Are holders of a retirement visa living in Thailand for less than 180 days required to file a tax return?

If anyone is interested and cares to research it there is a 2026 draft amendment to the Thai tax law changes in 2024 that will make foreign

Income in the same year etc non taxable . I wonder why this hasn’t been given much exposure

. Maybe because it is not in the interest of all the legal firms scaremongering. ?

What are so many afraid of here?

The Thai tax system is actually quite generous.

The new law is clear.

If you live her for 180 days in a year you have to obtain a tax ID and complete a tax return.

You may have a small income or large makes no difference.

Your local tax office will help. They are far better than the UK where Tax officials act like little Hitlers.

Oh and if you have the pink ID card the tax office use that number as your tax ID….they did mine anyway.

As American it doesn't matter if you lived 180 days or not. You obligated to the United States first. Thai has no say so regardless. United States income tax will always be donto america. Know your laws before you get tricked into doing anything in Thailand.

My understanding is that first, if you are not here more than 180 days then you do not need to file Thai taxes (or US tax reciprocity forms). You don't have to claim remittences.

Second, if you are here more than 180 days - where the money came from and whether it has already been taxed - is the the determinate factor on how you document your remittences (money you bring into Thailand).

Personally, I use savings for remittences exclusively, monies that have previously been taxed in the US with documented proof of age and source. As opposed new income (interest, dividends, social security) that has yet to be taxed (SS is exempt from Thai taxes anyway).

I keep one checking account in the US that is my ACH transfers only account. I transfer savings into that account, then to my Thai bank account (which I only use for my living expenses and ATM withdrawals). For clean record keeping I don't use that US bank account for anything else (no debit card, ATM, or checks), it shows clear transactions of savings to spending.

I make all of my purchase and bill pay (whenever possible) on one of two US credit cards (so I get cash back), and I pay those credit cards from the from that same U.S. account - so I use only previously taxed savings to pay for everything and have a simple summary to show for remittences.

I will file in Thailand this year even though I will declare no income, as that's my understanding of the requirement - proof of remittences from savings. I also want to provide Thai tax documents for myself and my wife (she likely will not owe). This provides the proof on both sides, allowing me to file in the US as "Married filing jointly". This doubles my deductions and lowers my tax bracket when I move pre-tax IRA funds (taxable) to my Roth IRA (tax exempt).

Taxation has been done to death on all the forums with no conclusive answers except from non Thai Accountants scaremongering people doing a restricted occupation in Thailand

What passport you have can make a big difference when you are on a retirement extension as to your tax liability, no matter how long you stay. What can make a difference is how you brought the money into Thailand. You are retired, so Thailand trusts you to not be working in Thailand. They also know that all the money you bring in is spent, up to a certain amount, and then there better be a good paper trail of how the money entered Thailand, for things like condo, vehicle, etc. purchases.

The Revenue Department where I live will not issue me a TIN ,Im going by that

It's more than 6 months in a year so provided you don't do more than 6 months then no. If your subject to tax in your own country and there's a double taxation agreement then no. Anything else is a yes.

No !

have a fairly comprehensive video on their homepage about the latest Thai tax updates.

If stay more than 180 days in 1 year u are liable for tax

You only need to consider tax if the money is earnt in Thailand

If you have paid tax in uk on money you do not pay again in thailand

Side question:

If you’re a DTV holder and therefore not able to open a bank account, you’re not going to be bringing money into Thailand.

Even if you’re a tax resident (over 180 days) then how do they tax you on the foreign remittances into Thailand, when you don’t have a bank account.

Go to a revenue office(สำนักงานสรรพากร) near you to get correct and legit answers instead of guessing who to believe in FB

There's cases of individuals who's source of funds was capital gains by selling either property or stocks, and where the home country had a low tax rate , and who suddenly found out they indeed had to pay thai capital gains taxes on these remitted funds, so if your source of funds is capital gains caused by selling any kind of assets, be very careful and don't try to stay inside the Land of Smiles for more than 180 days, as I'm currently doing

Why would you submit a tax return if you haven't been requested to do so?

I've lived in Thailand for 11 years and haven't bothered, nobody bothers me

If you stay more than 180 days you have to do a tax return, it’s free, very easy and takes 5 minutes.

If you spend a cumulative 180 days inside Thailand in any calendar year you are deemed to be a Thai tax resident. If you then bring assessable income into the country by any means you then need to file a Thai tax return. Whether you then need to actually pay tax will be determined by your individual circumstances

Just stay 179 days a year

If you spend more than 180 days here in a calendar year you become a tax resident and are required to register and file a tax return. Any tax payable will depend on your country's DTA and other applicable deductibles and allowances.

If you stay for 180 days or more in a calendar year you are DEEMED a tax resident (it's NOTHING to do with visas). Being deemed a tax resident does NOT mean you are liable for tax on money you remit into the country. Most countries have a Double Tax Agreement with Thailand which spells out what is taxable and what isn't. You are only liable for tax on ASSESSABLE INCOME, and in many cases, if tax has already been paid, it is probably not taxable again, unless the tax already paid was so low, in which case credits are available for the tax already paid.

first question you have to ask yourself is did you pay taxes on this money? if you pay taxes on income in your home country Thailand has double tax agreements with most countries that does not require you to pay tax twice. be careful what you read on the internet as there are people who want to enrich themselves by creating confusion on such a simple topic!