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Can an expat declare their income and pay taxes in Thailand with a DTV visa?
Mar 13, 2025
a year ago
Julien ********
ORIGINAL POSTERHello everyone
I have a question about Tax with DTV but because it’s new then maybe we will not find the answer.
Some people are saying that the DTV visa is a tourist visa where you can stay 6 month in Thailand but because it’s a tourist visa it’s not made to pay tax in Thailand.
Others are saying that you can do a border run and stay more then 6 month in Thailand and then you can go to the tax office the year after and declare your the revenu that you bring into Thailand before the 1st of March to be Thai tax resident.
So my question is : If you are expat from your country, can you declare what you bring into Thailand and pay your tax on it in Thailand with a DTV visa ?
Thank you if someone have the answer :-)
I have a question about Tax with DTV but because it’s new then maybe we will not find the answer.
Some people are saying that the DTV visa is a tourist visa where you can stay 6 month in Thailand but because it’s a tourist visa it’s not made to pay tax in Thailand.
Others are saying that you can do a border run and stay more then 6 month in Thailand and then you can go to the tax office the year after and declare your the revenu that you bring into Thailand before the 1st of March to be Thai tax resident.
So my question is : If you are expat from your country, can you declare what you bring into Thailand and pay your tax on it in Thailand with a DTV visa ?
Thank you if someone have the answer :-)
TLDR : Answer Summary
The DTV visa holders can indeed declare their income and potentially pay taxes in Thailand if they reside in the country for 180 days or more within a calendar year, thereby becoming tax residents. This applies regardless of the visa type; the key factor is the duration of stay. Tax obligations include filing by the end of March the following year for any assessable income remitted to Thailand. However, accessing a Thai bank account under a DTV visa can pose challenges, which may affect the ability to assess tax liability.
DTV VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
- Take the basic DTV Qualification Test to see if you're eligible for the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV).
- For immediate assistance, contact Thai Visa Centre directly via LINE at @ThaiVisaCentre or Email them.
- Explore recent discussions by using the DTV Visa tag in the search box at the top of the page.
- Join the Thai Visa Advice Facebook Group to ask your questions, and get advice from others.
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Luit *****************
Visa and tax are unrelated to each other, when you are 180 days or more in total in a calendar year in Thailand, you will be considered tax resident, and might have to pay taxes depending on your situation, but not on your visa.
Felipe *********
@Luit ****************
correct, most people won't have to pay taxes anyway.Luit *****************
@Felipe ********
That just depends on the situation, some people prefer to pay lower Thai taxes and not high taxes in their home country, and depending on DTA and type of income there are possibilitiesReply to
Luit *****************
Reply
Peter **********
I can't get a Thai bank account on DTV. It is not possible. So I suspect it will be hard to assess tax liability without this. I'll just have to live off my wife
Pete *******
You automatically become Thai tax resident after spending, consecutively or not, 180 days inside the Kingdom in a given calendar year. Domestic income is taxed from day 1. Foreign sourced income is liable for tax once you become tax resident. Only “assessable” income is taxed. What is assessable income depends on the source of the funds, your tax residency status and the wording of any double taxation treaty in place. A remittance is classed as any interaction with the Thai banking system so this includes ATM withdrawals, money transfers etc. Use of credit is not a taxable event. If you are Thai tax resident and remit assessable income during a tax year above minimum thresholds you are required to file personal income tax by end of March in the following year, there is a small extension if filed online. The fact that you hold a DTV is irrelevant.
Paul *******
@Pete ******
Good luck trying to pay tax based on making an ATm withdrawal. An absolute bunch of nonsense and completely unenforceable. Probably made up by some illegal foreign tax adviser as well.Pete *******
@Paul ******
you display a misunderstanding of how Thai taxation works.Reply to
Pete *******
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James ********
@Pete ******
thanks for your helpful reply ✅Reply to
James ********
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Anonymous ******************
You're a fiscal resident when staying 180 days and more per calendar year whatever the visa or exemption you're holding.
Felipe *********
Anonymous participant 787 no you're not, each person will have a different tax situation.
Jim ********
@Felipe ********
He means after 180 days you are "deemed" to be a tax resident. Being deemed does not necessarily mean you will be assessed for tax, or whether you will even need to submit a tax return. It is simply the first stepNick *******
@Felipe ********
yes you are. Stop burying your head in the sand. If you are here more than 180 days you are considered a tax resident and have to file a return - whether you are actually liable for any tax then depends on many factors.Anonymous ******************
@Felipe ********
I didn't say tax liable I said fiscal resident. That's different. You're a fiscal resident whether you're liable to pay or not when spending 180 days and more per calendar year; that's the law in Thailand and in most countries of this world. If being fiscal resident, you're liable for remitted money to Thailand and amounts depend on treaties.Reply to
Anonymous ******************
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Steve *******
The rule is that if you spend more than 180 days in a calendar year in Thailand, you are liable to pay income tax in Thailand.
What visa you're on, what you do for work, how many sheep you own or how often you fly in and out has no effect on this rule.
Go to your local tax office and get a tax identification number so you can pay your taxes in Thailand.
The "others are saying" part of your post is just for people who have just come to Thailand and don't want to become tax residents before they've been here for 180 days first. They still have to pay taxes here after that.
What visa you're on, what you do for work, how many sheep you own or how often you fly in and out has no effect on this rule.
Go to your local tax office and get a tax identification number so you can pay your taxes in Thailand.
The "others are saying" part of your post is just for people who have just come to Thailand and don't want to become tax residents before they've been here for 180 days first. They still have to pay taxes here after that.
Julien ********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Steve ******
ok but to get a tax identification number from the local tax office you need to be eligible in term of visa and adresse etc. I think they don’t give it to you just like that… So how do you declare your revenu if you are in Thailand with a tourist visa ? Are you paying tax here or do you know someone got a tax id with a tourist visa ?
Steve *******
@Julien *******
you go to your local tax office and ask what you need for a TIN. This is Thailand, there is no general rule for every location, nothing is consistent in this country. So you'll have to see what your particular tax office needs.Basic documents they will ask for are a bank statement from your thai bank, a work contract showing income and an address in Thailand.
Now, because this is Thailand, there is no way for them to enforce this rule and make you pay taxes here, yet, since they don't check how much money you bring into the country unless you report it yourself. They do however have the right and international agreements to check your accounts in other countries. The chance of this happening is probably around 1% right now though.
Reply to
Steve *******
Reply
Felipe *********
@Steve ******
it's not a rule, each person has a different situation, some people have no income either, let's stop setting "rules" that don't exist.Steve *******
@Felipe ********
it is a rule in almost every country, that once you spend a certain amount of time there, you become a tax resident. Don't spread ignorance because you dont want to believe it.Reply to
Steve *******
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John **********
Yes. If you spend 180 days or more inside Thailand in any calendar year then you are a Thai tax resident in that year. If you are due to pay tax you must do so by the end of March the following year. How much tax you have to pay, if any, will depend on how much income you bring into Thailand that year, whether you can claim for any tax already paid in another country and so on
Felipe *********
@John *********
let's stop with the misinformation please, tax residency does not work like this, please each of you should discuss this with an accountant or a tax lawyer.Jim ********
@Felipe ********
What @John *********
says is correct, although there are other factors which come into the equation, most significantly the DTA relevant to your country. It is more important to read this document and absorb its contents before even seeing a tax "expert", many of whom have already given misleading information on Facebook groupsAnonymous ******************
@Felipe ********
He is correct.- Fiscal (tax) residency in Thailand applies to individuals who spend 180 days or more in the country within a calendar year.
- Are you 100% liable to pay taxes as a fiscal resident? NO, tax liability arises when remitting money to Thailand and depends on tax treaties between Thailand and your home country.
For your information, I have been paying taxes in Thailand for 12 years as a work permit holder...
Felipe *********
Anonymous participant 787 I do not have permit to work under the DTV nor I remit money to Thailand, I function exclusively on credit cards and I was told by a tax lawyer I should not worry because a tax calculation on my circumstances is impossible to calculate.
Luit *****************
@Felipe ********
money brought in by creditcard is also bringing in money. It does not need to be cash. And living in Thailand, not working in Thailand, and not bringing in money from outside looks quite suspicious, don't you think?John **********
@Felipe ********
using credit cards to obtain money in Thailand IS remitting that money to ThailandFelipe *********
@John *********
it's not to use the credit card on a daily basis, and this is from a tax accountant. I do not use cash, only buy at places were cards are taken, so I don't have these issues.John **********
@Felipe ********
by using your card in Thailand you are remitting money in Thailand, whoever told you otherwise is wrong. Whether or not there is a tax implication for you will depend on 1. Being tax resident in Thailand and 2. What pays your card charges, income or pre 2024 savingsFelipe *********
@John *********
again, that's not correct, please check your sources, I have paid and used a reputable accountant, credit is not taxed, not here nor anywhere else, also, this is how most millionaires operate, so they don't pay income tax, because they don't have an income, it's all debt, again check your sources, you are 100% wrong.Julien ********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Jim *******
ok but probably impossible to evaluate the purpose of the billions of transactions…Felipe *********
@Julien *******
as long as there is no clear instructions from the authorities (which there aren't) let's just ignore it, not even European countries and USA will tax credit card usage, Thailand definitely won't be able to track the ways I get money here, especially when crypto is involved.Luit *****************
@Felipe ********
You may be right that Thailand does not track the money, but you are responsible to tell them, and tax fraud might be punished, all up to you if you want to take that risk.Jim ********
@Julien *******
The bank whose ATM you use reports transactions to Thailand Revenue. If you're making a significant number it will raise flags.John **********
@Felipe ********
credit is not taxed but it matters how you pay off that credit. Say you use a credit card for all your spending in Thailand and every month you clear the balance on your credit card using money in a bank account which you have had paid in there from monthly income. Then you are in effect remitting that income and would be due tax on it. Obviously if you clear the balance in some other way not involving income that doesn't applyReply to
John **********
Reply
Alex *********
@John *********
So what counts as bringing money into thailand? Is taking money out of an ATM with a bank and card for your country tax liable if over the 180 day mark? Is that considered income on that basis? How strict are they about enforcing this? Will they make you pay taxes at immigration when they see you have been there for more than 180 days 😅Felipe *********
@Alex ********
as per my tax accountant advice, if you do not withdraw cash and function on credit cards which is possible, there is no way Thailand can take any tax money from you, let the geniuses here pay the bill, live on a credit card.John **********
@Alex ********
yes using an ATM counts as bringing money into Thailand but whether it is assessable for tax depends on the source of the money, only income is assessable for tax. There is nothing to pay after 180 days, after the end of the tax (calendar) year you file a tax return if you are liable for tax and then pay the tax. You pay to the Revenue Department not immigrationAlex *********
@John *********
thanks for the valuable input! So if it’s money saved in your bank 🏦 it’s not considered income? How do they determine that? Is it whether the income is earned in the US or digitally in Thailand 🇹🇭? Definitely confusingJim ********
@Alex ********
Using a credit card is also considered a "remittance".Felipe *********
@Jim *******
not to pay using one, only cash withdrawals.Jim ********
@Felipe ********
It's still classified as a "remittance" for taxation purposes. It's still bringing money into the countryAlex *********
@Felipe ********
Do you use Revolut?John **********
@Alex ********
savings accumulated prior to *****
/2024 are exempt. Savings accumulated from that date onwards will always have some sort of income element whether that's from earnings, interest or whatever. It doesn't matter where the income is earned, it's bring that income into Thailand that's relevantAlex *********
@John *********
Interesting, thanks for all your valuable input. This group is awesome, been 11 days still waiting on my DTV app from the LA consulate. accidentally turned in investment account documents instead of traditional bank docs 😬 I emailed them waiting to hear back. Might have to transfer the funds to a normal bank. The money is not invested but it is in cash in my investment account.Reply to
Alex *********
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