TAX on Income from Abroad

[FrazeeDK]

Let's just wait till the Revenue folks actually publish clear guidelines on their website. All these news stories have zigged and zagged and sensationalized it all..

[sometimewoodworker]

I guess its wait an see, March 25, Ghost deposits etc, maybe F offski for many.

You are unlikely to see anything for a longish time, unless there is actual news of changes being gazetted, as the rumours of WW resident tax have to be crystallised into a fact before they can be judged, it is just talk at the moment.

Those who are departing have few ties to Thailand, are high net worth earners or haven’t done their homework to understand the small effect of the current rule tightening.

1) there is no requirement to file a Thai tax return, it is voluntary.
2) individuals are responsible for deciding if their income is sufficient to exceed the various allowances and home tax paid along with if the funds remitted are assessable for Thai tax.
3) if you decide you should pay tax (it is not the TRD in the first instance) then you should complete a tax return and pay the tax due.

If you decide not to bother calculating or not to file and pay the tax due, then you wait. If you have never filed a tax return the statute of limitations is 10 years, if you file tax returns the statute of limitations is 3 years.

After 2035 or 2027 if you have not been contacted by the audit section of the Thai Revenue Department your decision to not to bother calculating or not to file and pay the tax due for 2024 calendar year becomes a sensible one. I have no information about those who are audited but I doubt it’s a very pleasant experience if no tax is due and an uncomfortable to downright nasty and expensive one if tax was due

Those who are married to a Thai have strategies available that exempts about 20.5 million Baht from any taxation.
Those foreigners who have high enough earnings have a strategy that exempts them from Thai income tax.
Those foreigners who have substantial money outside Thailand accrued before 2024 can remit it tax free at any time.

[joepai]

*Those who are married to a Thai have strategies available that exempts about 20.5 million Baht from any taxation.
May I ask how you get to that figure ?

*Those foreigners who have high enough earnings have a strategy that exempts them from Thai income tax.
This for forigners who earn in Thailand or overseas?

[kopkei]

for the first is this
Gift tax rates in Thailand are structured to favor transfers to direct relatives. For gifts to ascendants, descendants, or spouses, the tax-free threshold is 20 million baht per year to a single recipient, with a tax rate of 5% applied to amounts exceeding this threshold.
for the other 2 i leave it up to stww to explain

[joepai]

for the first is this
Gift tax rates in Thailand are structured to favor transfers to direct relatives. For gifts to ascendants, descendants, or spouses, the tax-free threshold is 20 million baht per year to a single recipient, with a tax rate of 5% applied to amounts exceeding this threshold.

Thank you

[newtovillagelife]

Of course this "gift" to your spouse is for their personal use, and cannot be used for living expenses for you both.

[kopkei]

Of course this "gift" to your spouse is for their personal use, and cannot be used for living expenses for you both.

yes theoretically , but i wonder how they will be able to check this ....

[jackspratt]

By following the money, I guess.

If they decide to audit you, and money has been taken from the gift account, they may require your spouse to show where it has gone, and how it was used.

This is a pretty standard audit tactic.

[tamada]

By following the money, I guess.

If they decide to audit you, and money has been taken from the gift account, they may require your spouse to show where it has gone, and how it was used.

This is a pretty standard audit tactic.

Yes. We've all heard of Immigration's "smart" BMW 5's that catch overstayers. Well, the Revenue lads are getting "smart" BMW 7's for catching the tax dodgers.

One if them's going to be based in Ban Dung as it's a known hot-bed of wealthy bludgers. They were told never to use blue roof tiles but their missus's wouldn't hear of it.

[sometimewoodworker]

Of course this "gift" to your spouse is for their personal use, and cannot be used for living expenses for you both.

That is your interpretation. It is not the interpretation from a tax director of one of the big 4 accounting firms.
There are paperwork requirements, I am not getting into the details.

However you can not receive any money from the person to whom you gave the gift and the gift can not have any restrictions placed on the recipient.

Gift tax rates in Thailand are structured to favor transfers to direct relatives. For gifts to ascendants, descendants, or spouses, the tax-free threshold is 20 million baht per year to a single recipient, with a tax rate of 5% applied to amounts exceeding this threshold.
for the other 2 i leave it up to stww to explain

for almost all others it is limited to ฿10,000,000 per person per year Subject to tax on the amount of the gift received in excess of 10 million baht in a tax year.

For a gift received by a person who
intends to use the gift for religious, education, public benefit purposes there is no gift tax.

[newtovillagelife]

Will the Prime Minister being ousted, mean this proposed Tax could be scrapped????

Let's hope so!!?

[sometimewoodworker]

Will the Prime Minister being ousted, mean this proposed Tax could be scrapped????

Let's hope so!!?

If you are talking about the possible change to world wide taxation rather than tax on remittances, it quite possibly would.

If you are talking about the slight rule change that has eliminated the “no tax on previous years income” that is certainly not going to be reversed soon if ever.

[FrazeeDK]

just remember that the rule was invigorated as a measure to get wealthy Thais avoiding taxes on overseas income.. It was never something specifically targeting foreigners...

[newtovillagelife]

just remember that the rule was invigorated as a measure to get wealthy Thais avoiding taxes on overseas income.. It was never something specifically targeting foreigners...

Who cares!! We get caught in the net, but for us it"s taxation without representation.
I have a wife and child here. so it makes leaving more difficult, but I managed to stay away enough this year to avoid becoming a tax resident, and on top of that remitted zero funds. If the worldwide taxation goes through next year, I plan on moving the family back to my home country, not worth the hassle and extra tax burden to stay.

[glalt]

Death and taxes are with us forever and cannot be avoided regardless of which country we live in. It was only a matter of time for Thailand to figure out a way to extract money from wealthy Thais and expats. I had a wealthy friend who brought in millions of baht that came from the illegal drug trade. He was never caught but unfortunately he died young because of his abuse of those illegal drugs. He died in Cambodia several years ago.

As for myself, maybe I am fortunate to be able to live comfortably off my US Social Security. Like everyone else, I pay taxes from the Thailand VAT. US Social Security is tax exempt here in Thailand.

[newtovillagelife]

What if your social security was not tax exempt, how would you feel the ?

[tamada]

The more draconian tax law amendment appears to be still a work in progress. The amendment would stipulate that individuals residing in Thailand for 180 days or more must pay personal income tax on income earned overseas, regardless of whether that income is brought into Thailand.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ge ... -the-works

[AlexO]

The more draconian tax law amendment appears to be still a work in progress. The amendment would stipulate that individuals residing in Thailand for 180 days or more must pay personal income tax on income earned overseas, regardless of whether that income is brought into Thailand.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ge ... -the-works

Given that some of the most clever Governments have difficulty forcing tax payments from those who use Offshore Tax Havens I find it quite improbable that the Thai tax collection system will be able to identify income earned abroad but never brought in to Thailand. Wonder if this new legislation is aimed more at the Chinese/Russian 'Businessmen' using Thailand as a Tax Haven

[newtovillagelife]

They will get the information from your
home country, if it's a member of the OECD.

They are going after all foreigners residing in Thailand for 180 days or more.

This has totally upended my retirement plans.

[AlexO]

They will get the information from your
home country, if it's a member of the OECD.

They are going after all foreigners residing in Thailand for 180 days or more.

This has totally upended my retirement plans.

And if you have already paid home country tax why would Thailand think it can tax again if they are in the OECD.
What if you earn outwith your home country.