Star Member

chiang mai

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If a person is not registered for tax and does not have a tax ID, how can they issue the cheque/payment? That was the first requirement of the tax office of me in CM when I did my first refund.

Edited by chiang mai
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BobTH Advanced Member

BobTH

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Obtaining Refund Of Tax Withheld On Thai Bank Fixed Savings Account

Started by Pib, 2013-01-07 22:03

This is some information posted by Pib that I saved a while back, it has some good information so I thought I would share. However it mentions nothing about a tax ID number or if they accept any other forms of proof of residence. Has anyone used a rental agreement or receipt, or perhaps a Thai Drivers License as proof of residence?

(Quote)

Posted by Pib 2013-01-07 22:03:20

I've seen some posts talking about how to get a refund of the tax withheld from fixed saving accounts, but the posts seem to be a little old and like many posts ended up talking about everything under the sun and not giving enough specifics. So, since it's tax time again, here is my semi short and sweet post on the subject which will hopefully have a few specifics.

Last year I got tired of having to go to my home country embassy each year and pay approx 1600 baht to get an income affidavit to file with my year retirement extension of stay application at Thai Immigration. Plus I figured having a good amount in a Thai bank, at least 800K baht to meet any emergency requirement and earning much higher interest was better than getting very low interest in my home country. And remember, the Thai govt does ensure your deposits up to 50M baht still I think but it will eventually drop off to 1M baht....saw another recent TV post giving the time-frame and amounts insured. But this post is not meant to be on pros and cons of having a significant amount of money in a Thai bank account....just to tell you about my experience so far in apply for the a refund of the taxed interest on my fixed savings account. Fixed accounts pay much higher interest than regular savings accounts.

OK, last year from that fixed account I earned over 27,000 baht at 3.75% interest which was paid at the 11 month maturity point (fixed savings accounts come in various maturity lengths and interest rates)...and about a second later the bank took the required by law 15% tax deduction of a little over 4,000 baht...all reflected in the passbook. So, since I'm retired, don't work, living money comes from home country pensions/savings, I decided would apply for a refund of the 4,000 baht which many other TV posts said wasn't hard....OK, OK, and some posts said was harder than hell...or a farang just can't do it!

I first went to my Thai bank (Bangkok Bank) and asked the teller for a tax document confirming the paid tax as reflected in the passbook...she did this by quickly completing a form which just basically had my name, account number, amount of interest earned, and amount of tax withheld...took her about 2 minutes to complete...hands me two copies and I'm out the door....no charge for the document....other people were there to get the same document as its tax filing time Jan thru Mar.

The Thai wife and I then went to the personal income/revenue tax office here in my khet (district) in Bangkok, asked how do we get the tax refund, a nice customer support lady pulled out a simple one page Form Kor 10, Request of Refund of Tax Payment and helped us complete it. The form is all in Thai...and don't even ask me where a copy might be downloaded...maybe someone else knows....just go to the tax office to get a copy.

The form is a very simple one page form which you basically put your name and address at the top...and at the bottom the amount of refund requested and the reason(s) the refund is due, which were I make no other income in Thailand, do not work in Thailand, I'm retired, etc. Actually, 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.

While getting the copies the tax rep helped the wife fill out the Kor 10....when I got back I just printed my full name in English at the top of the form and signed the bottom of the form. The tax representative signed and stamped the form, attached the bank tax doc/form, copy of my main passport page, and copy of my Yellow Book... and then directed us to take the package to another office/counter downstairs. There the tax representative took that package, took a few minutes to do whatever processing she was doing with it (mostly in front of her computer terminal), kept the package, and then handed us a receipt type document which I guess basically said the refund had been applied for.

She said once the refund is finally approved (and gave us no indication there would be any problems) I would get a blue document in the mail (sounds like it would be a refund voucher), bring it back to another office in the building where the refund would be paid...don't know if that will be a check, cash, etc. Both the wife and I failed to ask how long it will take for the blue document to show up in the mail....guess we were just too happy things had went so easy...but I don't think it should take more than a few weeks or maybe a month. Hech, this was no harder than completing your 90 day address reporting paperwork.

I will provide an update as my bank interest tax refund journey continues...but so far it's been an easy journey (knock on wood). And in closing, the tax office was very helpful.

Update: Success....Got the refund...Cash in hand. Today I signed for a blue envelope delivered by the postman...inside was not a check but a blue Kor 20 computer-generated form by the tax office basically saying the interest refund was approved...come to the tax office to pickup your money. OK, I jump in the car and drive to the tax office which is only about 10 minutes away. I go into the office, hand them the Kor 20 received in the mail, they have me sign the back of the form and provide a copy of my main passport page and the page showing my current extension of stay/visa, and then they paid the 4000 plus baht refund in cash. I'm out the door...done. So, I filed on 7 Jan 13 and got a cash refund on 22 Feb 13....around 6 weeks.

Both the Thai wife and I was surprised a check was not in the envelope because as mentioned in our earlier 13 Feb follow-up visit to the tax office we were told there had been be a delay due to "some machine" being broke but just fixed and they had just decided to sent checks instead of doing "get the blue doc in the mail and come back to the tax office for the cash refund thing." Guess my local tax office changed their mind again on the payment process...but for me going to the tax office to receive the cash refund versus getting the check cashed at a bank is probably better...no bank waiting time for the check to clear and/or a possible check cashing fee...however, I would be happy with either refund method. As mentioned it took around 6 weeks to get the refund in my case, but I'm thinking normally it takes less (like other posters have experienced), but this year my local tax office (a very busy office here in Bangkok which is probably slower due to workload than smaller offices) apparently had some equipment and policy issues which slowed them down.

In closing, paperwork submission-wise, as described in my posts #1 and #6, it was a very easy process. And on my initial visit to the tax office on 7 Jan to file for the refund, the follow-up visit on 13 Feb, and today's/22 Feb visit, the revenue office folks were very helpful and courteous. Yeap, getting all the interest paid out on high interest fixed savings accounts is nice...plus, the money is immediately/instantly available if needed although you would lose most of the interest by withdrawing the money before the maturity date, and Thai immigration accepts fixed savings account (or at least Bangkok Immigration does) just like a low interest regular saving account to meet the "money in a Thai bank account" income requirement if using that route vs the expensive embassy letter to get your extension of stay. Also, if the fixed (or regular) savings account is in your name only for immigration/visa purposes you can designate a beneficiary to receive the funds in case of your death versus your spouse/family having to go the court/probate route...it costs 30 baht at Bangkok Bank (for some kind of special stamp) to have the beneficiary provision added to your account when first opening the account/getting the new passbook. If doing it later on after you got the passbook there would be another 100 baht charge for the passbook replacement required when adding the beneficiary. There is some special info that goes on the passbook to identify the beneficiary....it's can be seen on the passbook last page under the bank's black light which also shows your signature, passport/ID number, account number again, etc. Next year's refund filing should be a lot easier as I know exactly what to do, where to go, and approx processing time....I have earned my "Been There, Done That Badge" for getting bank interest withholding tax refunded.

Edited by BobTH
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meatboy Ruby Member

meatboy

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If a person is not registered for tax and does not have a tax ID, how can they issue the cheque/payment? That was the first requirement of the tax office of me in CM when I did my first refund.

when i first had my id.they told me i need to provide the information on it every time i claim.

the 10digit no.and the 13digit no.my full name and my registered address.plus on the back it tells you in thai,

you must keep the card safe,also if you change any of your personel details failing to inform them within 60 days is liable to a 2,000bht.fine.

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Pib Star Member

Pib

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If a person is not registered for tax and does not have a tax ID, how can they issue the cheque/payment? That was the first requirement of the tax office of me in CM when I did my first refund.

So, how do i get a tax ID?

Just go to your revenue office to file for the tax refund and they will assist you with that also..just another simple form if your office requires a tax ID for a fixed account withholding refund. As mentioned earlier, my tax revenue office here in Khet Talingchan, Bangkok did not require one for me to file for the refund. Heck, they completed most of the one page tax refund form for me, but I did assist by entering my name and address info....they said sign here on the form...done. Go to your revenue office with copies of your passport, tax form from bank, passbook, and maybe whatever doc(s) you think help prove your address in Thailand (I really do't know if any proof of residence is a real requirement because you have proof from the bank tax was indeed paid and I don't think residence in Thailand is a hard requirement to get a refund). Just go to your tax revenue office with docs and puppy dog eyes...and ask for assistance in filing. Kinda like immigration offices around the country, I expect each one will do it a little differently....I've long given up on any policy standardization among govt offices like immigration and tax offices.

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KittenKong Ruby Member

KittenKong

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...and you need a Thai tax registration number also. smile.png

Depends on your revenue office...I didn't have to get one (at least so far).

Odd. My local tax office very kindly completely all the forms for me, and carefully listed and checked all the photocopies/documents I needed, but there was no question that in order to even apply for the refund I would first have to obtain a tax ID and card. I did so (same office, different desk) and the refund application was quickly sorted and I got my cheque a few weeks later.

I fail to understand how they can issue a refund without having a corresponding Tax ID to issue it to.

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