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Are gifts up to 20 million baht from foreigners to their Thai spouses exempt from tax?

Thailand Tax Laws Gift Tax Foreign Spouse Expat Financial Issues Immigration and Finances

Sep 14, 2024

5 months ago

David *********

ORIGINAL POSTER

NEW TAX LAWS 

Have been told that any gifts (up to 20 million baht) p.a.are exempt from new tax laws ,so if a foreigner gives his wife money there is no tax applicable 

Do I file this in the too good to be true drawer

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The conversation discusses the implications of new tax laws related to gifting in Thailand, specifically concerning foreign nationals giving gifts to their Thai spouses. There are comments clarifying that while gifts up to 20 million baht may not incur tax on the recipient's side, the giver must not benefit from the gift afterwards to avoid taxation. There is a need for caution as the interpretation and enforcement of these tax laws can lead to severe penalties if misapplied.

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Kenny *****

Is this tax thing even a law yet?

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David *********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Thankyou everybody it looks like the first year will be chaos ,it may cost a lot it may cost a little ,clearly once the rules are established at least we will be able to make sensible decisions

The fun will start when those selling condos can’t sell any because most of the money coming in will be taxed at 25%,the Government might find that trying to extract crazy money from foreigners might have a great many unintended consequences .

Thailand is currently an uneconomic destination for most new comers and this will result in all those not tied by family to head for the exits ,Benidorm here I come.

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Ben *****

@David ********

Ironically, according to numerous Thais Ive spoken with, these rules were supposed to target wealthy Thais that took advantage of tax loopholes with overseas investments/income. Go figure.

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Ben *****

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Michael *******

yes from 2024

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Charles ********

ah.... what... the change last year to broaden what foreign income is assessable it was finalized last year, it was published in gazette. Understand that is not a legislative change of section 41, it is a reinterpretation of the existing law. So yes it is finalized, most perso al remittance into Thailand by a tax resident is taxable today. If you talking about the purposed law to tax worldwide income, that is not law and we have little details on the legislation, but it seem extremely like to pass as it appears to be the succession plan of the changes last year.

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Kenny *****

@Charles *******

so if i wire from US USD10,000 into my Thai USD account they will tax a % from it? By directly deduct from the 10,000 from the bank?

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Michael *******

they won’t deduct tax at source if you are a tax resident 180 days in a calendar year you are obliged to file a tax return and declare remittances and pay tax unless there is a DTA and you have paid tax in your home country - or you can ignore and hope you don’t get caught but all remittances are visible to authorities.

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Charles ********

no of course not, that's not how taxes work. You have pay tax yourself and file a return. Enforcement will be the same as any other country through an audit system.

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Ben *****

nobody knows how and if any taxes of foreigners will be enforced. The Thai tax revenue department has an extremely difficult time even collecting taxes from its own citizens.

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Michael *******

dangerous assumption - remittances are visible under Common Reporting Standards and penalties and back taxes can be painful it’s a personal choice whether to pay taxes as it is in any other country - getting caught is another matter and social media is certainly not the kind of forum to discuss tax evasion

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Ben *****

@Michael ******

understood sir but I'm certainly not advocating tax evasion.

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Kenny *****

so for now i can transfer as much as possible, hope they do not retroactive past transfer on tax.

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Ben *****

Well, technically its foreign earned income from this year (2024) that is brought into Thailand which is taxable, but also depends on factors such as if your home country has a dual tax treaty to lessen or eliminate the tax burden. Hence, I've been bringing over income earned from previous years (although I'm not even sure how one would determine this). The tax law is so poorly thought out and lacking detail that there is still a lot of ambiguity. I spoke with an accountant and he wanted a consulting fee but the dude had zero idea about how much if any I would owe. A lot of supposed specialists who haven't got a clue how this will turn out are scare mongering and trying to capitalize on it.

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Ben *****

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Peter *********

no and will never happen lol 😂

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Peter *********

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Charles ********

You can't gift someone in Thailand without bring that money into Thailand first. If she has an account outside of Thailand, gift it there and let her bring it in to Thailand. I am sure people claiming gift will get a scrutiny by RD.

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Bob **********

She won’t be taxed but if you earned that money and are bringing it into Thailand it’s on you

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Andy ************

But has most probably already paid tax on that money

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Bob **********

@Andy ***********

if your country has a tax treaty don’t worry

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Andy ************

I'm fortunate being Australian. We have one of the best DTAs

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Andy ************

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Galen ******

***********************************************

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John **********

It has to be a gift. If you benefit from the gift then that benefit is taxable

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Graham *******

The laws with gifts are that after you make the gift you may never benefit again from the gift. If you make a gift to your wife, they are unlikely to believe you. In the case when such a violation is discovered at audit then the penalty is 200% plus the original tax so you would pay triple tax. On 20m that would be about 18m Baht. BTW there are no new tax laws, only thing that has happened is the laws are to be fully enforced by order of the gov. There is a draft proposal which if passed would be a new law and would require an announcement in the royal gazette. If passed this would trigger the largest Falang migration since Noa and the Ark

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Steve *******

Farangs didn't migrate in the Arc, I'm pretty sure it was animals in that fictional story that 😂😂😂

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Andy ************

Doubt it! Most foreigners have already been taxed to the eyeballs! Thailand cannot double dip!

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Graham *******

@Andy ***********

You need to refer to the relevant DTA to concluded that, Andy!

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Andy ************

The OP is from the UK. Done deal

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Andy ************

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Frank **********

She will be exempt but not you.

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Galenus ******

No, gift is a gift, if you're not a benefit. So buy her golden earrings, or a diamond necklace

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Galenus ******

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