Draft relief measures meant to ease Thailand’s tax on foreign income remitted by expats remain stuck as unenacted proposals, meaning anyone who qualifies as a Thai tax resident still owes tax on remitted foreign earnings under the existing, stricter rules for the full 2026 calendar year, the Chiang Rai Times reported.
Thailand’s Revenue Department drafted proposals earlier this year to shield foreign pensions, savings, and investment income from tax, but parliament has not passed them into an enforceable royal decree. Until that happens, enforcement continues under Order Por 161/2023, which closed an earlier loophole that had let people remit overseas income tax-free; it now taxes offshore earnings brought into Thailand — including dividends, consulting fees, capital gains, and rental income — at Thailand’s standard progressive personal income tax rates, which run as high as 35 percent.
Anyone who spends 180 days or more in Thailand in a calendar year is automatically treated as a Thai tax resident, regardless of visa category. That means holders of a Long-Term Resident visa or a retirement extension are not automatically exempt from filing: immigration status and tax residency are governed by separate laws, so a valid residency visa does not by itself protect someone from a tax audit on remitted income. Residents must declare foreign income in the year it is remitted into Thailand, and transferred funds that predate 2024 may be treated differently from income earned more recently — taxpayers need their own records to show which is which.
The relevant filing deadline is March 31, 2027, on Form PND 90 or PND 91 (an eight-day grace period applies to online filing), with penalties and compounding monthly interest for missing it. Thailand has active double-taxation agreements with more than 60 countries, which can be used to offset tax already paid abroad — but only with an official tax-payment certificate from the taxpayer’s home revenue authority; without one, Thai assessors will not accept a foreign tax credit claim.
References
Chiang Rai Times – Thailand’s Expats Face Foreign Income Tax as Relief Law Stalls
