On September 18, 2023, the Thailand Revenue Department announced a new tax regulation on its website:
“Starting January 1, 2024, a Thai tax resident who brings foreign-earned income into Thailand must pay Thailand income tax.”
This is a big change to Thai income tax regulations because expats never had to pay Thai income tax on foreign-earned income if they didn’t bring the money into Thailand after 12 months of earning it.
So, let’s take a look at what changed and how to deal with it.
Note: We are not tax advisors. If you want to bring a large amount of foreign-earned income into Thailand in 2025, it’s best to talk to a tax advisor. We recommend Expat Tax Thailand.
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Contents
- What is the New Regulation?
- Who Needs to Pay Thai Foreign-Earned Income Taxes?
- New Announcement on November 22, 2023
- Do I Need to Pay?
- How Does Thailand Track Foreign-Earned Income?
- What’s the Cause of This Change?
- How Much Do I Have to Pay?
- Will Pensions be Taxed?
- Is ATM Withdrawal Subject to Tax?
- How Do I Declare Foreign-Earned Income Taxes?
- How Do I Handle the Process?
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What is the New Regulation?
On Friday, September 15, 2023, an official document from the Revenue Department about the new regulations on foreign-earned income leaked into the public. However, at that time, it hadn’t yet been confirmed if the new regulations would become official.
However, On September 18, 2023, the Revenue Department posted the news on its website regarding Revenue Code Section 40 and Section 41.
This means that for the rest of 2023, if you bring foreign-earned income into Thailand, you don’t have to pay Thailand income taxes on it as long as the money was earned at least 12 months prior.
However, as soon as this new regulation takes effect in 2024, you have to pay Thailand income taxes on all the money you bring into Thailand, in the year in which you transfer it into the country.
Who Needs to Pay Thai Foreign-Earned Income Taxes?
Based on the official statement, the new regulations are mainly for Thai tax residents who bring foreign-earned income into Thailand.
Basically, it’s for everyone, both Thais and non-Thais, who stay in Thailand for more than 180 days a year.
As for the income, it can come from employment, dividends, interest, pensions, capital gains, and so on. It can simply be stated that any income you earn from abroad will be subject to Thai taxation if you send it into Thailand. This means, as of now, you are not subject to Thai tax if you keep your money abroad.
It’s also unlikely that bringing cash to Thailand, withdrawing money via ATM, or paying via your credit card is subject to Thai tax.
This applies to personal income taxes only. Additionally, if you already pay tax on that income in your home country, you may not be subject to Thai tax due to the double-taxation agreement.
New Announcement on November 22, 2023
On November 22, 2023, the Revenue Department released another publication concerning the foreign-earned income tax. It stated that the new tax regulations would apply only to income earned after January 1, 2024.
This essentially means you can transfer your foreign-earned income to Thailand without having to pay Thai income tax, as long as it was earned before January 1, 2024, and you have evidence of when this income was earned.
Do I Need to Pay?
If you stay in Thailand for more than 180 days and bring foreign-earned income into the country, you may have to pay Thailand income taxes on it.
There are certain exemptions, including:
- The income was made before 2024, and you have proof of it as stated in the previous section.
- If you have already paid taxes on that income in your home country, you may not have to pay taxes on that income in Thailand based on the double taxation agreements that Thailand has with your home country.
- Again, according to the double taxation agreements, certain types of income may not be subject to tax, such as a pension from the government.
- You do not send foreign-earned income to Thailand.
To find out more, read:
How Does Thailand Track Foreign-Earned Income?
Many expats in Thailand report receiving notifications related to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) or FATCA (for U.S. citizens) from local banks in Thailand. These are international standards that local tax authorities can use to ensure proper taxation.
What’s the Cause of This Change?
No one really knows why the Revenue Department released this new regulation. However, since the new regulation was released shortly after Thailand formed its new government, many Thai tax experts believed that the new Thai government would like to promote investment in Thailand.
Previously, many Thai investors preferred to invest abroad because of the higher return on investments. And they were able to transfer the profits from abroad back to Thailand during the next calendar year without having to pay Thailand income taxes.
Starting in 2024, they cannot do this anymore.
However, since the new regulations are mainly for personal income taxes, if people want to invest overseas, they can still invest in Thailand mutual funds that invest in the overseas markets and make profits from dividends and capital gains.
This will, in the end, promote investment within Thailand.
In addition, since the new regulations will begin next year, Thai investors still have time to send money back to Thailand without having to pay taxes until the end of 2023.
How Much Do I Have to Pay?
When the new regulation takes effect, the tax rate you pay will be based on your personal income tax rates, which is a progressive rate of 0 percent to 35 percent.
You can check out our Thailand income tax guide for more information.
Will Pensions be Taxed?
If you retire in Thailand and regularly send your pension here, it’s likely that you may have to pay Thai personal income taxes on that money starting in 2024, if you stay in the country for more than 180 days per year.
However, in case your pension is already taxed in your home country, you might not need to pay Thailand income tax because of the double taxation agreement.
Is ATM Withdrawal Subject to Tax?
As far as we know, cash you get from an ATM withdrawal may not be subject to tax as long as you are a Thai tax resident since the new regulations are mainly for sending money to Thailand.
This also includes when you use an international credit card in Thailand.
How Do I Declare Foreign-Earned Income Taxes?
We are not sure about this. However, it’s believed that starting in 2025, when you file your personal income taxes in Thailand, there should be an additional field on the tax form about foreign-earned income.
Also, we are not sure how the Revenue Department is going to monitor it as well.
How Do I Handle the Process?
Since the new regulations has started since January 1, 2024.
If you have foreign-earned income and want to avoid paying personal income taxes in the country, you should transfer your money to Thailand and ensure your foreign-earned income was earned before January 1, 2024.
If you want to bring foreign-earned income into Thailand that was already taxed, keep all of your tax paperwork to avoid being taxed twice.
It’s also important to remember that we are not tax advisors. So, please take any advice in this article as just that – advice. If you want to transfer foreign-earned income into Thailand, we recommend you talk with a tax advisor such as Expat Tax Thailand to make sure you follow the new tax regulations correctly.
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