Author Name: Danuch Sahakipicharn

Published: 11 December 2025

In recent years, a widespread misunderstanding has circulated among foreigners living in Thailand: that any money transferred into Thailand must be taxed if the individual resides in Thailand for at least 180 days in that tax year. Surprisingly, certain newspapers and some companies (claiming to be tax experts) have helped spread this misunderstanding. This belief has caused unnecessary anxiety, especially among expatriates who rely on their overseas savings to cover their daily living expenses.

What we must keep in mind is that we are dealing with “income tax”. As the name suggests, income tax is a tax imposed on income. In reality, however, money can exist in many forms, not only as income. There are forms of money that do not constitute taxable income, such as savings or borrowed funds. These types of money are not considered income and therefore are not subject to income tax. Thus, bringing money into Thailand does not automatically mean that such money must be taxed. Money becomes taxable only if it is income, and the taxpayer resides in Thailand for at least 180 days in the year that such income is derived (provided that such income is foreign-sourced income). In other words, if the money brought into Thailand is something other than income—such as savings or borrowed funds—then it is not subject to income tax.

Let us revisit the economic concept behind income tax. Income tax is built upon the Ability-to-Pay Principle (which is also why personal income tax systems typically use progressive rates: those with greater capacity to pay should bear a higher tax burden). Under this principle, an income tax system is designed to tax “income” (earnings), which reflects an increase in wealth or a person’s economic capacity during a given tax period, not from existing wealth or savings accumulated in the past. Consider this example: If a person has had no income at all for several years and lives in Thailand solely by using savings previously earned abroad many years ago, the money being spent is simply a conversion of existing wealth into consumable form. It is not income that reflects an increase in wealth or economic capacity in the current year. To tax such savings or declining wealth as “income” would contradict the Ability-to-Pay Principle, because this person has no earnings and no additional economic capacity from which income tax is meant to be collected. Taxing past wealth drawn down for living expenses would not align with the fundamental nature of income tax in economics, which aims to tax a person’s ability to generate income, not the use of wealth that already existed.

However, a major practical challenge is determining whether money brought into Thailand is income or savings. The law does not specify how to prove whether a given amount is income or savings, nor does it prescribe how many years money must be held before it is considered savings rather than income. This creates practical uncertainty, for example:

• It may be difficult to determine whether a transferred amount is new income or existing savings.

• Different tax officers may interpret the facts differently in the event of an audit.

Nevertheless, in practice, if a person does not have any Thai-source income, the likelihood of being audited is relatively low. This is because the Revenue Department generally focuses on taxpayers who earn Thai-source income—income that the Department can verify directly through its own system without needing additional investigative efforts.

Another important point to emphasize is that taxpayers are not required to prove or submit any documents relating to money transferred into Thailand—not even when filing their tax returns—unless they are selected for an audit. The obligation to prove the source of funds arises only when an audit occurs, not automatically every time money is transferred into the country or when filing an income tax return.

Key points for foreigners living in Thailand:

1. Bringing money into Thailand does not mean it is taxable in all cases.
2. Only income (not other forms of money) may be subject to tax under the conditions set out in the law.
3. Taxpayers do not need to submit proof unless they are audited.
4. Individuals with no Thai-source income generally face low audit risk.
5. Most confusion arises from the absence of clear legal rules on what documentation is required to distinguish income from savings.

We, N-Able Group, are highly proficient experts in Thai personal income tax matters, especially when it comes to issues affecting foreigners and the new practice of the Thai tax authorities on colleting income tax on foreign sourced income. We have the solutions to effectively manage this new practice and ease any concerns regarding potential tax issues. If you need assistance with managing your personal income tax filing without any hassle, please feel free to contact us through the following channels:

Email address: info@nablecompanies.com

Telephone, WhatsApp, and Line: + 66 95 557 1410