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Answered3 months ago

What are the tax obligations for DTV holders in Thailand regarding tax residency?

DTV Visa Thai Tax Residency Tax Requirements Expat Taxes Visa Regulations Tax Compliance

Anonymous *************

Anonymous *************

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asked Jul 27, 2026

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Are most people on soft power DTV simply ignoring any paper work with thai tax residency? That seems to be my understanding that most people dont file anything and its unlikely anything will happen as we do not have a bank account in thailand to begin with. What is the consensus on what to do in regards to tax?

Answer summary

Most holders of the soft power DTV visa in Thailand seem to ignore tax obligations related to Thai tax residency. While legally required to file a tax return after staying in Thailand for more than 180 days and remitting money into the country, many expats express that they either do not file or believe enforcement is minimal. Discussions indicate a consensus around the lack of immediate consequences for non-filing, but there are concerns about future enforcement through improved government tracking systems. Despite the apparent lax enforcement, experts recommend complying with tax laws and filing returns, especially to avoid potential issues when returning to their home countries.

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Dave *********

Dave *********

I am amazed at the excuses. Its like nobody is following the nominee crackdown.

Thailand has invested in AI which makes it extremely easy to cross check different databases.

Just because they havent cross checked the immigration records with the tax roles yet doesn’t mean they wont ever.

1

Christopher ***********

Christopher ***********

I'm amazed at the trolling on this group. From DTV crackdowns to 'nominee crackdowns'. With this AI checking we all need to be very afraid! How do you know which databases have and haven't been compared? Do you work for the Thai Cyber Police?

0

Dave *********

Dave *********

@Christopher **********

i dont know why i am even bothering responding to you. At no point did i say thai immigration is using AI to compare with tax roles. What i said is AI makes it extremely easy if they decide to.

Thailand is using AI already to identify possible nominee scams and have already identified over 10,000 possible violations that are being researched.

Seriously how easy would it be to ask the immigration database to make a list of any foreigner who has spent over 181 days in country and have they left the country. Now compare those names to the tax roles to see if they have a TIN. A first year Computer student could program that in their sleep

You are a fool if you think they won’t do something similar to increase their tax revenue. A simple google search for “Thailand tax AI” will update you

1

Dave *********

Dave *********

@Christopher **********

lol. Denial isnt a river in Egypt

0

Christopher ***********

Christopher ***********

Correct, you post fictitious encounters. Who wants to know (or even cares) about Thai income tax? Totally boring troll post. Try better next time.

0

Dave *********

Dave *********

@Christopher **********

i have never asked about questions on reentry. The thread is about filling for a thai tax registration. Do try to keep up

1

Christopher ***********

Christopher ***********

Nobody is worrying about your imaginary issues. Most can spot troll tactics. Maybe devote some more time and effort to your favourite subject of questioning upon entry?

0

Dave *********

Dave *********

@Christopher **********

you may find this interesting. Or maybe not.

*********************************************************************************************

*****

25/immigration-to-be-digitised-with-new-app

0

Dave *********

Dave *********

@Christopher **********

gosh are you thick. Its an example of how Thailand is using AI to find people who are not complying with thai law.

You might contact Lazada to see if you can buy a larger shovel for that hole you are digging yourself into

1

Christopher ***********

Christopher ***********

If you don't know then why suggest? What have nominee scams got to do with DTV? Whilst imagining problems for DTV holders, why not think up and share some workarounds? After all, are we not in this group to assist each other?

0

Farang **********

Farang **********

Seems strange, dtv is a tourist visa as I was reminded by io upon last entry, questioning what I am doing in Thailand

If I’m a tourist allowed to be here for essentially 360 days a year, but can’t work or have bank account, where exactly should be paying tax and how would I even know about such things

Like the 90 day report I had no idea until someone mentioned doing it

0

Magenta********

Magenta********

Well since you're actually working on a DTV while being in Thailand to be fully law abiding you should spend less than 180 days a year here...

In practice like people who are retired many years don't file and haven't had problems.... Yet...

2

Christopher ***********

Christopher ***********

MagentaYuzu5267 Who is 'actually working'? The original poster refers to soft power only. You mention long-term retirees. Are you referring to those who've switched from Non-O to DTV? You appear to be suggesting that DTV holders and also ALL retirees should spend less than 180 days in-country otherwise they might have 'problems'. How do you know this?

0

Magenta********

Magenta********

@Christopher **********

I'm just saying that it keeps you out of this legal problem and doesn't raise the tax question...

But sure if you don't have an income from work and your DTV is soft power, but if you spending all the time in Thailand you either have income or saved up money then...

It remains to be seen if all the negativities we see of anon people reporting entering on DTV is going to become a permanent issue.

It seems a little bit silly that maybe forcing people to get the "a visa" and then once people get the visa they start questioning them and harassing them like previously...

Just makes me start wondering if we're going to start harassing people entering on retirement extensions also? At least I have never seen such a report...

1

Christopher ***********

Christopher ***********

MagentaYuzu5267 Anonymous participant is asking what soft power DTV holders are doing about their tax? It's yourself that's suggesting there is a 'legal problem'. In reality, nobody is aware of any problem. It's already been established that remitting money into Thailand can be using an ATM, debit/credit card or QR code payment. Many people view anonymous reports of issues upon entering Thailand as troll posts only. There is no harassment by IOs, only the odd routine question and/or 'Passenger Statement Form' requesting financial information. Why do you wonder about harassing retirees with retirement extensions? You say you've never seen any report.

0

Marianne ********

Marianne ********

MagentaYuzu5267 DTV does not limit your total days in Thailand to 180 days.

3

Christopher ***********

Christopher ***********

@Marianne *******

Absolutely. A stay can be up to 360 days. After that you must exit but can reenter the same day and then stay for a further maximum of 360 days. Can repeat for the entire 5 year validity of the DTV.

1

Sefton ********

Sefton ********

Currently there is zero enforcement of this legal requirement. Even if it was enforced, visas like marriage and retirement would be easier to control and I assume looked at first (proof of returns at extension).

I think most ignore this, despite it being law.

3

Anonymous ******************

Anonymous ******************

What you do or wanna do is up to you. The best thing we can do is to use logic.

0

Elías ********

Elías ********

You don't need to worry about if it you don't remit any money 🤷🏻

0

Dany ********

Dany ********

@Elías *******

how do you pay for anything if you dont remit any money? 😅

3

Elías ********

Elías ********

QR codes of my home country bank app

0

Stefan ******

Stefan ******

@Elías *******

yes you do remit money there. The only difference is youre not a tax resident in these places and they have other rules

1

Marianne ********

Marianne ********

@Elías *******

You obviously don't understand what remitting money actually means.

Any money spent in Thailand, if it does not come from Thailand, is remitted.

Using cards? Remitting.

ATM? Remitting.

Scan with home country banking app? remitting.

Bringing cash? remitting.

Any foreign money spent in Thailand is remitted money.

4

John **********

John **********

@Elías *******

which is remitting

3

Elías ********

Elías ********

@Marianne *******

I'm not

0

Marianne ********

Marianne ********

@Elías *******

So you are remitting money.

2

Dany ********

Dany ********

@Elías *******

exactly how it works. yes… difference is that you most likely dont spend 180+ days per year in these countries and that you therefore are not a tax resident in those countries. thats why it doesnt matter at all… but of course any of your transaction is tracked and reported. CRS and other reporting agreements exist for a reason. inform yourself about what remittance means.

4

Elías ********

Elías ********

so every time I visit Japan or Switzerland and buy something at McDonald's, I'm doing a "remittance" by that logic? 🙄

0

Dany ********

Dany ********

@Elías *******

The moment you pay for anything in thailand is considered a remittance. 🤦‍♀️ because your money moves into a thai account. i think that was always pretty clear in the discussion of money remittance… has nothing to do with owning a thai account or not. any cross border transfer is a transaction that you would be liable to report in a tax filing. that are the rules. even if there is no enforcement (yet) and people dont care

6

Luit *****************

Luit *****************

@Elías *******

Living without remitting any money is a bit difficult, don't you think?

0

Elías ********

Elías ********

@Luit ****************

not for us, people with Asian bank accounts

1

Luit *****************

Luit *****************

@Elías *******

How can you pay with money that is not brought into Thailand?

0

Elías ********

Elías ********

@Luit ****************

that's not what our/my bank and national tax authority say, but whatever 🤷🏻

Thais paying in Korea with the TrueMoney app aren't doing a remittance either.

0

Luit *****************

Luit *****************

@Elías *******

When money you spend in Thailand comes from without Thailand, you remit money, no matter where it comes from, Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia or America.

Also not matters how you get it into Thailand, cash, (international) bank account or credit card.

0

PolishedP**********

PolishedP**********

Why I’ve to pay?

I’m a tourist with DTV visa and I can’t open any Thai bank account.

I I wouldn’t pay anything in any case, because I work and live in a country where I pay three times as much tax as in Thailand, but I work remotely.

In any case, they should check and tax the money I transfer into my Thai bank account – but they won’t let me open one, so I’m supposed to declare it. Please explain this to me.

I’ve spoken to several lawyers and they’ve advised me against doing so; and if they ever ask me for anything, I’ll provide my tax documents from my home country and pay a fine of 2,000 baht.

4

Sefton ********

Sefton ********

PolishedPeacock6002 why should you ?? I mean it's the law, so..

1

PolishedP**********

PolishedP**********

@Sefton *******

so how they check money that I import in Thai?

In any case I pay more in my country so there isn’t any problem

0

Sefton ********

Sefton ********

PolishedPeacock6002 you have a legal obligation to declare it.. THAT is the check. Thailand is now a member of the CRS so can obtain bank records.

They have the right to ask for an audit / proof if they suspect false declaration for IIRC 5 years.

1

PolishedP**********

PolishedP**********

Excuse me, but if they give you a 5-year visa that lets you stay as long as you want, why shouldn’t they let you open a bank account to deposit your money—which you can then use for everyday expenses?

Until a few years ago, they allowed even ordinary tourists staying as little as one month to open one; now, people who are essentially living legally in Thailand are treated like criminals.

If, on the other hand, you knew the laws, you’d know that you’d be taxed on the money you bring into Thailand for your expenses: so if you deposit money into your account every month, at the end of the year you pay taxes based on the corresponding tax bracket, and they only check that amount—not your salary, which they can’t calculate because you’re employed by a foreign government: this rule, I repeat, makes no practical sense for employees of foreign companies who work remotely, and all this talk you’re having is pointless.

We’re not the ones breaking the law—it’s them who want to take money from foreigners but make half-baked laws

0

Empatheti**********

Empatheti**********

PolishedPeacock6002Bro why you so angry The banking regulations have changed, but the Immigration Bureau’s regulations have not. They are separate sets of regulations

0

John **********

John **********

PolishedPeacock6002 that 5 year visa allows you to stay 180 days at a time. Do you think it's just a coincidence that 180 days also coincides with the number of days per annum that also makes you a Thai tax resident?

0

Dany ********

Dany ********

PolishedPeacock6002 remitting money has nothing to do with having a bank account here… any transfer that you do to a thai account is „remitting money“. same as the ATM withdrawal. in theory YOU are liable to show all the proof of any remittance. plus your home country tax filings. plus a thai tax filing which then might result in 0. But theoretically you have to jump through all of these hoops… in reality people dont care and there is no enforcement (yet). that doesnt make it correct so 🤷‍♀️

2

Marianne ********

Marianne ********

you don't even need to make withdrawals.

Just using a card is remitting money as well.

2

Dany ********

Dany ********

@Marianne *******

yes very true. any cross border transaction is a remittance.

1

Luit *****************

Luit *****************

PolishedPeacock6002 Why should you need a Thai bank account to bring money in.

Since you are supposed not to earn money in Thailand, and have to pay cost of living, you should bring money in.

If paying three times as much money in your home country is a valid reason not to file tax in Thailand depends on the DTA of your country with Thailand.

0

Anonymous ******************

Anonymous ******************

Like the haters say it’s just a

Tourist visa, let the boomers pay their taxes

1

Luit *****************

Luit *****************

Anonieme deelnemer 587 Visa has nothing to do with tax liability.

0

Anonymous ******************

Anonymous ******************

They don't care about taxing DTV holders. Boomers need to pay up

0

Anonymous ******************

Anonymous ******************

@Luit ****************

dtv holders don’t have money in Thailand because no bank account. Just withdrawing from home country bank so no tax liability.

0

Greg ******

Greg ******

Anonymous participant 587 Wrong. Remitted money could be taxable depending on various factors. You don't need a thai bank to remit money here.

0

Luit *****************

Luit *****************

Anonieme deelnemer 587 When you pay someone IN Thailand, that means you have money IN Thailand.

3

Dany ********

Dany ********

Anonymer Teilnehmer 587 that is technically incorrect. all money that you remit is taxable. dont need to have a bank to remit money. an ATM withdrawal or any wise/revolut transfer to a thai account would already be „remitting money“ which is taxable…. but in reality there is currently no enforcement.

2

Marianne ********

Marianne ********

I am not on a DTV.

But I save around 150 000 baht a year by paying my tax in Thailand.

4

Greg ********

Greg ********

The vast majority of the 100k on "O" visa do not file and they do have bank accounts. Late 2023 there were lots of scare stories from newly minted tax advisors and their bed wetting simps that tax and immigration would be linked but that has not come to pass either.

3

Radoslaw ********

Radoslaw ********

Yes, its self reporting. Up to you if you want to contribute to government elite.

0

John **********

John **********

@Radoslaw *******

many countries have a self reporting requirement. In the UK if you earn more than £1000 from self employment or have any unearned income you are legally required to file a tax return, whether the tax man asks you to file or not. Failing to file on time invokes penalties. Pretty similar to Thailand really. I don't know where your from but I wouldn't imagine it would be much different. Oh and if you are a UK tax resident they tax on your global income

0

Luit *****************

Luit *****************

@Radoslaw *******

self reporting does not mean it is voluntary.

1

Radoslaw ********

Radoslaw ********

@Luit ****************

Even with zero enforcement, you still choose to voluntary donate your earnings to governments that will just waste it on warfare?

0

Luit *****************

Luit *****************

@Radoslaw *******

Tax is not voluntary, you have to file tax when you are tax resident and DTA does not exclude this obligation and you have income.

You don't have to agree with the way they use the tax money.

If you not agree with the way Thailand uses tax money, you should prevent being tax resident in the country.

0

Radoslaw ********

Radoslaw ********

@Luit ****************

At the end of the day, those who pay voluntary will make the government stronger and more capable of taking more wealth of its citizens. You will end up in a prison of labor.

0

YrMomsF*******

YrMomsF*******

What taxes? If they start taxing foreigners who don't earn money in Thailand, there will be a mass exodus including retirees. Thailand can choose that option and become like Bhutan or whatever but then they'll have to live like the Bhutanese.

6

Austin ********

Austin ********

YrMomsFavGuest Good point if they enforced it I’d just go to Vietnam or Ph 😂

0

BlueElep********

BlueElep********

@Austin *******

Vietnam tax worldwide income ( remitted or not ) , have fun

0

Austin ********

Austin ********

@John *********

Can hop back and forth 😂

0

John **********

John **********

@Austin *******

no different to Thailand in that respect

0

Austin ********

Austin ********

BlueElephant4528 Stay there less than 180 days and just head to other countries during the other part of the year to avoid being taxed

0

Jim *******

Jim *******

If you are resident in Thailand more than 180 days in a calendar year

Legally you have to do a Thai tax return if you are remitting money in to Thailand.

You will have to pay tax on the sliding Thai tax scale.

If your country has a dual tax as agreement you can offset tax with a credit.

I’m on a DTV I have a tax id I filed I’m March this year for 2025.

I prefer to live by the rules and be transparent my Thai tax bill was very low.

14

David ********

David ********

do you have a tax thai agency you recommend?

1

Jim *******

Jim *******

Go to your local tax office tell them what you remitted and show what tax you paid in your home country they gave me a bill there and then.

If you’ve not got one they will give you a Thai tax id

0

Urs ********

Urs ********

this is a reliable agent too:

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0

Urs ********

Urs ********

They made my tax return in the last 2 years.

1

Urs ********

Urs ********

Highly professional and recommend.

*********************************

0

AnimeLvr *******

AnimeLvr *******

Are you referring to becoming a Thai tax resident if you're in Thailand more than 180 days in a calendar year?

1

John **********

John **********

What happens to you in your own country if you are required to file a tax return and don't?

4

Elías ********

Elías ********

@John *********

in my own country the national tax service sends a reminder to every person 🤭

1

John **********

John **********

@Elías *******

that wasn't the question though

4

John **********

John **********

@Elías *******

if they need to pay tax then they'll get a TIN by showing their tax return ready to file

0

Elías ********

Elías ********

@John *********

in here, meanwhile, many DTVers who have visited a tax office to get a TIN issued have been told by the tax AUTHORITIES they don't need any 🤷🏻

0

แดนนี่ ****

แดนนี่ ****

Correct

I know tons of people with DTV

None are doing anything with taxes

It doesn’t make sense to

There is nothing to do.

We don’t have bkk accounts as well like you said

My country has double tax laws

And I pay taxes there

There’s nothing for me to do

10

William ********

William ********

@แดนนี่ ***

interesting train of thought that you don’t need to pay taxes if you don’t have a bank account.

Guess it’s time to close my accounts 😂

0

Marianne ********

Marianne ********

@แดนนี่ ***

Don't need a local bank a account.

My country also has double tax laws, which makes it clear I am supposed to pay taxes on money spent in Thailand if I am a tax resident there.

... So I do that, and I save roughly 150 000 baht in total taxes by doing so.

0

Sefton ********

Sefton ********

@แดนนี่ ***

you have a legal liability to file a return, even if you have dta protected income.

You can ignore that, but pretending that legally there is nothing to do is incorrect.

0

Elías ********

Elías ********

@แดนนี่ ***

same here

1

Guy ******

Guy ******

Only liable if you bring money in. And then it’s up to you what you do. Assuming you are an adult.

1

Dany ********

Dany ********

do you live off thin air or how do you pay for your life in thailand? 🤣

0

Marianne ********

Marianne ********

how do you live without bringing money in?

3

Elías ********

Elías ********

@Marianne *******

for people with Asian bank accounts (China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Cambodia, etc.) is very easy. Our native accounts support the Thai QR code system (and vice versa, Thais can also use their QR codes to pay there) to pay.

0

Marianne ********

Marianne ********

@Elías *******

That is bringing in money.

3

Christopher ***********

Christopher ***********

Why ask contentious questions here? Perhaps for your own amusement?

5

Toni *******

Toni *******

You can live by the rules, or ignore them. Just remember when going back to your home country, dont expect the immigrants to follow the law if you dont yourself in Thailand :)

4

Knowledgeabl************

Knowledgeabl************

Pensioners in coming

2

Dany ********

Dany ********

yes most people ignore it

7

Tore *********

Tore *********

not in my experience 🤷🏻‍♂️. Only the bar stool experts seem to think rules don’t apply to them….

I bring in money. I file my taxes, I pay net zero tax in Thailand after deductions (as is the case for most non working foreigners). But om compliant and have my paperwork in order. Ive also actually been audited once.

Thailand isn’t the 3rd world country some seem to think.

1

Dany ********

Dany ********

sounds like you are not a dtv holder…

0

Tore *********

Tore *********

im most definitely a DTV holder. I also save allot in capital gains tax by being Thai tax resident.

Visa residency has zero to do with the visa you hold. 180+ days is the only factor that matters for tax residency.

1

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