By Barry Kenyon

[Gaybutton]

I don't know why journalists, columnists, and news outlets insist on keeping this nonsense at the forefront. They are still creating anxiety over something that hasn't happened, is unlikely to happen, was mentioned almost in passing by a former Prime Minister, and has not been mentioned by any government officials, agencies, or even that same Prime Minister ever since.

I wish the journalists would find something else to write about unless and until some sort of official announcement comes out from the Thai government. In my opinion, then and only then, is going on and on about this a proper thing to do.
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Expats in Thailand: the eerie silence about cash transfers and income tax

By Barry Kenyon

April 30, 2025

Since the end of March 2025, the cascade of opinions has abruptly stopped. No more news reports, no anguished debates on Thai social media and no experts offering advice at packed expat meetings. Pattaya Mail, in an unscientific survey, last week randomly asked 75 expat tax residents (living here 180 days plus in the calendar year 2024) what they actually did, if anything, about contacting the Thai Revenue Department (TRD) about income transfers from abroad. There was a huge variety of responses.

Never heard of it. This was a common response, especially from expats whose first language is not English, perhaps reflecting the fact that most analysis and commentary last year was targeted at English speakers. For example, two Russian and Chinese nationals with longstay visas said nobody they knew had ever mentioned paying Thai income tax for any reason whatsoever.

Not on your life. Another popular response, especially from retiree expats, was to say that they lived here on income previously taxed in the home country and, in any case, were protected by a double taxation treaty. They had absolutely no intention of sharing cash with TRD. This group also threatened to live elsewhere rather than register with TRD.

Doesn’t apply to me. This group stressed that they were living on historic savings, transmitted to Thailand before 1 January 2024, or (in the case of Americans) that it would be illegal for TRD to tax them on their payments. One respondent said he was sending cash to his Thai wife as this was “tax free” and another claimed exemption as he was a longterm visa holder.

Tax office said “Go Away”. Several respondents said they had indeed visited their local TRD office and apparently been told to ignore the whole thing. Others said that individual tax offices were operating as they saw fit and that there was no standard practice. However, none of this group was able to substantiate the TRD response with evidence.

Gestapo tactics. Several respondents who had indeed paid personal income tax on overseas transfers during 2024 said they feared a knock on the door in the middle of the night, prosecution, deportation etc. Mostly, they had paid their dues via a law agency which had arranged all documentation on their behalf without necessitating a personal visit to the local TRD office.

I’m a good boy. Expats with a work permit already had a tax identification number and were familiar with TRD regulations. There were also one or two retired expats who said they had registered after discovering that the sums involved were not large. One expat said he paid personal income tax on 800,000 transferred baht which cost him only 15,000 baht (plus agency fee) after his built-in personal allowances from TRD were taken into account.

The Pattaya Mail “research” was designed simply to find out how some expats had responded, not to assess their specific answers. However, it is obvious that many expats are “waiting to see what happens next”. There is no reason to doubt the findings of an earlier piece of research by the Thai Examiner which said that most (58%) expats would neither seek a tax number nor submit a form this time around. The fact that TRD offices up and down the country have acted individually has complicated the picture.

The whole debate will presumably reheat as 2025 draws to a close and the reporting and payment time slot (January – March 2026) kicks in. Unless there is a commentary from the Thai government by then, which is far from assured, there is likely to be a jumble of expat responses in 2026 as in 2025 ranging from Ignorance Is Bliss to Your Time Is Running Out. As Benjamin Franklin pointed out 200 years ago, “People who complain about taxes can be divided into two groups: men and women!”

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... tax-499314

[Jun]

I don't know why journalists, columnists, and news outlets insist on keeping this nonsense at the forefront. They are still creating anxiety over something that hasn't happened, is unlikely to happen, was mentioned almost in passing by a former Prime Minister, and has not been mentioned by any government officials, agencies, or even that same Prime Minister ever since.

I wish the journalists would find something else to write about unless and until some sort of official announcement comes out from the Thai government. In my opinion, then and only then, is going on and on about this a proper thing to do.

As I understand it, you would be exempt from any taxation, due to provisions in the DTT. So for you, it is irrelevant.
Not everyone is in such a position.

I'd imagine the majority of retired people considering moving to Thailand have some income which is not from state pensions and therefore could be taxable.

Anyone who could have a large tax bill is in a very different position to you.
Also, if that person is considering moving to Thailand, it would be reckless not to consider the tax scenarios in advance.

I'd also imagine the uncertainty over taxation is already discouraging some moderately wealthy people from moving to Thailand. So that's the worst possible outcome for Thai finances.

[Gaybutton]

I'd also imagine the uncertainty over taxation is already discouraging some moderately wealthy people from moving to Thailand. So that's the worst possible outcome for Thai finances.

If you think I am considering only myself and those in financial circumstances similar to my own, you would be wrong.

Thailand is actively trying to attract the wealthiest of the wealthy. How would threatening to start taxing them fit in with that? I have seen nothing that threatens any foreigners with taxes at all, other than those making money from within Thailand - and that is nothing new.

I have seen nothing that indicates there will be any taxes for foreigners that have not been imposed all along.

My opinion is the news media should be writing about it if and when these taxes become a viable threat - and so far that has not happened. Continuing to bring up income taxes for foreigners when no such thing is happening or as far as we know even being discussed by the Thai government is, again in my opinion, needlessly causing anxiety about a problem that doesn't exist.

[Jun]

Thailand is actively trying to attract the wealthiest of the wealthy. How would threatening to start taxing them fit in with that?

Politicians are not very bright when it comes to considering the unintended consequences of their decisions.

I have seen nothing that threatens any foreigners with taxes at all, other than those making money from within Thailand - and that is nothing new.

To be fair, you don't have much incentive to look, considering you're protected by the DTT.

This website has references to the appropriate regulations: https://mahanakornpartners.com/overview ... -thailand/
Various other websites have references to the same regulations. Announced in 2023.


So income earned after 1 Jan 2024 AND bought into Thailand after 1 Jan 2024 is subject to taxation.

Now let's imagine Fred has $2 million. He earns $80,000 in dividends in 2024.

He brings $100,000 to Thailand. Since money is fungible, how do we decide if that's from the $2m or the $80k ?

[Gaybutton]

Politicians are not very bright when it comes to considering the unintended consequences of their decisions.

I agree with that part of your post.

But the part about how much incentive I have - you don't get to do that. The only one who decides what incentive I have, what I have read, and upon what I am basing my opinions is me. I still stand by my opinions and I'm sure you stand by yours, which apparently are different from mine. You're entitled to that. That is fair.

how do we decide if that's from the $2m or the $80k ?

We don't. If it becomes necessary, that's what lawyers and accountants are for.

I know what the regulations are. Like just about every other regulation in Thailand, it's anybody's guess as to what will and will not be enforced. Regarding bringing in money from outside of Thailand, I am not aware of any foreigners who have actually been asked to pay a single baht in tax. That doesn't mean it will never happen, but to the best of my knowledge so far it hasn't and I have seen nothing to indicate that is going to change.

Of course if I'm wrong about that, feel free to correct me.

All of this has dominated the news before. Again, I fail to see any sense in the media continuing to harp on it until and unless the Thai government actually starts taxing foreigner income or at least makes any announcements about it..

[Jun]

A translation of the rule change:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... vN8mRdvYYf

Possibly the original in Thai ?? I'm not that confident, but the numbers look about right. : https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... AKTJG2UNd4

Both download as pdfs.

1 Not having seen this is not usually an acceptable excuse that exempts anyone from the tax.

2 Governments are usually under no obligation to send anyone around to personally inform individuals of changes to the tax rules or to ask for the tax.

3 Usually, nothing stops them prosecuting people who failed to file appropriate tax returns some time after the event. Or is Thailand different ?

4 Anyone planning to move to Thailand would be reckless to ignore this. For a start, I would imagine it is tax efficient to remit funds in the year before becoming tax resident in Thailand.

5 As discussed previously, those who get 100% of their income via government pensions may be OK, due to tax treaties. If they had additional income, such as savings interest etc, it could be different.

I know one individual who is aiming to spend over half the tax year outside Thailand as a result of this.

[Gaybutton]

I know one individual who is aiming to spend over half the tax year outside Thailand as a result of this.

And what is motivating him to do this? Fear hyped up by the media when the reality is there is nothing to fear. I think there is a better chance of being arrested for taking a boy off from a bar than there is of being arrested for tax violations.


No one is disputing the rules. Yes those are the rules. Again I know of no one complying with them and I know of no one who has been punished or has suffered any consequences because they did not comply. If there is no compliance, no penalties or consequences for not following those rules, then the rules for all practical purposes don't exist. You might as well wrap fish with paper they're written on.

If any kind of enforcement gets started or anyone is penalized or suffers consequences, that's when the media should be all over it.

For now, with the media keeping it going, it's like being on an airplane and for no reason the captain gets on the intercom and announces "Ladies and Gentlemen, there is absolutely no cause or alarm."

[Jun]

And what is motivating him to do this? Fear hyped up by the media when the reality is there is nothing to fear.

We disagree on the latter point.
The rules have changed & some people will theoretically be liable to pay tax. That part is clear.

Whether or not Thailand enforces the rules is to be confirmed. Normally countries have some level of enforcement for taxation, otherwise they wouldn't collect any revenue.
The rule change was effective for tax year ending 31-12-2024. As I understand it, the deadline for filing online tax returns was 09-04-2025. ie Very recently.

So it's too soon to conclude they have no intention of enforcing the rule change.

[Gaybutton]

So it's too soon to conclude they have no intention of enforcing the rule change.

Too soon to draw any conclusions at all. That is why I think the prudent thing to do is stop speculating either way until we are provided with something definitive -from the Thai government, not the "experts" - to conclude.

Carry on with this if you must, but I see anything further about it is merely guesses based on nothing. If they intend to tax us, we'll know it soon enough. Until then it hasn't cost any of us reading this, board member or not, as much as 1 baht.

I've said my piece. I see no point in saying anything further.

[Dodger]

By the time Thailand’s Finance Ministry and Revenue Departments gets anywhere close to having the systems and staff needed to track and monitor the taxes we’re discussing the grandchildren of the boys we’re dating will have grown beards.

As an example:

According to Thai Property Tax Law (which is rarely observed or adhered to by anyone) both Thai and farang are required to pay an annual tax on property which is used as their residence. This of course includes condos for us farang. For the first 5 years that I owned my condo I wasn’t taxed anything. Then a year ago the local amphur finally started taxing me according to the law. I own a second condo which is in Jai’s name. To date we have never received a tax payment request for this condo. The tax laws we’re talking about here have been on the books for nearly a century – and they still can’t tell the left hand from the right. Totally disjointed!

Regarding property taxes, the tax rates vary based on the property’s usage, with agricultural and residential properties taxed at lower rates compared to commercial and unused properties. For agricultural use, the rate is 0.15%, residential use including condo’s (Thai or farang ownership) the rate is taxed at 0.3%, and other uses, including vacant land, are taxed at 1.2%. Having said that, we also own several rai of farm land up in Buriram that we lease out to a local farmer for growing rice, and to date we have never been taxed.

The best the Finance Ministry and its Revenue Departments are going to do with this newly enforced tax law focusing on foreign income is to go after the very low hanging fruit. My guess is we’re talking about offshore incomes that exceed 100 million baht…mostly involving the wealthy Thais and Chinese which has been the objective from day one.

I don’t know a single expat who has run out to get a Thai Tax I.D. Most (like me) just laugh.

I wish the grandchildren of the boys we’re dating the best of luck.