What do I need to know about the new Long Term Visa for digital nomads in Thailand?

@Ruth ******

I did a quick search - my company is not alone:

7

Also there are many people (often with Thai partners) who work for Corporations overseas and spend as many weeks as they can in Thailand (holidaying and working remotely) - they would also qualify, even if their contract doesn't specifically mention remote working.

@Don ********

Hybrid/remote vs. internationally remote are two very different things. Also, throwing hybrid and remote workers into one category misleading. For example, I know someone interviewing with Splunk. Their "remote" workers are go into the office once a week. Would you fly back and forth once a week?

Meanwhile, I have no doubt that companies like Apple and Microsoft that already have employees in Thailand would have the mechanisms to add others. Large companies that don't already have that presence are a very different thing.

And those folks "holidaying" while working are technically doing so illegally. No one really cares, but it's not legal. That's not the discussion here.

@Ruth ******

the whole point of the Professionals Working From Thailand LTR visa is to legalise what is already going on, and encourage those people to spend more weeks of every year in Thailand, and of course part with their hard earned cash on Thai goods and services

@Don ********

gee…thanks for explaining that. I had no idea.

@Ruth ******

you’re welcome 🙂

@Jo *********

WFH is "work from home". If you were following this issue, you'd be familiar with the jargon. Yeah, I know that the requirement of $150M is to attract people with steady income (not "wealthy people" per say). I believe I clearly referenced "large companies". Annual sales is general how the size of a company is determined. SMH.

The restriction may shoot them in the foot. As Ham has stated, a company can have a large number of sales and not actually be profitable. For example, Uber has over $25B in annual sales, but it's not profitable.

@Jo *********

I’m being accused of being arrogant from the guy who mansplained why Thailand is setting an annual sales minimum. That’s rich.

@Judd *********

that’s not how it works.

If you are self employed you only pay 15.3% in taxes to the US, unless you make more than $104,000.

If not self employed then anything under $104,000 that is considered foreign earned(ie you are living out of country) then you dont pay tax on that. Anything over the $104,000 you pay tax on at the percentage of your tax bracket for gross income.

If you pay taxes in another country other than the US it is deducted from your tax liability in the US.

So basically most people that are not self employed don’t pay any tax or barely any.

Typically only the self employed get stick still paying US taxes.

@Sean ********

only pitfall, there is that $104,000 limit, and a tax treaty so you only should pay the higher of the Thai or American tax, but there is no Social Security treaty, the US Social Security. You may be stuck for either seven or 15% of your earned income, regardless of where it is earned. BTW, as far as income, not being taxed in Thailand, if it’s not brought over in the year that it’s earned, you could always transfer money from your savings that you had before the current year.

@Sean ********

I am working for a large publicly traded company and my tax bill is quite large. My compensation is normalized such that I was living in the US. Taxes are due on school costs, housing costs, and other benefits. My global effective rate usually ends up in the low 20% range due to other US tax breaks.

@Judd *********

well then you clearly still have things inside the US that obviously you would be accountable for paying tax on.

There is nothing normal about not having to pay tax on up to $104,000.

If you are paying 20% then you either don’t qualify for foreign earned income which means your comment is irrelevant or you make so much money that I sure don’t have sympathy for you complaining about taxes and maybe you should be paying more.

Also it seems the way you are structured that you wouldn’t even qualify for foreign earned income. Unless I am understanding your comment wrong.

House in the states, kids in private schools etc..

@Sean ********

, not looking for sympathy but just want to understand the structure to best take advantage of being a global executive residing in Thailand. I am earning income in multiple countries from multiple businesses and the taxes are complicated. no doubt. Some income is in China and they charge 45% for high income earners, that creates a credit in the US but my company covers the tax burden. I cannot use that for other unrelated income. I could divert some pay to Thailand to pay the 17% however the US will true it up to my effective rate from the zero to 104k.

@Judd *********

True, US citizens have it differently I get it.

For those who need to pay taxes in Thailand, don't have to pay on the income from abroad as long as it isn't transferred into Thailand in the same year.

@Brandon ***********

thank you!!

@Brandon ***********

hi .. I intend to do this as well but I have yet to get the local insurance. Do you need to submit all the documents to BOI ?

@Kuan *****

just register for the site and you can look at the application yourself

@Jo *********

yep. I originally wanted to get it from the embassy here before I left, but they decided they were going to charge about 57,000 baht based on the terrible exchange rate they gave, instead of the 50,000 it actually costs. So I'm waiting to pickup the visa in Thailand and save that money.