Thai Taxes - Guidelines 2016

[Tywais]

March 31, 2016 is the final date for filing your Thai taxes. This is a guideline with links to the details. Taxes can be filed online at the revenue department. Can't find current apps for Apple & Android.

Information resources:

• The Revenue Department main site
• Personal Income Tax details

Calculators

• Online tax calculator
• Downloadable Spread Sheet

Taxes on income earned abroad. If your country is one on the DTA (double tax agreement) list, monies earned abroad are not taxable on the Thai side.

Double Tax Treaties: Thailand is party to "Agreements for the Avoidance of Double Taxation", so-called "tax treaties", with many countries. The purpose of the treaties is to prevent a company from one country being taxed twice on income earned in the other country. More here - BSA Law

DTA

• Double Tax Agreement
• Introduction to DTA

[SantiSuk]

Download from the attached link the latest version of a booklet on how Thai taxation works. Produced by the Bangkok tax specialists of an eminent international accounting firm (with whom I used to work, though in London not Thailand):

http://www.pwc.com/th/en/publications/thai-tax-2015-booklet.html

[nontabury]

According to the personnel income tax details, any person resident in Thailand for more than 180 days is liable to pay income tax,even on income from abroad. Am I reading this correct?

I do not work here, though I do reside in Thailand on monies from abroad, so far do not pay tax on this income,however when we asked at TMB if I can claim money back that was deducted from interest on accounts here, they advised me not to claim,otherwise they may start taxing me on the overseas income.Are they advising me correctly?

[Tywais]

According to the personnel income tax details, any person resident in Thailand for more than 180 days is liable to pay income tax,even on income from abroad. Am I reading this correct?

I do not work here, though I do reside in Thailand on monies from abroad, so far do not pay tax on this income,however when we asked at TMB if I can claim money back that was deducted from interest on accounts here, they advised me not to claim,otherwise they may start taxing me on the overseas income.Are they advising me correctly?

If your country is on the list of DTA (double tax agreement) with Thailand then you will be exempt from paying Thai taxes on monies earned abroad.

Double Tax Agreement

Introduction to DTA

Double Tax Treaties: Thailand is party to "Agreements for the Avoidance of Double Taxation", so-called "tax treaties", with many countries. The purpose of the treaties is to prevent a company from one country being taxed twice on income earned in the other country. More here - BSA Law

Will add that link to my OP as it is a good question.

[SantiSuk]

Yes you are resident for tax purposes in Thailand if you spend more than 180 days in Thailand

You should pay Thai taxation on income arising in Thailand (eg bank interest and any earnings arising in Thailand) to the extent it is payable under Thai tax rules - normally those who only earn interest do not pay additional taxation on interest, and indeed often recover the tax that may have been deducted at source by banks. This is because standard Thai tax allowances and nil rate bands mean that the first tranche of income arising in Thailand attracts a nil rate of tax. Very broadly speaking a single person might earn roughly 40,000 thai baht in a year before Thai taxation becomes payable. A married person may be able to earn as much as 50,000 baht if her/his spouse does not earn and if they are taking care of elderly relatives and have kids. Those numbers are just broadly indicative - do not rely on them without further research or without going to the Tax Office and getting and letting them do your tax return with you.

Earnings arising outside Thailand - includes inter-alia job income; rental income; pension income; investment income (ie interest and dividends) that does not come from activities in Thailand - is only taxable in Thailand to the extent that you bring it into Thailand in the same Thai tax year that you earned it. If you are able to show that you are not relying on current year income for current year spending in Thailand (ie you are living off 'capital' (= earnings of previous years)) you will not be taxed in Thailand for those foreign (to Thailand) earnings. In short, Thailand does not tax any of its residents on worldwide income that is not remitted in the same tax year. Unlike Americans and (to a lesser extent) Brits.

So, if you are confident that you can demonstrate that you are spending in Thailand out of prior year foreign earnings and not out of current year earnings you can 'stick your head over the parapet' and claim a tax refund. TMB were however right to sound a cautionary note - if you have stuff to hide or if you have current foreign earnings that you have used for current spending then you may be taking an unnecessary risk in claiming a tax refund.

Tax authorities are alive to the possibility of claiming tax on the foreign earnings of expats residing here. If you seek a small tax refund on the tax your Thai bank has deducted at source then maybe/probably Thai Revenue will not bother asking you about these non-Thai earnings. Indeed I have seen/heard reports of plenty of expats who have claimed smaller refunds with no further questions asked. However, in 2015 I claimed a 2014 tax year refund on interest of over 45,000 baht. My amphur tax office had no problem in entertaining that claim and helped me complete the return. But before they would pay it to me I was invited in by the provincial tax authority (to what turned out to be the regional tax investigation office!) for a grilling about what were my earnings back in the UK (my pensions and my investment activities and whether I was still doing work in the UK) and whether I needed to resort to any such earnings to fund my existence in Thailand. I am a retired accountant so I was unfazed by the surprise of finding myself in an investigation environment facing three inspectors (!) and I knew exactly where they were coming from, so my answers convinced them to seek no documentary evidence of my representations.

Up to you to decide how to go about dealing with Thai tax authorities, but once you have registered* you should know what the risks are if you have non-Thai earnings!

For those who do have non-trivial earnings arising outside Thailand and who do register for tax in Thailand I recommend that (if it is practicable) to corale all your non-Thai earnings in a dedicated foreign bank account used for that purpose only (which you the can clear out to your other banks, even Thai banks, once the relevant Thai tax year (calendar year) is completed). That way, if challenged it is a simple job to show that your earnings were kept away from Thailand until the following year

*You are obliged to register for Thai taxation if you are an over 180 day resident - up to you if you want to lie low, as some boast about doing! I'm guessing that if you do not register because you are confident that you have no Thai tax liability then you are unlikely to be hammered if you are found not to have registered. Conversely not registering when you have a Thai tax liability is likely to lead to additional charges and penalties if you are found out. Nothing personal implied Nontabury - just laying out the stall for the generality of ThaiV reader.

[Tywais]

@Santisuk This is the threshold for a single individual before tax payment is required. This of course doesn't take into account exemptions such as life insurance, SS insurance, etc which will push that threshold up a small amount. This is just standard deductions which most working here will encounter.

-150,000 Tax exempt

- 60,000 Standard deduction

- 30,000 Personal deduction (single)

------------

240,000 / 12 = 20,000B/month before tax liabilities kick in.

//edit - one off topic post removed. This topic is for informational purposes or Q&A.

[ChesneyHawkes]

It says there is an excemption for travel per diem. On the basis it's a per diem I don't have to provide receipts and travel records as it's a fixed amount. I have this stated in my income certification document from my employer as a per diem. How would I go about claiming this exemption with the revenue department because when I called their call center they said there isn't such an exemption.

[nontabury]

Yes you are resident for tax purposes in Thailand if you spend more than 180 days in Thailand

You should pay Thai taxation on income arising in Thailand (eg bank interest and any earnings arising in Thailand) to the extent it is payable under Thai tax rules - normally those who only earn interest do not pay additional taxation on interest, and indeed often recover the tax that may have been deducted at source by banks. This is because standard Thai tax allowances and nil rate bands mean that the first tranche of income arising in Thailand attracts a nil rate of tax. Very broadly speaking a single person might earn roughly 40,000 thai baht in a year before Thai taxation becomes payable. A married person may be able to earn as much as 50,000 baht if her/his spouse does not earn and if they are taking care of elderly relatives and have kids. Those numbers are just broadly indicative - do not rely on them without further research or without going to the Tax Office and getting and letting them do your tax return with you.

Earnings arising outside Thailand - includes inter-alia job income; rental income; pension income; investment income (ie interest and dividends) that does not come from activities in Thailand - is only taxable in Thailand to the extent that you bring it into Thailand in the same Thai tax year that you earned it. If you are able to show that you are not relying on current year income for current year spending in Thailand (ie you are living off 'capital' (= earnings of previous years)) you will not be taxed in Thailand for those foreign (to Thailand) earnings. In short, Thailand does not tax any of its residents on worldwide income that is not remitted in the same tax year. Unlike Americans and (to a lesser extent) Brits.

So, if you are confident that you can demonstrate that you are spending in Thailand out of prior year foreign earnings and not out of current year earnings you can 'stick your head over the parapet' and claim a tax refund. TMB were however right to sound a cautionary note - if you have stuff to hide or if you have current foreign earnings that you have used for current spending then you may be taking an unnecessary risk in claiming a tax refund.

Tax authorities are alive to the possibility of claiming tax on the foreign earnings of expats residing here. If you seek a small tax refund on the tax your Thai bank has deducted at source then maybe/probably Thai Revenue will not bother asking you about these non-Thai earnings. Indeed I have seen/heard reports of plenty of expats who have claimed smaller refunds with no further questions asked. However, in 2015 I claimed a 2014 tax year refund on interest of over 45,000 baht. My amphur tax office had no problem in entertaining that claim and helped me complete the return. But before they would pay it to me I was invited in by the provincial tax authority (to what turned out to be the regional tax investigation office!) for a grilling about what were my earnings back in the UK (my pensions and my investment activities and whether I was still doing work in the UK) and whether I needed to resort to any such earnings to fund my existence in Thailand. I am a retired accountant so I was unfazed by the surprise of finding myself in an investigation environment facing three inspectors (!) and I knew exactly where they were coming from, so my answers convinced them to seek no documentary evidence of my representations.

Up to you to decide how to go about dealing with Thai tax authorities, but once you have registered* you should know what the risks are if you have non-Thai earnings!

For those who do have non-trivial earnings arising outside Thailand and who do register for tax in Thailand I recommend that (if it is practicable) to corale all your non-Thai earnings in a dedicated foreign bank account used for that purpose only (which you the can clear out to your other banks, even Thai banks, once the relevant Thai tax year (calendar year) is completed). That way, if challenged it is a simple job to show that your earnings were kept away from Thailand until the following year

*You are obliged to register for Thai taxation if you are an over 180 day resident - up to you if you want to lie low, as some boast about doing! I'm guessing that if you do not register because you are confident that you have no Thai tax liability then you are unlikely to be hammered if you are found not to have registered. Conversely not registering when you have a Thai tax liability is likely to lead to additional charges and penalties if you are found out. Nothing personal implied Nontabury - just laying out the stall for the generality of ThaiV reader.

Thanks for that reply. This money originated from the sale of a house, approx 12 million. I reinvested 5 mill by buying some land in Thailand, repatriated after a while another 4 mill leaving me with 3 mill to draw on for living expenses.

The interest comes from that 7million. During the last year I have not brought into the country any more money. Now I'm wondering if the Thai tax office may decide that the sale of the house does in fact constitute earned income,therefore if I were to claim back tax on interest it could back fire on me.

I might add that my home country does have an agreement with Thailand for tax issues.

[naboo]

There is an exemption for Social Security. I have a private health plan through my emplyer. Is there an exemption for that? I don't see.

My wife declares zero income and so I get an increased tax free allowance as a consequence - our allowances are, to some extent, combined. This means I can reclaim tax on the interest on the mortgage in her name. Can I also claim for the support of her two parents, both on supposedly zero income? The brother claiming it at the moment only pays 5% tax at the top end, so gets virtually nothing back. My top rate is 20%, so much more worthwhile (I would, of course, give it to the parents).

[salavan]

According to the personnel income tax details, any person resident in Thailand for more than 180 days is liable to pay income tax,even on income from abroad. Am I reading this correct?

I do not work here, though I do reside in Thailand on monies from abroad, so far do not pay tax on this income,however when we asked at TMB if I can claim money back that was deducted from interest on accounts here, they advised me not to claim,otherwise they may start taxing me on the overseas income.Are they advising me correctly?

my advice for what its worth is let sleeping dogs lie dont wake the dragon

[Liquorice]

Yes you are resident for tax purposes in Thailand if you spend more than 180 days in Thailand

You should pay Thai taxation on income arising in Thailand (eg bank interest and any earnings arising in Thailand) to the extent it is payable under Thai tax rules - normally those who only earn interest do not pay additional taxation on interest, and indeed often recover the tax that may have been deducted at source by banks. This is because standard Thai tax allowances and nil rate bands mean that the first tranche of income arising in Thailand attracts a nil rate of tax. Very broadly speaking a single person might earn roughly 40,000 thai baht in a year before Thai taxation becomes payable. A married person may be able to earn as much as 50,000 baht if her/his spouse does not earn and if they are taking care of elderly relatives and have kids. Those numbers are just broadly indicative - do not rely on them without further research or without going to the Tax Office and getting and letting them do your tax return with you.

Earnings arising outside Thailand - includes inter-alia job income; rental income; pension income; investment income (ie interest and dividends) that does not come from activities in Thailand - is only taxable in Thailand to the extent that you bring it into Thailand in the same Thai tax year that you earned it. If you are able to show that you are not relying on current year income for current year spending in Thailand (ie you are living off 'capital' (= earnings of previous years)) you will not be taxed in Thailand for those foreign (to Thailand) earnings. In short, Thailand does not tax any of its residents on worldwide income that is not remitted in the same tax year. Unlike Americans and (to a lesser extent) Brits.

So, if you are confident that you can demonstrate that you are spending in Thailand out of prior year foreign earnings and not out of current year earnings you can 'stick your head over the parapet' and claim a tax refund. TMB were however right to sound a cautionary note - if you have stuff to hide or if you have current foreign earnings that you have used for current spending then you may be taking an unnecessary risk in claiming a tax refund.

Tax authorities are alive to the possibility of claiming tax on the foreign earnings of expats residing here. If you seek a small tax refund on the tax your Thai bank has deducted at source then maybe/probably Thai Revenue will not bother asking you about these non-Thai earnings. Indeed I have seen/heard reports of plenty of expats who have claimed smaller refunds with no further questions asked. However, in 2015 I claimed a 2014 tax year refund on interest of over 45,000 baht. My amphur tax office had no problem in entertaining that claim and helped me complete the return. But before they would pay it to me I was invited in by the provincial tax authority (to what turned out to be the regional tax investigation office!) for a grilling about what were my earnings back in the UK (my pensions and my investment activities and whether I was still doing work in the UK) and whether I needed to resort to any such earnings to fund my existence in Thailand. I am a retired accountant so I was unfazed by the surprise of finding myself in an investigation environment facing three inspectors (!) and I knew exactly where they were coming from, so my answers convinced them to seek no documentary evidence of my representations.

Up to you to decide how to go about dealing with Thai tax authorities, but once you have registered* you should know what the risks are if you have non-Thai earnings!

For those who do have non-trivial earnings arising outside Thailand and who do register for tax in Thailand I recommend that (if it is practicable) to corale all your non-Thai earnings in a dedicated foreign bank account used for that purpose only (which you the can clear out to your other banks, even Thai banks, once the relevant Thai tax year (calendar year) is completed). That way, if challenged it is a simple job to show that your earnings were kept away from Thailand until the following year

*You are obliged to register for Thai taxation if you are an over 180 day resident - up to you if you want to lie low, as some boast about doing! I'm guessing that if you do not register because you are confident that you have no Thai tax liability then you are unlikely to be hammered if you are found not to have registered. Conversely not registering when you have a Thai tax liability is likely to lead to additional charges and penalties if you are found out. Nothing personal implied Nontabury - just laying out the stall for the generality of ThaiV reader.

Thanks for that reply. This money originated from the sale of a house, approx 12 million. I reinvested 5 mill by buying some land in Thailand, repatriated after a while another 4 mill leaving me with 3 mill to draw on for living expenses.

The interest comes from that 7million. During the last year I have not brought into the country any more money. Now I'm wondering if the Thai tax office may decide that the sale of the house does in fact constitute earned income,therefore if I were to claim back tax on interest it could back fire on me.

I might add that my home country does have an agreement with Thailand for tax issues.

The only income you are making in Thailand comes from interest on your Savings, which will be taxed at 15% if you have it in a Fixed term account or similar.

Your personal allowance is 20,000 baht per month before tax.

You can reclaim the tax paid on your interest annually between Jan -Apr of this year, for the previous year Jan - Dec 2015.

Ask your bank for a Statement of Tax deducted from the previous year, then take that to your tax office.

You can reclaim for the previous 3 years, subject to a 200baht penalty for late filing.

I do it and I've helped a few others claim.

I have never been asked how the Savings were acquired.

The first time I claimed, they set up an account and it took 4 weeks to get a cheque.

This year I had the cheque within 5 days.

[Srinakarin]

Hi,

These links are extremely useful, Thanks.

It has opened up a can of worms for me however regarding my deductions.

I'm married to a Thai who isn't currently working because we have a dependent child. She has a home loan in her name with me as guarantor. The Loan agreement mentions me as guarantor.

I note that there are allowances for taxpayers who are married, have kids, and also for parents of spouse - all of which I can claim for.

Regarding interest on the home loan. I've had advice from different Thai people who say I can probably claim the "interest on home loan" allowance even though the wife has no income if we make a joint PIT submission. Others have advised that I can't claim the allowance for the interest on home loan because the wife has no income.

Can anybody clarify the postition on this and if the answer is that we cannot claim, if there a way around it apart from sending the missus back to work asap?

Thanks

[falang07]

Up to you to decide how to go about dealing with Thai tax authorities, but once you have registered* you should know what the risks are if you have non-Thai earnings!

I think you exaggerate a little, there is no risk, it is the law and non-Thai earnings are exempt unless you wire them to Thailand in the same year. Simple as that, I do not understand why would someone bother to investigate this. Very easy to prove, too.

[fletchsmile]

Hi,

These links are extremely useful, Thanks.

It has opened up a can of worms for me however regarding my deductions.

I'm married to a Thai who isn't currently working because we have a dependent child. She has a home loan in her name with me as guarantor. The Loan agreement mentions me as guarantor.

I note that there are allowances for taxpayers who are married, have kids, and also for parents of spouse - all of which I can claim for.

Regarding interest on the home loan. I've had advice from different Thai people who say I can probably claim the "interest on home loan" allowance even though the wife has no income if we make a joint PIT submission. Others have advised that I can't claim the allowance for the interest on home loan because the wife has no income.

Can anybody clarify the postition on this and if the answer is that we cannot claim, if there a way around it apart from sending the missus back to work asap?

Thanks

Our case was similar. Loan in wife's name, guaranteed by me, wife a housewife, and filing joint submission. Thai Revenue accepted it as a deduction.

BTW You can always claim for something. They just may not allow it

[SantiSuk]

Up to you to decide how to go about dealing with Thai tax authorities, but once you have registered* you should know what the risks are if you have non-Thai earnings!

I think you exaggerate a little, there is no risk, it is the law and non-Thai earnings are exempt unless you wire them to Thailand in the same year. Simple as that, I do not understand why would someone bother to investigate this. Very easy to prove, too.

I was not explaining myself properly then falang07. Clearly there is no risk if you are not liable to tax and I agree it is fairly easy to prove if you are financially competent.

My observations about risk were directed at those who have something to hide. On Thai Visa we often get reference to people not wanting to stick their head over the parapets with the local tax authorities. Maybe I'm wrong but the implication I have drawn from this is that there are expats out there who have earnings outside Thailand and who do rely on them in part to support their living in Thailand - ie they are liable to some tax on their non-Thai tax earnings in this country.

[Srinakarin]

Hi Fletsmile,

Congratulations, and thanks for letting me know that it's a possiblility.

Do you mind me asking, was it many years ago that this happened? The reason I'm asking is that the missus seems to think there's little point in submitting the necessary documents to try and claim because they've probably tightened the requirements. That's easier to say when it's not your salary that's being taken away from you.

[Srinakarin]

Hi Fletchsmile,

I'm sorry about the previous post - spelt your name wrong. Coffee hadn't kicked in yet.

[scooterboy]

@Santisuk This is the threshold for a single individual before tax payment is required. This of course doesn't take into account exemptions such as life insurance, SS insurance, etc which will push that threshold up a small amount. This is just standard deductions which most working here will encounter.

-150,000 Tax exempt

- 60,000 Standard deduction

- 30,000 Personal deduction (single)

------------

240,000 / 12 = 20,000B/month before tax liabilities kick in.

//edit - one off topic post removed. This topic is for informational purposes or Q&A.

Thanks for the very useful info in this thread.

However, I still feel unsure about the 150K Tax Exempt limit, which I see slung around in several threads, without any further explanation as to who (or is it "whom"?) this applies to - and more important - who it doesn't apply to (if at all applicable).

I presume that it definitely applies to normal working people, but how about non-working retirees (for example) - does this also apply to them?

If i, as a pensioner resident in Thailand, theoretically invested money in Thailand that paid, say, 12K a month in interest (i.e. 144K a year), am I liable for tax - or not?

Thanks - and keep up the good info

[Tywais]

Thanks for the very useful info in this thread.

However, I still feel unsure about the 150K Tax Exempt limit, which I see slung around in several threads, without any further explanation as to who (or is it "whom"?) this applies to - and more important - who it doesn't apply to (if at all applicable).

I presume that it definitely applies to normal working people, but how about non-working retirees (for example) - does this also apply to them?

If i, as a pensioner resident in Thailand, theoretically invested money in Thailand that paid, say, 12K a month in interest (i.e. 144K a year), am I liable for tax - or not?

The 150k exemption applies across the board to everyone who is required to file personal income tax. It's easy to see at the link to personal income tax in the OP. It's in the Tax Rate chart as tax is stepped with the first 150,000 Baht income exempt. If you are non-working retiree then you will have no Thai income (legally that is) from work.

If your interest in a Thai bank or Thai investment instruments is more then 240,000 a year then you would be responsible for filing. Note the below though.

Just found this in the personal income page:

The following forms of interest income may, at the taxpayer’s selection, be excluded from the computation of PIT provided that a tax of 15 per cent is withheld at source:

1. interest on bonds or debentures issued by a government organization;
2. interest on saving deposits in commercial banks if the aggregate amount of interest received is not more than 20,000 baht during a taxable year;
3. interest on loans paid by a finance company;
4. interest received from any financial institution organized by a specific law of Thailand for the purpose of lending money to promote agriculture, commerce or industry.

Dividends

Taxpayer who resides in Thailand and receives dividends or shares of profits from a registered company or a mutual fund which tax has been withheld at source at the rate of 10 per cent, may opt to exclude such dividend from the assessable income when calculating PIT. However, in doing so, taxpayer will be unable to claim any refund or credit as mentioned in 2.4.

[scooterboy]

Thanks for your time and explanation - very interesting!

I certainly wasn't aware that the 150K limit was "across the board" - including everyone without exception.

That's also of interest (pun intended) to my GF, as she can have a 20K Baht monthly income without being liable for tax.

Sounds good!

Cheers - and thanks for this info

[scooterboy]

-150,000 Tax exempt

- 60,000 Standard deduction

- 30,000 Personal deduction (single)

------------

240,000 / 12 = 20,000B/month before tax liabilities kick in.

It looks like this may soon be raised to 100,000, according to the "unmentionable", business section, today.

[Tywais]

It looks like this may soon be raised to 100,000, according to the "unmentionable", business section, today.

I heard something about that a few months ago.

[NHJ]

Usually i used to drop my thax return pnd 91 at the krung thai bank and was given a receipt showing the amount '0'.

This has now been cancelled apparently and one has to do it at the revenue department, when i went there, they asked me for a withholding tax document.

Do they mean the PNd1 i fill monthly? and if so why do they require it as everything is computerised ?

thanks

[nontabury]

According to the personnel income tax details, any person resident in Thailand for more than 180 days is liable to pay income tax,even on income from abroad. Am I reading this correct?

I do not work here, though I do reside in Thailand on monies from abroad, so far do not pay tax on this income,however when we asked at TMB if I can claim money back that was deducted from interest on accounts here, they advised me not to claim,otherwise they may start taxing me on the overseas income.Are they advising me correctly?

Yesterday made my claim at the local tax office for the return of tax on interest.

Pleasantly surprised the staff were very helpful and said I should receive a chq in a couple of weeks. What did surprise me is that they already knew of my previous address in another part of the country and they informed me I already had a tax No from that address,this is in spite of the fact I have never worked in Thailand. The only large items I have purchased are a car and a condo in my own name, and land that is of course not in my name. Anyone know how could this be so?

[meatboy]

According to the personnel income tax details, any person resident in Thailand for more than 180 days is liable to pay income tax,even on income from abroad. Am I reading this correct?

I do not work here, though I do reside in Thailand on monies from abroad, so far do not pay tax on this income,however when we asked at TMB if I can claim money back that was deducted from interest on accounts here, they advised me not to claim,otherwise they may start taxing me on the overseas income.Are they advising me correctly?

Yesterday made my claim at the local tax office for the return of tax on interest.

Pleasantly surprised the staff were very helpful and said I should receive a chq in a couple of weeks. What did surprise me is that they already knew of my previous address in another part of the country and they informed me I already had a tax No from that address,this is in spite of the fact I have never worked in Thailand. The only large items I have purchased are a car and a condo in my own name, and land that is of course not in my name. Anyone know how could this be so?

what about the car,is it in your name,i would think a bank has stopped tax in the past,so there fore given your name and address.

when my wife went to register her's and mine to claim back tax witheld,they had the wife's tax id.and last address from the last time she worked almost 30yrs.ago.

when she gave all my details there was nothing on file,but did ask if i had ever worked here.only tax you pay in thailand is on income earned here.

[nontabury]

According to the personnel income tax details, any person resident in Thailand for more than 180 days is liable to pay income tax,even on income from abroad. Am I reading this correct?

I do not work here, though I do reside in Thailand on monies from abroad, so far do not pay tax on this income,however when we asked at TMB if I can claim money back that was deducted from interest on accounts here, they advised me not to claim,otherwise they may start taxing me on the overseas income.Are they advising me correctly?

Yesterday made my claim at the local tax office for the return of tax on interest.

Pleasantly surprised the staff were very helpful and said I should receive a chq in a couple of weeks. What did surprise me is that they already knew of my previous address in another part of the country and they informed me I already had a tax No from that address,this is in spite of the fact I have never worked in Thailand. The only large items I have purchased are a car and a condo in my own name, and land that is of course not in my name. Anyone know how could this be so?

what about the car,is it in your name,i would think a bank has stopped tax in the past,so there fore given your name and address.

when my wife went to register her's and mine to claim back tax witheld,they had the wife's tax id.and last address from the last time she worked almost 30yrs.ago.

when she gave all my details there was nothing on file,but did ask if i had ever worked here.only tax you pay in thailand is on income earned here.

As I said the cars I have bought have always been in my name. As you say,it could be because the banks have in the past taxed interest on my accounts.

[fletchsmile]

Hi Fletsmile,

Congratulations, and thanks for letting me know that it's a possiblility.

Do you mind me asking, was it many years ago that this happened? The reason I'm asking is that the missus seems to think there's little point in submitting the necessary documents to try and claim because they've probably tightened the requirements. That's easier to say when it's not your salary that's being taken away from you.

We paid the mortgage off in 2011, so that was the last year I claimed for mortgage interest. I don't believe the rules have changed.

[Srinakarin]

"We paid the mortgage off in 2011, so that was the last year I claimed for mortgage interest. I don't believe the rules have changed."

Thank you, Fletchsmile.

[orientalist]

Thanks for your time and explanation - very interesting!

I certainly wasn't aware that the 150K limit was "across the board" - including everyone without exception.

That's also of interest (pun intended) to my GF, as she can have a 20K Baht monthly income without being liable for tax.

Sounds good!

Cheers - and thanks for this info

Apparently, there is one exception: The exemption is 190K if you are 65 or older. See the Allowances section of the excellent PWC Tax booklet.

http://www.pwc.com/th/en/publications/assets/thai-tax-2015-booklet-en.pdf

[fleur3]

Yes you are resident for tax purposes in Thailand if you spend more than 180 days in Thailand

You should pay Thai taxation on income arising in Thailand (eg bank interest and any earnings arising in Thailand) to the extent it is payable under Thai tax rules - normally those who only earn interest do not pay additional taxation on interest, and indeed often recover the tax that may have been deducted at source by banks. This is because standard Thai tax allowances and nil rate bands mean that the first tranche of income arising in Thailand attracts a nil rate of tax. Very broadly speaking a single person might earn roughly 40,000 thai baht in a year before Thai taxation becomes payable. A married person may be able to earn as much as 50,000 baht if her/his spouse does not earn and if they are taking care of elderly relatives and have kids. Those numbers are just broadly indicative - do not rely on them without further research or without going to the Tax Office and getting and letting them do your tax return with you.

Earnings arising outside Thailand - includes inter-alia job income; rental income; pension income; investment income (ie interest and dividends) that does not come from activities in Thailand - is only taxable in Thailand to the extent that you bring it into Thailand in the same Thai tax year that you earned it. If you are able to show that you are not relying on current year income for current year spending in Thailand (ie you are living off 'capital' (= earnings of previous years)) you will not be taxed in Thailand for those foreign (to Thailand) earnings. In short, Thailand does not tax any of its residents on worldwide income that is not remitted in the same tax year. Unlike Americans and (to a lesser extent) Brits.

So, if you are confident that you can demonstrate that you are spending in Thailand out of prior year foreign earnings and not out of current year earnings you can 'stick your head over the parapet' and claim a tax refund. TMB were however right to sound a cautionary note - if you have stuff to hide or if you have current foreign earnings that you have used for current spending then you may be taking an unnecessary risk in claiming a tax refund.

Tax authorities are alive to the possibility of claiming tax on the foreign earnings of expats residing here. If you seek a small tax refund on the tax your Thai bank has deducted at source then maybe/probably Thai Revenue will not bother asking you about these non-Thai earnings. Indeed I have seen/heard reports of plenty of expats who have claimed smaller refunds with no further questions asked. However, in 2015 I claimed a 2014 tax year refund on interest of over 45,000 baht. My amphur tax office had no problem in entertaining that claim and helped me complete the return. But before they would pay it to me I was invited in by the provincial tax authority (to what turned out to be the regional tax investigation office!) for a grilling about what were my earnings back in the UK (my pensions and my investment activities and whether I was still doing work in the UK) and whether I needed to resort to any such earnings to fund my existence in Thailand. I am a retired accountant so I was unfazed by the surprise of finding myself in an investigation environment facing three inspectors (!) and I knew exactly where they were coming from, so my answers convinced them to seek no documentary evidence of my representations.

Up to you to decide how to go about dealing with Thai tax authorities, but once you have registered* you should know what the risks are if you have non-Thai earnings!

For those who do have non-trivial earnings arising outside Thailand and who do register for tax in Thailand I recommend that (if it is practicable) to corale all your non-Thai earnings in a dedicated foreign bank account used for that purpose only (which you the can clear out to your other banks, even Thai banks, once the relevant Thai tax year (calendar year) is completed). That way, if challenged it is a simple job to show that your earnings were kept away from Thailand until the following year

*You are obliged to register for Thai taxation if you are an over 180 day resident - up to you if you want to lie low, as some boast about doing! I'm guessing that if you do not register because you are confident that you have no Thai tax liability then you are unlikely to be hammered if you are found not to have registered. Conversely not registering when you have a Thai tax liability is likely to lead to additional charges and penalties if you are found out. Nothing personal implied Nontabury - just laying out the stall for the generality of ThaiV reader.

So, if you are confident that you can demonstrate that you are spending in Thailand out of prior year foreign earnings and not out of current year earnings you can 'stick your head over the

could you please tell us where we can find that. Is easy do organise. Open a bank account for year 1, remiitance year 1 in that account, opene an account in year 2, remittance of income in tjis account and live from the remittance of year one. Correct?

thanks