What is "income"?

Does "income" include any savings and cash deposits you have held before and which had been taxed already in your home country?

If I hold half a million US Dollars in assets from selling real estate in 2022. Is this classified as "income"?

The answer is "no" and I doubt I owe the Thai tax revenue anything if I bring these monies over to use them for my living expenses

You can bring in any overseas income you received prior to /2023 without any tax liability, these basically become savings from a Thai tax perspective. However I assume that you will be asked by the Thai Tax Revenue to prove it

The new measures only apply to income both received and remitted to Thailand after that date.

Income covers lots of things other than salaries, interest, dividends, pension, capital gains and so on.

So, from that date forward interest on your assets would be assessable for tax but the principal would not be.

The case was that any income earned in a different year would not have taxes due if it was remitted to Thailand in the following year or later. For retirees that basically meant their income wouldn't be taxed because it was retirement income from earnings long ago.

As of 2023 the policy has changed to tax income regardless of when it was earned once it is remitted to Thailand.

But as long as you already paid taxes on the income and your country has a dual taxation treaty with Thailand, you don't be double taxed.

This only applies if you are a tax resident of Thailand (180 days in the country)

How this will actually work in policy is unknown as 2024 is the first year this goes into effect meaning it won't come up until the beginning of 2025 during tax season.

@Neil ******

You said ya got a Non-Imm-O visa. Now it is up to us to guess if you mean you still are on a 90-days single entry Non-imm-O visa, or if you already are on the 1-year Extension of Stay.

For BOTH you can buy a "single re-entry permit"

Which in the first case would keep the 90-days stay permit alive,

and in the second case would keep the extension alive for its whole duration.

However, a single re-entry permit for 1000.- THB (1200.- THB at the airports) would only be valid for ONE re-entry into Thailand

@Phil *******

He said he's got a Non-Imm-O visa. Now it is up to us to guess if he means he still is on a 90 days single entry Non-imm-O visa, or already on the 1-year Extension of Stay. For BOTH, Neil Smith can buy a "single re-entry permit" which in the first case would keep the 90-days stay permit alive, and in the second case would keep the extension alive for its whole duration. However this single re-entry permit for 1000.- THB (1200.- THB at the airports) would only be valid for ONE re-entry into Thailand

@Paul ***********

on SOME Immigrations, you could do the "combination method" where income and deposit must sum up to 800.000.- THB per year. However, you will meet the SAME problem: The part with income proof requires the12-months bank statement of 12 months, month for month, transfer from abroad to oyur Thai bank account. . . you DEFINITELY cannot use your income in any way in the FIRST year. You COULD arrive with a tourist visa or visa exempt, visit an agent in Pattaya and pay the "tea money" to grease the palms of Immigration, for a "retirement visa" without having to show own money. The agents fee will be somewhat from 32.000.- THB up, for this "not so fully legal"-method

And then, there is another method to acquire a 90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa and the subsequent “one-year extension” on Immigration inside Thailand.

It is called “Change of Visa Type” and it is the change from a 60-days Tourist Visa or a 30-days Visa-Exempt entry, to a 90-days Non-imm-O visa.

Here, again, you CANNOT use your income as a proof, because Immigration would only accept an affidavit of income from your embassy, which your embassy does not issue any more.

So, in order to be allowed to apply for the “change” from the Tourist Visa to a “90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa”, you need to have a minimum of 800.000.- THB sitting in your Thai bank account. No seasoning required at this point.

I won’t go into detail on how to open a Thai bank account on a tourist visa right after you arrived in Thailand, because any agent can do this for you for a circa 5000.- THB fee.

As soon as 30 days are left on the 90-days stay permit from the Non-Imm-O Visa, and when the 800.000.- have seasoned in your account for two months, you can apply for the “1-year extension of stay permit based on retirement” on Immigration. The fee is 1900.- THB, and I recommend buying a single re-entry permit for 1000.- THB, which will keep your stay permit alive should you exit Thailand for a trip abroad.

@Paul ***********

We are talking about the most common and persisting misunderstandings regarding the rules that come with applying for the “retirement visa” and the subsequent “one-year extension of stay permit based on retirement”

In order to apply for the “90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa” through the online E-visa system at the Royal Thai Embassy London,

You can use the proof of income of a monthly minimum of 65.000.- THB, by using your pension letters.

However, for the application inside Thailand, for the “1-year extension of stay permit” out of the 90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa,

you would need proof by a “12 months bank statement”, showing that for the past 12 months, you have been transferring from abroad to your Thai bank account a minimum of 65.000.- THB, month for month.

That’s why you CANNOT use the “income proof” in the first year.

Your embassy does NOT issue the “income affidavits” any more. Period.

So, for British citizens, there is no other way around, than depositing a minimum of 800.000.- THB in your Thai bank account and use this deposit for the financial proof which is required for the application to the “one year extension of stay permit”

On the day of application, the 800.000.- THB need to have “seasoned” in your account for two months, and this has to be proven with the “bank letter of guarantee” (rab roong thanakan).

After been issued the “Extension”, the 800K need to remain in the account for 3 more months. After the deposit shall never go under 400.000.- THB. And two months before your application for the next “one-year Extension of Stay”, the minimum of 800.000.- THB have to sit in the account, again

@Dan *******

thank you very much for this detailled reply! 🙂

@Brent ******

if you have been doing retirement extensions for many years, you will need to ask Immigration if they will allow your wife as a trailing spouse. But she has to start with a Non-Imm-O trailing spouse visa in her home country. And that's under the jurisdiction of the Embassy

@Nathan ********

so you paid this money for a border agent service? ok! But the price does not include the trip you needed to reach the Ranong pier?

as far as I know, a border bounce at Ranong costs the price for the longtailboat across and return, and 500.- THB visa-on-arrival on the Myanmar side. What exactly were the 2600.- THB for? Did you have to pay this sum to the "Great Andaman Grand Hotel and Casino" for their service?