How to get a Thai Tax ID Without a Work Permit (Digital Nomads)
In this article, I am going to show you how to get your very own Thai tax ID to pay taxes in Thailand without having a work permit.
I’ll also explain in this article why you would want a Thai tax ID as a digital nomad.
Why would you want to pay income tax in the first place?
If you’re making serious amounts of money it’s a good idea to have a legitimate paper trail of your income.
I don’t enjoy paying taxes but it’s part of the game we play so I do what I can to play within the rules and minimize my tax burden.
Thailand has a double tax treaty with lots of countries including mine, which means if I pay income tax in Thailand, I am not required to pay income tax in England on that income remitted.
In Thailand, income remitted to Thailand during the same tax year it was earned is subject to taxation.
This means if you make $100,000 in personal income within their tax year but only bring $40,000 into Thailand through the use of ATMs or bank wire, you only pay tax on the $40,000 bought into the country.
If you bring the $60,000 earned into the country the following year, there is no taxation because you did not earn it in the current year of taxation.
What you need to get your very own Tax ID
There are two pieces of documents you need to be able to apply for a tax ID as a digital nomad, they are:
- Passport
- Lease agreement (ideally 12 months)
You will also need a reason to apply for a Thai Tax ID. I told them that I live in Thailand and bring money into the country from overseas work which needs to be taxed.
Because I have spent more than 180 days in Thailand this year, it means by law I must pay Tax in Thailand If I don’t pay personal income tax in my home country.
Good luck explaining this to them at the tax office, I used Bangkok Helper who did all the translating for me and I just signed one form.
The entire process took less than an hour and I was given my Thai tax ID.
I did this on a tourist visa.
Which Tax office you need to go to
There are a number of tax offices in Bangkok but you cannot visit anyone.
Based on your current lease agreement and location will dictate which office you must visit to obtain your tax ID.
You will need to call them up (they won’t speak English), tell them about your situation and which office you should visit.
When do you pay your taxes as a digital nomad?
In Thailand the tax year starts on January 01 and finishes December 31st.
To pay your income tax, you need to submit your forms before March 31st the following year
I have yet to do this but I was told that I tell them how much money I remitted in Thailand with invoices and I will be taxed accordingly.
This is what you pay in income tax based on how much money you bring into the country:
Did I miss anything?
People will tell you that to obtain a tax ID as a digital nomad you need a work permit, that is not true.
In Thailand if you stay in the country for more than 180 days, you’re legally obliged to pay income tax on any money remitted into the country within that year.
Have a question or did I miss something out, leave a comment below!
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I suppose the big hope is that they ll be mire lenient at the border .. when you come back from your visa run, with a shitliadvof back to back tourist visa/exemptions… and they accuse you of working illegally in the country, oncevyou show you pay taxes in the country, they ll probably let you slip without harassing you about work permit shenanigans.
you contribute to the country, and their salary fwiw, so who cares about paperwork. Just not show them if they don’t make a fuss, in case it arouses their curiosity for a work permit, and screw you when they would have let you pass otherwise.
If they put you aside this would be a sweet thing to have for sure. This combined with some proof of your earnings from outside of Thailand.
So is it correct to assume that if i bring in £40k through my UK bank account but transfer it to Thailand, then I don’t have to declare this in the UK and just pay thai tax? Clarification would be great, thanks.
To my knowledge yes (but you should speak to an accountant as each situation is different.
You offset your Thai tax with your western tax with the DTA. Its not its not declared its that your paying tax in a dual taxation agreed country.
However you still need to satisfy uk residence tests to claim non residency for taxation, simply paying another country something doesnt solve that.
This also doesnt solve the legal right to work issues which is the actual elephant in the room no one wants to address.
The elephant in the room isn’t really an elephant. I’ve said on two different occasions to immigration staff that I run an online business and I even showed paperwork with applying for one of my tourist visa. The problem is when you take jobs that Thai people can do.
If you live in Thailand for 180 days or more I think that’s a good enough to satisfy their tests, but I agree you should do your own research as it’s hard to make head or tail of the last set of changes the UK made.
what are the actual benefits of this? you pay tax in tbai, have no rights, as no work permit, and you would not have been taxed in uk anyway as you stay there less than 90 days. Im in agreement with it i think its a good idea just wondering how likely it is anyone will ever ask about your tax situation in thai. They seem more bothered about your work permit. Also if you had a years savings before you went over to thai you could argue your always a year in arreas with the money you earn (actually my case) again im not arguing the point just trying to work out any real benefits, shame they domt have a digital nomad visa with set contributions.
There are serveal, lower tax rate is one and the fact that Thailand only taxes you for income earned and remitted in the same year.
fair enough, so is this more an exercise aside from being semi legal in thai (still cant work,blog,design supposedly) of having a paper trail for refrence in years to come if you potentially move back to the uk,or similar in which case I guess that could help for finance and the like.
As I understand you can stay 90 days in uk and 6 months in eu before you become a tax resident. maybe with the above agreement uk stay can be longer, always been curious about this so great write up. how lomg did it take to set up? what was the cost.
If you’re not paying taxes anywhere else you’re usually a tax resident by default in your home country. If you stay in the UK for 90 days you’re for sure a resident, the rules have changed a lot lately.
It took an hour to setup and Bangkok Helper charges 4,000b.
Okay this makes a lot more sense, sounds like the UK is getting more and more like America, taxing you for being a citizen next not a tax resident. I’m never here more than 90 days per tax year, just to stay on the safe side, but I have found myself in limbo not knowing where to even register when we can’t get a work permit, TBH given that I have always had saving I could quite easily use previous years salary and pay no tax, but I guess its better to make a token payment in the lower brackets to keep everyone happy. Thanks again for this I would have never have known and been in limbo eternally/ Until I set up a Singapore/ Hk company.
Anyone know any decent international tax advisors, be good to know all the finer details about company set up abroad pros and cons, what makes you a UK tax resident nowadays etc…
Freedomsurfer.com has a great private group to get advice from people in the same situation.
You missed al the deduction you can get as well. If you married you can get an deduction, if you have children you can get extra deduction. If you have all the Insurance you can get a big deduction as well.
Yes there are a few other things you can deduct too. Perhaps I’ll add that to the article later, thanks!
but what wiyld be the benefit of those… if you already have that, ok, but for nomads, or anyone wirh a sane bmind….
If you setup correctly you can pay very little income tax.
if you get maried and have chikdren, i guarantee you taxes will becthe least of your worry. its not worth to screw your life over that.
Good info Harvie.
Really digging the new design you got going here too. Nice and clean!
If I withdraw money from ATM, lets say 25k usd, do I need to show some papers? Or should I tell them “I withdrew 25k usd and I want to pay tax”? Do I need any proof or whatever?
You’ll need to show proof if you’re going to submit anything. So I would keep the receipt from the ATM and perhaps your bank statement showing the transfers out. When you go and give your tax return, the accountant will want to see the paperwork.
Curious your example you said 100k and you bring 40k into Thailand which will be taxed. Then next year you said you can bring 60k from previous year not taxed. So couldn’t you just live off your non taxed funds year to year and never pay taxes. That is if u have enough savings to do so. Secondly if you can do this how can you prove that the money isnt just brand new when u bring it in? Thanks
Hey David, that is correct. But you’ll also need to see your country’s laws and whether this method works. As to answer how to prove the money is brand new, I would suggest talking to an accountant and not a moron like me on the Internet :).
Yeah this is a real weird one, I get why you should have one, and I see the benefits of ticking the box tax wise more so for your home country than Thailand. What I don’t get is how the hell you prove the cash earnt was from the previous year. Any recommendations on an accountant?
Receipts and invoices is how you prove it.
Thanks for your reply Harvie, still at a bit of a loss though, I’ve only recently even found out all this was possible. I’ve also had some saved wages in my bank account abroad accumulated over time, so if I start from today and backtrack to 2017 as I stayed 180 days ( pay the fine, as only here 108 datys so far this year, so they wont, give me a number which I need for my bank) and decide to stay here 6 months plus a year ongoing. Is it just a case of showing a bank statement with savings and your earnings going in in 2017, to prove that you have chipped away at savings not the incoming cash for that year? Hard to differentiate it seems, plus I atm out my cash over here which makes matters even trickier I guess.. Man this seems like headache…..
Yes it’s a headache. Best to pay to speak to an expert because you won’t find your answers online.
Yeah, fair enough mate, researched hi and low and seem to end up more confused by the end of it. I’ll join that group you mentioned ( freedom) and try and find an expert. Just as a side note that may help you and others. I’m reading if you remit say 50% and leave 50% offshore when it comes to moving the saved amount to your home country for say a house your get taxed then, but again I’m going off blog comments nothing concrete.
Well i am considered non resident in canada and was kinda bouncing around country to country but looking to perhaps stay thailand as resident and this could be a good option as taxes here are cheaper and only what coming in is taxed
Yeah it may work well for you then in that case.
I am trying to get a definitive answer to this question , I have even written to the OECD ,but heard nothing ,is there an international tax advisor out there who can clarify it.I
I am considering retiring to Thailand to try and resolve this , but where would this put me if I keep under 180 days ? residency
Take for example three separate situations:
A retired German couple who have been residing in Spain , and have now decided to sell their house and to be permanently travelling having a Pension paid to them from Germany.
A French web designer who works freelance and invoices his customers from a company formed offshore
A retired British businessman who has been travelling for ten years and lives off investments and savings
If any of these European Nationals , who have been travelling for the last ten years and are not actually based in any one country for longer than say a period of ten weeks but spends time in 5 or more separate countries and continents, how and what is their tax position.They are under the 183 day rule for most countries requirements as a taxpayer.
They all clearly can prove they are genuinely constantly travelling.
There many more clear examples of people who are not resident in any one location and many retirees who are wishing to travel extensively that would welcome a clear answer.
How do they meet the new requirements
You answered your own question you gotta stay in a country for how many days its considered to be a taxed resident/individual check english and french tx laws or hire an accountant if you can do all that travel you can pay to not pay more later . Panama has no taxes on money earned outside the country so does malaysia
Brilliant article, I went to my local tax office this morning armed with passport and rental agreement, less than an hour I was out of there. I can speak Thai so that maybe helps, but I think it could have been achieved anyway.
Reason for a Thai TIN: Those who are not present in any country long enough to be tax resident anywhere (and thus pay no income tax nowhere) find it difficult to open an account in, say, the U.K. unless they have a TIN from another country, e.g., Thailand. So the question is if you are retired and live in Thailand less than 180 days a year (and so are not taxed), can you nonetheless apply for a Thai TIN with your passport and residency certificate, so you have a TIN to show the UK bank?
I managed to get a TAX ID as well but it turned out to be a bit more of a headache.
They insisted I have a blue book for the condo I was in saying the lease and passport was not enough
– Contacted my landlord who had no blue book, old condo
– They allowed me to use his blue book of his place
– Denied a third time because they wanted a written note by the owner
– 4th finally got it, perhaps they were just sick of seeing me.
Thailand well it often has different rules and procedures on who you happen to see that day
I went in today and applied for the TIN, Bit of a headache as they said I had not been here 6 months this year, so had to look at 2017 stamps, now not really sure if I will get a fine for submitting 2017 late.
Also I’m reading no tax on foreign income for the previous year, if you have savings it’s always gonna be the previous year…. so how that works is beyond me… any good names of accountants in BKK?
Receipts and invoices will show which year your money was made. No accountants that I know of.
I can give a eceipt of income of 2020 of 40k , and in 2021 30K and in the current 2022 of 50K i assume tha if i bring 30 K these are the inome of 2020 so free taxes, but if i bring 50K can be the incomes of 2022 or the sum of 2020 plus 10k of 2021. No invoice will proof it…. And usually in Thailand no everyone has idea about the law also people that work with it. other point what is considere bring to Thailand. if it is from an atm if I don’t keep the proof they can’t proof it. The only real proof if I bring money is in a bank account in my name. What about pay with credit card?
Thanks
Have a few questions about thai Tax ID
-would it be enough to have a long term (non immigrant) visa and a rental contract for say 180 to be able to apply?
-Do I have to stay in Thailand all these 180 or could I for example travel to say Malaysia,Myanmar,Cambodia or China during that time?
-If I do get a tax ID will I have to apply for one again every year or how does that work?
(Reason for asking is that I would like to be under the thai tax umbrella but still travel outside Thailand for say 8-9 months per year
Hi Lars
1. you need to be in Thailand for 180 days of the year already.
2. must stay in Thailand
3. Just once.
You’ll also need to see what the double tax treaty laws are in your country with Thailand, and whether getting a tax ID but not actually working for a business in Thailand applies to you.
Hi Harvie
Is this applying for expat who hold a share of Thai company and would like to be a director as well?
Thanks,
PS
I do not know but you probably need a TAX ID if so.
Do you know if this still works in 2019? Anyone got the tax ID recently?
Where are you based with your lease agreement?
Watthana, BKK
Where exactly do you live, as it depends where you need to go. But yes it should be the same process.
The T77 area near On Nut
May want to ask Bangkok Helper again and state your location. I think they help in that region, outside of Bangkok they don’t.
Hello Harvie,
Thanks for all of the helpful information.
What is your experience as far as what qualifies as “foreign sourced income” (for the purposes of the remittal rule)?
According to https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2014/04/thailand-thinking-beyond-borders.html
“Definition of source: Employment income is generally treated as Thai-sourced compensation where the individual performs the services in Thailand and/or performs the services for the business of the employer in Thailand.”
If I understand correctly, a digital nomad, who is a salaried employee performing all their work for a foreign business from a laptop in Bangkok (all year, Jan-Dec), would have to consider the salary as Thai sourced income (since the services were all performed in Bangkok).
Thus, even if the income was not remitted until the following year, it would still be subject to normal tax since it was not foreign sourced.
Did I get that right?
You only pay taxes on income remitted the same year you earned it.
Hey thanks for the post, really helpful ! Would you have any accountant to recommend for the tax return filling?
I don’t sorry.
Great in depth post ! Have you been asked for a “Tabien baan” in addition to your 12 months lease ? I’ve been told that it was a requested in order to obtain a Tax ID in Thailand, but still not sure if it is absolutely necessary…
Yes that is asked lately, if you rent an apartment you can get it off the owner and they will need to sign it.