Bank deposit tax?

[Aussie69]

As a retired farang, when I transfer money from Australian bank into Thai bank is that taxed in any way (income tax)?

If i have a term deposit is the interest earned taxed?

If so how does that work if I am not a Thai citizen nor have a tax number.

[lopburi3]

The money is taken out by bank from interest earned before credit to account - to recover you would need to have a tax number and make claim.

As policy Thailand does not tax savings money brought into country - they would tax income brought into country in the year earned however.

[Sophon]

The money is taken out by bank from interest earned before credit to account - to recover you would need to have a tax number and make claim.

As policy Thailand does not tax savings money brought into country - they would tax income brought into country in the year earned however.

To be more specific the interest is actually credited in full on the fixed deposit account immediately followed by a debit of the 15% withholding tax. So the interest and the tax is posted as two separate entries.

Sophon

[12DrinkMore]

You can claim the tax paid on the deposit account interest. This is a simply procedure, you can get a tax number from the tax office, and then fill in the tax form in January for the preceding year.

The Thais have not taxed any pension income, as far as I know.

Whether you are required to pay tax in your home country where the pension originates is something to look at.

Edited June 1, 2016 by 12DrinkMore

[Aussie69]

As policy Thailand does not tax savings money brought into country - they would tax income brought into country in the year earned however.

What does this mean. If i transfer few thousand dollars a month from my AU savings/superannuation that is not taxed right?

What about someone receiving an Australian pension every month?

Considering in both above examples applicable Australian taxes would have already been applied.

Edited June 1, 2016 by Aussie69

[Aussie69]

You can claim the tax paid on the deposit account interest. This is a simply procedure, you can get a tax number from the tax office, and then fill in the tax form in January for the preceding year.

An over 50 farang on non-imm 'O' can get a tax number?

[lopburi3]

Active income from employment brought into Thailand in the year earned would be subject to tax if known is the current stated policy. There has not been any active attempt to seek this out AFAIK but always best to just say savings are being brought in. Many countries have treaties that would exempt pensions in any case.

And yes believe anyone can get a tax number.

[Aussie69]

Thank you guys ☺

If there are any Australians receiving a pension I would be interested to know if I need to be aware of anything else.

Edited June 1, 2016 by Aussie69

[manfredtillmann]

a suggestion from a non - pension receiving australian living in thailand on a self - funded early retirement:

the less the oz government knows about your life arrangements, the better!

get you pension paid into an australian account to which you have access via internet banking. be aware, some banks use sms one - time access codes for transfers etc., you might not be able to receive them once you are in t. do your homework on that before.

use a non - bank money transfer service (pm me for more details) to top up your thai bank account from your australian when required.

there are no taxes on the t side, and very little bank fees if you do this the right way.

easy

[Aussie69]

Thank you Edited June 1, 2016 by Aussie69

[SantiSuk]

From observing posts on ThaiV I conclude that claiming a small refund - say 10,000 baht or less - is very unlikely to attract Thai tax authorities into enquiring about your foreign earnings/pension etc.

When I reclaimed 40,000 baht 18 months ago I was invited to bring in my documents and I was questioned about my income levels in the UK. When I told them and stated that I live out of prior year wealth, not current pensions and interest/dividend savings they lost interest (without looking for proof). They made some oblique references that implied they already had information from the UK (tax authorities swap information these days without telling you).

That was Sisaket provincial tax office (I made my return in a local amphur office). I expect that one day they might ask for proof and I already arranged for all my current year pensions earnings to go into a dedicated deposit account that is only cleared out to general funds after the Thai tax year end. I don't think this is necessary for the average retiree expat - those having a state pension or modest private pension only

The UK tax treaty does not extend to pensions earnings so in theory they are taxable in Thailand if you are living from current year earnings/pensions and if you are a Thai resident (not the same thing as 'citizen' - you are resident if you reside here one or more times for an aggregate period of 180 days or more in the tax year). There are Thai tax-free allowances for all taxpayers here that would partly cover ay liability and I doubt they would take into account tax already paid in your home country. You should find out about the Australian/Thai tax treaty - simply knowing that there is one is not enough - you need someone authoritative to tell you about the position of Australian pensions. Single answers on here may not be authoritative!

[Aussie69]

I am not trying to avoid taxes or do anything wrong, I simply was asking if farang are taxed.