What are the tax implications for staying in Thailand for 6 months or more?

@Andy ***********

your ignorance on Thai tax law shines brightly….

@Pete ******

Why don't you go to the source of information that will tell you everything. All you do is spout your bs. You know NOTHING

@Carey ********

no, I’m just a simpleton who has read the Revenue Code for myself.

@Tony *******

the problem is that there has been no effort to inform the 100s of 1000s of Farangs living in the village about the new tax regulations.

@David *********

no the problem is that the 100s of 1000's of farangs didn't take the time to understand the tax laws when they moved here. They have always been in place, the thresholds & tax rates etc may have changed over the years, and what is taxable and is not. Those that did take the time, and knew they could avoid tax complications by holding money abroad until the next tax year before remitting it are the only ones effected by the change which was well comunicated at the time. Everybody else is just learning what they should have been doing for years, which is not something the government should have to explain.

@Peter *********

not me. I will only be in Thailand 140 days in 2024. Next year, I will wait and see what happens with this tax mess.

@David *********

Which “tax mess”?

@Peter *********

89/navigating-new-foreign-income-rules

@David *********

Again some story about non-existent rules.

“I am considering of flying to the moon by moving my left pinky.”

The whole “worldwide income” thing is just bs to scare people and confuse them. If the government “is considering” to drive on the right hand side of the road then that doesn’t imply you need to change your steering wheel today or tomorrow.

Everybody still drives left (or something which looks like “left”) and all the fuzz about far away future laws is currently totally irrelevant. I don’t even understand why you mention it to me.

@Peter *********

that's why I call it a "tax mess". Different announcements by different officers in the RD about imminent changes in Thai taxation.

Which changes do you believe will be implemented in 2025?

@David *********

none

The confusion is not caused by an RD saying that they “are considering” new rules.

The confusion is caused by people adding such stories about non existent rules into a discussion about current rules merely to prove that everything is a mess. In this case that would be you.

The current rules are quite clear and there little to be confused about. These rules exist for many years already with the only interpretation change that since /2024 “savings” relates to unspent income from years before you become tax resident.

Suddenly everyone starts to panic because they may have to pay tax which they in fact already had to pay since many years except for the few that kept their taxable income foreign until after year end. The whole thing is fairly ridiculous because nothing much has changed.

On top of that, most of us won’t pay a thing or maybe little. I will probably have to pay some 1000 to 2000 baht per year extra in order to live in a country where my money is worth at least three times more than in my home country. How about that for a fantastic deal?

@Peter *********

the multiple announcements by RD officials of different implementations of tax schemes for resident Farangs.

@David *********

there's only been 2 official announcements, neither are complicated

@John *********

The biggest problem in the whole thing is that people get some allergic cramps when they think of paying tax and stop thinking rationally.

YouTubers and “Tax lawyers” happily abuse that to scare people and confuse them as much as possible in order to generate clicks and clientele respectively.

Unfortunately some people keep echoing the abuse. People need to calm down. Surely for some of us it means opening up the wallet (that includes me) but the effect will be minimal for most.

Those that will be heavily taxed are likely those whose income deserves to be taxed and I have zero pity for them.

That all said… Like with every generic rule, there will be some who get hurt (financially) more than they should. A very little group of people. I sincerely hope things will work out in a just way for them.

@Pete ******

Depends on individual circumstances, but it's all there is the DTAs on the TRO website. In my own individual case (and I'm sure there's others in similar situations) I'm a dual tax resident (have been for years - many people believe the 180 day rule is something new, which it most certainly isn't), but due to the tie-breaker contained within my home country's DTA, I retain full tax residency in my home country, which is further backed up by the conditions that my pension is only taxable in the country of residency, which is my home country. I've been in Thailand for 15 years and looked into this years ago, and have never required a tax ID or a tax return as I have the certificate of tax residency from my home country. Naturally those that have severed all ties with their home country might be in a different position, but there's certainly no blanket rule

@Andy ***********

so you agree there is no magical tax free pixie dust that you can sprinkle over expats. Your statement that expats are non taxable is false. We agree that a person’s tax status is unique and based on their personal financial situation and that all tax resident expats are subject to Thai tax law.

@Pete ******

I was stating the small change to the tax rules is targeting wealthy Thai citizens, not the non-taxable retirees. Sadly, like many on Facebook you twisted what I said and inferred I was applying it to all expats. Many expats work in Thailand so if course they pay tax, many are digital nomads who, should they bring in untaxed money, will have to pay tax. I was referring to one category of expat. If you have full tax residency in Thailand and nowhere else, of course you must pay tax, that's the same everywhere in the world.

@Andy ***********

… and then you start to defend your mistake by limiting your generic statement to a single category (which you didn’t in your statement so Pete is totally right when telling you wrong) and you make the next mistake after mistake, merely because you limit your view to a single type of person who probably fits into your limited view of the world… Let me just address the last erroneous statement and then I give up.

“If you have full tax residency in Thailand and nowhere else, of course you must pay tax, that’s the same everywhere in the world.”

First of all you don’t have a clue about “everywhere else in the world” so you’re entitlement to make such a statement is zero and non existent.

Secondly, if you are Thai tax resident and nowhere else, you must only pay tax if you have taxable income. Again an omitted limitation. Your generic statement ignores a large group of people who have close to zero taxable income and who thus may have to pay zero tax.

My advice to you;

1) Please refrain from making statements about taxes when you’re not capable of acknowledging that there are many many different people with equally many different backgrounds which puts them in many many different tax categories.

2) For your personal sake, find help about tax laws. Consult someone who can tell you beyond doubt to which extent you might be taxable or not. Acknowledge your limitations and don’t feel ashamed of not knowing every detail if the laws of a country with an unfamiliar language and an unfamiliar alphabet.

@Peter *********

I lose interest in your long-winded f*cked up rhetorics after two sentences. You really have no clue do you? Read the DTAs instead of sprouting bs 😂😂😂

@Andy ***********

Maybe you need to either follow a course how to write what you want to write, or a course how to read what you wrote.

You clearly stated “It’s Thai citizens who are being targeted, not expat retirees, who remain non-taxable.”

There are too many mistakes in this statement. First of all it’s completely irrelevant whom the rules change targets. It might be targeted at polar bears, but as soon as penguins fall under the same criteria the law applies to them too. Whether they are polar bears or not.

1) The law might not target expats, but as soon as they are within the criteria set by the law, which quite likely includes every expat in Thailand, they are within the boundaries of the tax laws.

2) Expats remain non-taxable. It’s a funny thought because this seems to imply that expats were ever no -taxable. Not true. Since the law was created, I believe in previous century, expats are just as taxable as anyone else as soon as they reach the 180-days-in-Thailand limit. There are rules which parts of their income was taxable and there are treaties on a per country basis which reduce the tax load on some nationals. However, if you check the list you would soon find out that there are no DTAs with both the North Pole and Antarctica, meaning that both polar bears as well as penguins will become taxable as soon as they stay here 180 days in a calendar year (provided they declare themselves human beings).

There indeed is (almost) nothing new here. Expat retirees were always taxable but could reduce their ass-essable income by lifting their income transfer over the year end. But this has changed. Since /2024 only savings as per 31 dec 2023 can be taxfree brought to Thailand.

For new expats nothing changed, being that income earned in years before they become taxable resident will not become taxable no matter when it’s brought to Thailand.

That’s all. Do *not* state that “expats remain untaxed” merely because because dta with your particular country happens to protect your particular income from being taxed in Thailand!

There is no such general rule!

@Peter *********

F*ck! How bored are you to sit there writing long-winded crap posts? EXPAT RETIREES WILL NOT BE TAXED IN THAILAND. Got it now? Sheesh!

@Andy ***********

Expat retirees are taxed in Thailand unless their income is excluded by a dta! Get that into your thick skull!

@Peter *********

Yep! 😂😂😂

@Galenus *****

hey smart guy,the big brother from my girlfriend is the boss from immi-Rayong and U-Tapao he know more than you !!!

@Michael *****

what does this mean?

"You need to see an accountant in Pattaya, they seem to be clued up on this question, as no ferang in pattaya has actually gone through the new tax arrangements for foreign sourced income."

@John *******

I am 100% sure my Thai tax liability for 2024 is zero. If you want we can place a good bet.