Tax Withholding In Thai Bank Accounts

[Pdoggg]

Farangs are now having 15% of their interest withheld if you have a Thai bank account.   It started in May; just realized it was happening now.  If you show the bank your Tax ID Card it should revert to old method that they only withheld when the interest for a year is more than 20K baht.

I already have a Thai Tax ID number which seems to have complicated the situation.  I gave the lady at the bank my ID number but she said my number was not in the system.  She said I needed to get a card at the Revenue Office which is next to Tony's gym off Jomtien 2nd Road which is easier to get to than going to Immigration on Soi 5.  Given that I have a new passport number I probably should have just asked for a new ID number which would (maybe) come with a card.  Instead they gave me a printout that had my number which makes it a little more difficult for the bank.  So the bank could not promise me exactly when the witholding would stop.  I have a special type of savings account (not a time deposit) at the Yellow Bank which currently pays 1.3% interest.  I hope it is fixed before January 2020 which would make life easier for me,

So how do I get my withheld money back?   I believe there is no tax due if one earns less than 150,000 baht.  To get a refund you must fill out a very short form at the Revenue Office between January to March.  Then at some future point they mail you a notice that your refund is ready and you go back to the Revenue Office and pick it up.  The problem arises if you're out of Thailand when the notice arrives.  SoI plan to go the first week of January and if goes as expected I such get my refund.

What if you aren't here in January to March?  I believe you can file late for a 200 baht fee. You can also file late going back 3 years.  In the past I filed late for a few years as I had assumed that the tax withheld was actual tax instead of just withholding that I would get refunded.   There is a longer time lag for if you file late but I eventually got my refund which is why I currently have my Tax ID Number.

It's not all that complicated and not a big deal for me to hop on a baht bus to go to the Revenue Office. But could be a hassle if you live in Nakhon Nowhere.  Many of you might just choose to fuck it if the amount withheld is rather small. But if you are in Thailand now you probably can get it sorted out once and for all by getting your Tax ID Card now and then in January just filing once for your refund and in 2020 there should be no money withheld.     

[cobber32]

Great post Pdoggg, and explains what happened in my bank book.In June I got 7.52 interest, and next line showed 1.13 tax. I just presumed it was tax pure and simple, but now I know more. Living in Phitsanulok I don't think I'll worry about trying to claim it back, but wait and see what happens next June. Given that I'm using my monthly super as proof of income (not a fixed sum), so it's money coming in and going out too, I'm not likely to face a huge tax debit. Could be different for others though.

[stoolpusher]

So how does that work if you just have the 800,000 in the bank for the yearly visa and live off your savings ,do I need to get a tax number when I move to Thailand? 

    I won't have an Australia pension for another 10 years 

[Pdoggg]

40 minutes ago, stoolpusher said:

So how does that work if you just have the 800,000 in the bank for the yearly visa and live off your savings ,do I need to get a tax number when I move to Thailand? 

The Thai bank I like best is the Yellow Bank, Krungsri aka Bank of Ayudhaya.

I recommend having two accounts with them.  A regular savings account which pays 0.3% interest and a Mee Tae Dai savings account which pays 1.3% interest but there a a hefty fee if you make more than 2 withdrawals a month.   So the bulk of your money would be in the Mee Tae Dai account and then once a month you would transfer what you will be spending every month from Mee Tae Dai to the regular savings account.  You can link these accounts online so that you can transfer between them but have the debit card linked to only the regular savings account.

Let's say that you have an average balance of one million baht in your Mee Tae Dai account.  If the interest rate remains 1.3% you'd earn 13,000 baht in interest that year.  If you don't register your Tax ID number with the bank they would withhold 15% of the 13,000 for taxes.  This works out to 1950 baht.

It's best if the bank doesn't withhold any of your money. If they do you can file a tax return and get a refund but it's best to avoid that process.  You don't get the Tax ID Number at Immigration.  You get it at the Revenue Office which is just off Jomtien 2nd Road next to Tony's Gym.  The Tax ID number is free.  The Revenue workers don't speak English nearly as well as those at Immigration so it might help if you bring Dao along with you.

https://www.krungsri.com/bank/en/PersonalBanking/DepositProducts/SavingsDeposit/MeeTaeDaiSavings.html

 

[stoolpusher]

Thanks PB.

  I have an account with BKK bank with a debit card. I was going to have a separate account for the 800,000 and not touch it. 

I will get a Tax ID card for sure.

[cobber32]

The great thing (one of them) about this forum is the advice given, sometimes upfront, and sometimes in answer to questions. Like the Pdoggg - SP exchange above.

Now if only I had a lazy 800k. Blame it on all those slow horses over the years. Not  tax deduction I'm afraid.

[Pdoggg]

At the Revenue Office where all signs are in Thai. The words on these signs are much different than the words used in bar banter.

If you do have a Thai bank account suggest that you ask what they need to stop tax withholding. 

At Kasikorn supposedly I stopped the withholding last month but they said today only one screen was updated so they updated another one.

Need to file a return to get my refund for tax year 2019 but want to get everything sorted so nothing is withheld in 2020. 

A problem is that they will not direct deposit tax refunds  and may not be in Thailand to cash their check.