Do British pensioners need a TIN in Thailand to file UK income for tax exemption?

Never never get into something without being personally asked. Stay under the radar.

I don't know about the TIN, but the rule is if you're in the country for 180+ days of the year you're supposed to report any outside income (so presumably you'd need a TIN). Any monies you bring into the country are considered a Remittance that needs to be reported. The distinction, and what you should track - is was that money income, or have you already paid taxes on it two years prior?

I live off of savings, I have a structured and documented paper trail that allows me to show that this money is not income, is existing, already taxed (two years prior) savings. So, if you're living off of this year's income (pension/SS) you're supposed to pay the tax in Thailand first, then report back to your home country using the appropriate reciprocity scheme for your situation.

Done my Thai tax return since it became legal for me to do so. Zero to pay both years under the DTA with the UK.

1.Taxable Person

Taxpayers are classified into “resident” and “non-resident”. “Resident” means any person residing in Thailand for a period or periods aggregating more than 180 days in any tax (calendar) year. A resident of Thailand is liable to pay tax on income from sources in Thailand as well as on the portion of income from foreign sources that is brought into Thailand. A non-resident is, however, subject to tax only on income from sources in Thailand.

Anyone who is resident in Thailand for more than 179 days in any tax year and has been told by the Thai Revenue Department that they don't need to obtain a TIN and/or send in a tax return would be well advised to get that in writing. Without that, you will have no defence if you run into problems later. The new rules are quite clear and are readily available online.

It has helped me immensely having a Thai TIN.

I have a US friend who pays a tax advisor in Bangkok 7k baht a year to file his tax return and tell him he doesn't owe any tax :D I personally think he is stupid, but looking at some of the posts on here, he's not on his own :D

Quite a few foreigners here don’t think that they have to file a tax report nor having a TIN. Well, it’s a wait and see game. What will happen when the authorities find out that the one is not in compliance with Thai law? The financial punishment not to comply are already draconian. And most nations have DTA,s with Thailand obliterating the tax anyway. So why take the risk? Is just common sense.

Why would you do that ??

My buddy decided to do the right thing & went to his local Tax office. They had no idea what he was on about but quickly came up with a formula to deprive him of a couple of thousand baht. I'm doing nothing till summoned.

I’ve been to the local tax office twice, showed them my financial situation, monies I bring into the country and what I thought were my allowances, they agreed with my allowances and before we even spoke about DTA’s told me ‘No need for TIN, no tax to pay’….. won’t bother them again…

Why is when someone has Tax questions they refer to FaceBook?

How stupid is this?

I life full time in Thailand but I pay tax in the UK and receive every year a P60 form.

I asked two times at the Thai tax office if I could get a TIN number to show to my European banks.

They informed me that as I pay tax in the UK i don’t have to pay tax in Thailand on the money i transfer and therefore I can’t get a TIN number.

But she didn’t wanted to put in writing of-course.

I don’t know if this is correct but looks like that I can’t get a TIN number and don’t have to pay tax anyhow.

If as I suspect, the 'security deposit' that is required for visas/extensions is taxable. I think there is a good case for petitioning the Thai government for exemption of those sums as, especially in the case of retirement, you are unable to use all or part of those deposits for part/all of the year.

Of course the provisions of any DTA between Thailand and your home country must be taken account of but my understanding of the current tax position for foreigners in Thailand is that foreigners who stay in Thailand for more than 180 days in the Thai tax year must apply for a TIN and submit details of any income they bring into Thailand to the Thai Revenue Department for assessment. That does not necessarily mean that you will pay tax on that money - the allowances in Thailand are pretty reasonable - especially if you're over 65 as you get a much larger allowance. Is your pension taxable? Well it depends – in the case of a UK citizen, people get confused because they may have heard that a UK government pension is not taxable as its covered by the DTA between Thailand and the UK and they think their pension is a Government Pension.

My understanding is that a UK Government Pension is that paid to former government employees. The State Pension that most UK retirees receive is different and is subject to assessment. It may be taxable - even if it wasn't taxable in the UK. The reason for that is that although the allowances are pretty good in Thailand, they are not as high as they are in the UK. A full UK State Pension will take you over the tax free level.

When I worked it out, a foreigner married to a Thai national who is not working and supporting a child who is in education will only actually pay tax when their income reaches around 500,000 baht per year. Therefore most if not all retirees who are resident in Thailand should be paying tax - not a lot though. They certainly should be submitting their financial details for assessment. There are too many variables, allowances etc. that depend on your circumstances to give a 100% accurate tax amount on that income figure.

I am aware that certain visa schemes may be beneficial tax wise. The above only applies to a foreigner on a Non O Visa. I may not be 100% accurate on anything but the baseline here is that any foreigner who stays in Thailand for more than 180 days in any tax year and receives any form of income from abroad should be declaring that income for assessment. In addition - all income received from within Thailand is assessable income.

You have to get a TIN and declare untaxed earnings. More times than not the cost is not as bad as you will expect and sometimes zero.

Dual tax laws mate. The Thais only get 9% of thier own people to pay tax. Dont listen to the accounts who say you need to do it. If they really wanted out tax paid money they would tie it to a visa as a requirement. They are after the scum who work off shore and don’t pay tax anywhere.

You said most years if you are more than 3 consecutive years then yes Tin But all is easier to make sure everything is correct apply fill every year no come back

I applied to HMRC to have my Pension paid tax free as I live permanently in Thailand. I was turned down as the income was paid in the U.K. If the Thailand does decide to tax income from abroad they might reconsider my request. At the end of the day only 25% of Thai people pay tax as their income is out with the tax threshold. I doubt they are going to chase a few O.A.Ps for a few baht from their pensions, they are after bigger fish.

I am not sure about the DTA between UK and Thailand, but by law everyone residing over 180 days in a calendar year is taxable in thailand for money transfered (with some exemtions), for Me as a Norwegian this is like win in Lotto, i save around USD a year in total less paid tax by use the DTA and pay tax to both countries, and who wants to throw away that much money in the hands of your government.

I have a tax number as had business before for 15 years the thai tax office is not

interested now

Have you been specifically told by someone to do that? Or just decided to do it off your own back?

Well a bit confusing if you stay here 180 days out of 365, you should furnish a tax return, so you need a tin number from Revenue. What you bring in over a yearly period is then.subject to tax. But of course Thailand has a DTA with the UK so if you pay tax in UK then don't have to pay tax here, how you prove that to Revenue is up to you. Also remember there are excemptions here that you can claim reducing your total income. I myself don't worry about the DTA as my claims cover a fair bit of income and pay very little tax. It makes it a bit more complicated as one of my pensions is military and called tax paid but tricky to show Revenue how.

I'm not sure I follow this at all. HMRC are never going to tell you you are tax exempt on funds coming into Thailand and the Thai Revenue Department is unlikely to give you a TIN unless you show that you have a requirement to pay Thai tax. It sounds like what you need is a tax accountant familiar with both tax regimes. If you've already paid tax on your income in the UK that doesn't automatically negate the need to file a Thai tax return, in fact you need to do so to claim a credit for tax already paid in the UK on any assessable income you bring into Thailand in any calendar year you are a Thai tax resident

Yep

Why, apart from the 180 days, do you think you need a TIN?