Expat Tax: Frequently Asked Questions

If you are a Thai tax resident and the bank account you have registered as a Thai tax resident, then every quarter the revenue department where of the card remit every single transaction on that account, regardless of whether it was overseas or in Thailand. Thailand signed up to the automatic exchange of information – Common Reporting Standards (CRS) – in 2020. They receive data from over 130 countries that are signed up to CRS. Thailand’s Revenue Department have links with other revenue department software, and they share information automatically every quarter for bank accounts, pensions, credit cards, as well as the account balances and transactions within that quarter for Thai tax residents. Therefore, the information is already being remitted and sent to the Thai Revenue Department.

You can find out more about how Common Reporting Standards and how Thailand’s tax authorities to track your finances here. 

It depends on the source of the funds. If it is from taxable income when you were a Thai tax resident then this is classed as remittance

This is dependent on which airline is used. If booked through a Thai airline and paid through a Thai office, then this is remittance of foreign-sourced income and is taxable.

Credit cards and debit cards are quite a grey area, as they are not specified in the Thai income tax law. Under audit, if it is seen that these are being used for day-to-day expenses and living, then credit card usage is likely to be classed as remittance. If you use your debit card, it depends on the source of the funds in the debit account. If it is classified as foreign-sourced income, then it is assessable income.