Bank Interest - Tax Return

[55Jay]

Post #27 was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Post Songkran, I'm still on bubble #2.

Next week has 2 holidays bent into a long weekend as well.

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In addition to the bubbles, what is also important to explain the status of your return is what the words say in the "large text box" (not the little one in your image). Cut and paste those words into Google Translate or have a Thai translate them. Hopefully the words will say something along the lines of all forms/requirements have been rec'd/satisfied and now it's just waiting for the next stage which will be the checking cutting/mailing stage...the next to last bubble. And the last bubble just means the check was cashed/deposited according to the Revenue Dept's records.

Yea, from watching the site pretty close this year on my return I found the text in the large block is also important to better/fully explain the status of the return and sometimes changed when the bubble status did not.

Thanks, yes, Mrs. checked it before. Still the same from Feb, calling for the extra docs to be delivered to the Korat tax office. If it doesn't move after the next holiday period, will pay a visit to the tax office downtown again. It's near our Japanese/Sushi place, good excuse! LOL.

[Pib]

Thanks, yes, Mrs. checked it before. Still the same from Feb, calling for the extra docs to be delivered to the Korat tax office. If it doesn't move after the next holiday period, will pay a visit to the tax office downtown again. It's near our Japanese/Sushi place, good excuse! LOL.

Sure hope you get it soon....it will be time to file for your 2015 refund before long. I'm such a A-hole. And maybe I've just jinxed myself for my 2015 return.

But if interest rates keep dropping and the Krungsri Mee Tae Dai tax free account continues to pay around 2% (still 2% per Krungsri's latest 16 Apr 15 interest rate announcement I just may stop getting into fixed accounts which require the 15% tax withholding for any amount of interest. I would give up a little bit of interest just to have more flexibility with my money (which the Mee Tae Dai account gives) and not having to file a Thai tax refund request to recover tax withholding.

Filing a refund request has not been a hard or frustrating thing so far for me except a little bit for the first year. But I also know that could change for seemingly no reason and I do know some farangs have issues like you are having....and when I say "some farangs" I know it could really be a quite healthy number. My first year filing, which was three years ago, was the most frustrating year for me in figuring out how and where to file topped off with some bad information given at the district office...and the wife didn't think it was possible to get a refund but I kept telling her it should be relatively easy based on posts I've read on Thaivisa. It has turned out to be relatively easy but each year I wonder if I'm going to run into a tax officer that don't like farangs and things then get hard for BS reasons. Time will tell.

[55Jay]

Thanks, yes, Mrs. checked it before. Still the same from Feb, calling for the extra docs to be delivered to the Korat tax office. If it doesn't move after the next holiday period, will pay a visit to the tax office downtown again. It's near our Japanese/Sushi place, good excuse! LOL.

Sure hope you get it soon....it will be time to file for your 2015 refund before long. I'm such a A-hole. And maybe I've just jinxed myself for my 2015 return.

But if interest rates keep dropping and the Krungsri Mee Tae Dai tax free account continues to pay around 2% (still 2% per Krungsri's latest 16 Apr 15 interest rate announcement I just may stop getting into fixed accounts which require the 15% tax withholding for any amount of interest. I would give up a little bit of interest just to have more flexibility with my money (which the Mee Tae Dai account gives) and not having to file a Thai tax refund request to recover tax withholding.

Filing a refund request has not been a hard or frustrating thing so far for me except a little bit for the first year. But I also know that could change for seemingly no reason and I do know some farangs have issues like you are having....and when I say "some farangs" I know it could really be a quite healthy number. My first year filing, which was three years ago, was the most frustrating year for me in figuring out how and where to file topped off with some bad information given at the district office...and the wife didn't think it was possible to get a refund but I kept telling her it should be relatively easy based on posts I've read on Thaivisa. It has turned out to be relatively easy but each year I wonder if I'm going to run into a tax officer that don't like farangs and things then get hard for BS reasons. Time will tell.

Ha ha, yeah, you're right, and we can't afford our vacation to Tahiti until we get it! LOL.

I put my socks of Thai marbles into a few MTDs, so no more tax refunds as long as that's the case and the policy remains the same.

That said, if MTD drops below 2%, I will be looking for alternatives, so I keep tabs on the Bank Interest thread.

[Pib]

My gut tells me the BOT will be lowering rates again by 0.25% over the coming months which in turn will drive the banks to lower their rates....I can foresee the MTD being at approx 1.75% after the next BOT rate cut....but savings rates for all other types of savings accounts will also be heading south so it's all relative.

[Pib]

But if interest rates keep dropping and the Krungsri Mee Tae Dai tax free account continues to pay around 2% (still 2% per Krungsri's latest 16 Apr 15 interest rate announcement I just may stop getting into fixed accounts which require the 15% tax withholding for any amount of interest. I would give up a little bit of interest just to have more flexibility with my money (which the Mee Tae Dai account gives) and not having to file a Thai tax refund request to recover tax withholding.

And just to give an example of why I may move more money to a Krungsri MTD account(s), like the over Bt800K I've been keeping in various Bangkok Bank fixed deposit accounts over the last few years to serve as my retirement extension of stay proof of income and emergency big money, is the current Bangkok Bank fixed account promotions as shown in below snapshot. The best I can get if opening a fixed account today with Bangkok Bank say with Bt800K is their 2.125% 11 month fixed account promotion...and with fixed accounts the 15% withholding tax applies on any amount of interest earned meaning you need to file a tax refund request to get the withholding tax back....plus you lose flexibility with the funds in being able to withdraw the funds before maturity without losing a majority of the interest earned. Interest rates on most Thai bank savings accounts has come down a lot over the last year or so.

Yeap, if the Krungsri MTD continues to pay interest that is durn near the same interest rate that you can get on most fixed savings accounts and in order to avoid doing the tax refund thing since the MTD don't withhold any tax until exceeding Bt20K interest per year, I just may give Krungsri much more of my money. After being with Krungsri for a little over a half a year now I've been happy with their service although I have only used their ibanking basically to check my current balance versus paying bills and other things like I do with Bangkok Bank ibanking...so I can't really give a good comparison between Krungsri ibanking and Bangkok Bank ibanking since I haven't tried to use Krungsri ibanking for various things like I have with Bangkok Bank ibanking. And the one time I used the Krungsri Call Center they spoke good English and my question was quickly answered...and one time when I had a Krungsri Cash Deposit Machine issue they quickly resolved that at the branch. However, I would still keep my other Bangkok Bank accounts...they would just lose some of my money...they'll probably survive just fine.

I know from other threads/Thai bank websites there are other savings accounts with Thai banks that pay a little more interest than Bangkok Bank and Krungsri Bank accounts, but I don't feel like bouncing between a half dozen different Thai banks in trying to squeeze out a few more tenths of a percent of interest since I'm only talking about an amount under Bt1M vs tens of millions that apparently a few ThaiVisa posters do have invested in fixed accounts. Having only a couple of Thai banks I can feel comfortable with and seem to be farang-friendly is enough for me....also allows me to spread my money around a little bit to additional govt coverage and allows me to easily walk away from one of the banks if they no longer make me happy with them.

[55Jay]

But if interest rates keep dropping and the Krungsri Mee Tae Dai tax free account continues to pay around 2% (still 2% per Krungsri's latest 16 Apr 15 interest rate announcement I just may stop getting into fixed accounts which require the 15% tax withholding for any amount of interest. I would give up a little bit of interest just to have more flexibility with my money (which the Mee Tae Dai account gives) and not having to file a Thai tax refund request to recover tax withholding.

And just to give an example of why I may move more money to a Krungsri MTD account(s), like the over Bt800K I've been keeping in various Bangkok Bank fixed deposit accounts over the last few years to serve as my retirement extension of stay proof of income and emergency big money, is the current Bangkok Bank fixed account promotions as shown in below snapshot. The best I can get if opening a fixed account today with Bangkok Bank say with Bt800K is their 2.125% 11 month fixed account promotion...and with fixed accounts the 15% withholding tax applies on any amount of interest earned meaning you need to file a tax refund request to get the withholding tax back....plus you lose flexibility with the funds in being able to withdraw the funds before maturity without losing a majority of the interest earned. Interest rates on most Thai bank savings accounts has come down a lot over the last year or so.

Yeap, if the Krungsri MTD continues to pay interest that is durn near the same interest rate that you can get on most fixed savings accounts and in order to avoid doing the tax refund thing since the MTD don't withhold any tax until exceeding Bt20K interest per year, I just may give Krungsri much more of my money. After being with Krungsri for a little over a half a year now I've been happy with their service although I have only used their ibanking basically to check my current balance versus paying bills and other things like I do with Bangkok Bank ibanking...so I can't really give a good comparison between Krungsri ibanking and Bangkok Bank ibanking since I haven't tried to use Krungsri ibanking for various things like I have with Bangkok Bank ibanking. And the one time I used the Krungsri Call Center they spoke good English and my question was quickly answered...and one time when I had a Krungsri Cash Deposit Machine issue they quickly resolved that at the branch. However, I would still keep my other Bangkok Bank accounts...they would just lose some of my money...they'll probably survive just fine.

I know from other threads/Thai bank websites there are other savings accounts with Thai banks that pay a little more interest than Bangkok Bank and Krungsri Bank accounts, but I don't feel like bouncing between a half dozen different Thai banks in trying to squeeze out a few more tenths of a percent of interest since I'm only talking about an amount under Bt1M vs tens of millions that apparently a few ThaiVisa posters do have invested in fixed accounts. Having only a couple of Thai banks I can feel comfortable with and seem to be farang-friendly is enough for me....also allows me to spread my money around a little bit to additional govt coverage and allows me to easily walk away from one of the banks if they no longer make me happy with them.

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Couldn't agree more, which is why I only maintain 2 working accounts at BKB, the rest is in MTD accounts for the last year. Even as the % fell during this time, I was ok with trading the delta for MTD's flexibility and accessibility, compounding interest paid monthly, and avoiding the 20k interest tax withholding threshold.

[55Jay]

Amusing twist in my Thai tax return.

Last Wednesday, I looked at my on-line status. Still bubble #2, as it has been for nearly a month and a half. All the February comments in my page's text box about needing more docs and that I had to visit tax office in person, had been deleted as well as the text/message box itself was gone from the page's format. There was a note telling me to call the tax office, no indication why.

Had my Mrs. call but my case handler was gone the rest of the week; oddly enough, that was the case the first time we called her back in February.

Mrs. called back today, tax lady was there and best I got through translation was she acted embarrassed and said she simply forgot to do my return because she had a lot of them to do... but would do it. No other docs or info needed, there was no real purpose for us calling in.

Perhaps their system refreshes case files after X number of stagnant days. My account page format did change slightly, the message to call was very generic. Who knows.

[Pib]

At one time "when using Google Translate" on the Comments the translation said I needed to call, but the Thai wife said the translation was wrong and I didn't need call. Googel/Bing Translate do a pretty good translation job many times; but other times it gets almost comical or just flat out wrong...all depends on the Thai words and abbreviations involved. She was right because the bubble status continued to progress and the refund occurred without any calls, additional data needed.

She forgot to do your because she had so many to do...I wonder how many more got forgotten. This expeience is probably making your Krungsri MTD accounts look better and better especially with interest rates on fixed savings accounts continuing to fall significantly...just use the MTD accounts earning around 2% (for now) and avoid the tax return process unless you earn more than Bt20K interest per account per year.

[55Jay]

FINALLY! Moved to Bub-ben Nummer Tree today!

[Pib]

Alrighty now!!!....check is in the mail. Is your Postman honest?

The last bubble won't turn green until you receive and "deposit" the check....a few days to a week after you deposit the check at your bank the last bubble should turn green since the check clears back through the issuing bank which should be KrungThai Bank (another one of those predominately state-owned banks) and then the Revenue Dept updates their site again....then all of your bubbles are green...better than your balls being green.