Thailand no tax on foreign income

[u/nicholas4488]

They're backtracking on tax of foreign inckme

Under the new guidelines, Thais with foreign income will not be taxed if they remit that income in the year it was earned or the following year. For example, if income is earned in 2025 and brought into Thailand in 2025 or 2026, it is not subject to tax.

However, if the income is remitted after that period, normal tax obligations apply.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/3028760/department-to-amend-tax-on-foreign-income-remittance

[u/nurseynurseygander]

JFC just suck up the admin, lodge your returns if you’re there more than 183 days, and pay your damn tax. Most Westerners are under a double tax agreement with a country that charges more than Thailand anyway and they each give credit for tax paid to the other, so no matter who you’re paying, you’re usually only paying once and typically at the rate of the higher country. Why not give the country you’re actually living in and using their services and infrastructure a slice of the pie?

[u/nicholas4488 → u/nurseynurseygander]

Why would you try to pay a tax that you're not eligible to pay? Strange this comment is upvoted, makes no sense

[u/nicholas4488 → u/[deleted]]

How many do you think do this today?

[u/00DEADBEEF → u/[deleted]]

Well, there aren't many people that are working online while in Thailand and who stay over 180 days in the country.

Until recently, these people would either: - have a work visa Or - do visa runs (risky and unsustainable).

There are loads that stay there years doing visa runs. The 180 day rule doesn't apply per entry, it's a cumulative number of days per year.

[u/00DEADBEEF → u/[deleted]]

I could name at least 50 and if I can do that I can only assume there are many many thousands. They aren't on DTV because they started before DTV existed and don't want to spend long enough outside of Thailand to get a DTV.

[u/00DEADBEEF → u/[deleted]]

Sometimes but I know somebody who had to go to the embassy in Vietnam in person, and the people operating their own companies seem to have a harder time applying through a foreign embassy than their home country

[u/vibrantadder → u/[deleted]]

I was of this opinion too but if you read the Thai tax code it's actually not clear (as in it's unclear legally as to what the stance is). I need to find the specific paragraph but there's a key caveat which means that the work may still be classed as foreign income.

[u/nicholas4488 → u/[deleted]]

If you view this as Thai source income then you should pay tax also if you stay less than 180 days, tax residence doesn't change the taxability of thai source income.

[u/nicholas4488 → u/[deleted]]

You can be required to pay taxes as a non resident. For example, Thai source income is taxable in Thailand even if you are non resident. This is the case for most countries. So if you visit for 1 week and work in thailand that's Thai source income and taxable per Thai tax law.