Thailand does not tax worldwide income. That sentence is the most important thing on this page, because the opposite is asserted constantly and confidently across the internet. What Thailand taxes is foreign income you bring in, under conditions that are narrower than most reporting suggests.
This page separates law from proposal explicitly, because a great deal of what circulates as “Thailand’s new tax law” has never been enacted. Nothing here is tax advice, and Thai tax turns on specifics — your nationality, each income stream’s source, the treaty that applies and the exact year you cross 180 days.
When you become a tax resident
Under Section 41 of the Revenue Code you are a Thai tax resident if you are present in Thailand for an aggregate of 180 days or more in a calendar year. Aggregate, not continuous. Arrival and departure days count. It is assessed per calendar year, so your status can change from one year to the next — which is itself a planning lever.
Non-residents are taxable only on Thai-source income.
What actually changed in 2024
Departmental Order P.161/2566, effective 1 January 2024: a Thai tax resident who brings foreign-sourced income into Thailand is taxable on it in the year of remittance, regardless of the year it was earned.
Before that, foreign income was taxable only if remitted in the same calendar year it was earned — so the standard move was to leave earnings offshore for a full year and remit them the following January, tax-free. That loophole is closed. Departmental Order P.162/2566 is the grandfathering provision: income earned before 1 January 2024 stays under the old rule and is not assessable on remittance.
The operative test
Foreign income is assessable in Thailand only if all three hold:
- You were a Thai tax resident in the year the income was earned, and
- The income was earned on or after 1 January 2024, and
- It is remitted to Thailand.
Three consequences follow that are routinely misstated:
- Pre-2024 savings and capital are not assessable when remitted, provided you can document the balance as at 31 December 2023. That documentary evidence is the practical protection, and it is worth assembling retrospectively if you have not.
- Income earned in a year you were not Thai-resident is not assessable when later remitted. Spend fewer than 180 days in Thailand in a given year and that year’s earnings can be brought in later without Thai liability.
- Remittance is broader than a bank transfer. It includes ATM withdrawals in Thailand on a foreign card, foreign card spending in Thailand, cash carried in, and crypto proceeds converted and brought in.
Rates for 2026
| Net taxable income (THB) | Rate |
|---|---|
| 0 – 150,000 | Exempt |
| 150,001 – 300,000 | 5% |
| 300,001 – 500,000 | 10% |
| 500,001 – 750,000 | 15% |
| 750,001 – 1,000,000 | 20% |
| 1,000,001 – 2,000,000 | 25% |
| 2,000,001 – 5,000,000 | 30% |
| Over 5,000,000 | 35% |
A note on sources: the Revenue Department’s own English-language rate page is stale — it shows the top band starting at 4,000,000 THB and a 30,000 THB personal allowance. Do not rely on it.
Key allowances (2026): personal 60,000 THB; spouse not filing separately 60,000; each child 30,000, with another 30,000 for second and later children born from 2018; each parent cared for 30,000. Employment income carries a standard deduction of 50 percent capped at 100,000. Life insurance premiums up to 100,000, health insurance for yourself up to 25,000 and for parents up to 15,000, mortgage interest on Thai property up to 100,000.
Two proposals that are not law
Worldwide income taxation. A draft amendment to the Revenue Code would tax Thai tax residents on worldwide income regardless of remittance, abolishing the remittance basis for individuals. It was planned for enactment in 2025 and was not enacted. Status as of August 2026: draft only. This is the item most aggressively misreported — headlines saying Thailand “now taxes worldwide income” are describing a proposal.
A remittance-year exemption. Separately, in 2025 the Revenue Department drafted a Royal Decree that would exempt foreign income remitted in the year it is earned or the year immediately following — largely reversing P.161/2566 for prompt remitters. It was announced and never published in the Royal Gazette, and reporting indicates it was shelved ahead of the 2026 elections. It has no legal force. Structuring remittances in reliance on it leaves you exposed to assessment.
The LTR exemption — the one real carve-out
Foreign-sourced income of qualifying LTR visa holders is exempt from Thai personal income tax under Royal Decree No. 743. This is enacted law, it sits entirely outside the remittance regime above, and it is the largest structural tax advantage available to a foreign resident in Thailand. Highly-Skilled Professionals additionally get a 17 percent flat rate on Thai-source employment income — that flat rate applies to that category only.
Treaties
United States (1996 treaty, in force 1998). Article 20(1): private pensions and similar payments for past employment are taxable only in the state of residence — so a US private pension received by a Thai tax resident is taxable in Thailand, not the US. Article 20(2): social security and similar public pensions are taxable only in the paying state — US Social Security is taxable in the US only and is not assessable in Thailand even when remitted. That distinction matters enormously to American retirees and is frequently blurred.
The US saving clause overrides much of this for citizens. The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income regardless of residence. US citizens in Thailand file annually and relieve double taxation with the Foreign Tax Credit or the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion — USD 132,900 for tax year 2026. Note that the FEIE covers earned income only; it does nothing for pensions, dividends, capital gains or rent.
United Kingdom (1981 treaty). UK government service pensions — civil service, armed forces, police, most local authority — are taxable in the UK only. The UK State Pension and private or occupational pensions are assessable in Thailand if remitted, with a foreign tax credit for UK tax paid. Thailand has treaties with 60-plus jurisdictions including Canada and Australia. Credits are only available against income actually remitted and assessed in Thailand.
If you are a US citizen
- FBAR is required if the aggregate maximum value of your foreign accounts exceeded USD 10,000 at any point in the year. A single Thai bank account holding the 800,000 THB retirement deposit — about USD 24,400 — triggers it. Filed to FinCEN separately from your return, due 15 April with automatic extension to 15 October.
- FATCA Form 8938, living abroad, starts at USD 200,000 at year end or USD 300,000 at any time if single, and USD 400,000 or 600,000 filing jointly. Penalties run to USD 10,000 for failure to file and up to USD 50,000 for continued failure. Filing 8938 does not relieve the FBAR obligation — both may be required.
Thai financial institutions report US-person accounts under FATCA and report broadly under CRS. Assume your account data is visible to your home revenue authority.
Filing
Forms PND 90 or PND 91. Paper deadline 31 March, e-filing 9 April. A Thai Tax Identification Number is required and is obtained from a local Revenue Department office. Late payment attracts interest of roughly 1.5 percent a month plus surcharges.
One honest observation about practice rather than law: enforcement against foreign retirees remitting modest pension income has so far been light, and branch offices give inconsistent guidance to foreigners. That is a description of how things currently are. It is not a safe harbor, and it is not something to build a plan on.
Frequently asked questions
Does Thailand tax foreign income?
Only when it is remitted into Thailand, and only if you were a Thai tax resident in the year it was earned and it was earned on or after 1 January 2024. Income earned before that date is grandfathered under Order P.162/2566 and is not assessable when brought in. Thailand does not tax worldwide income — a draft law that would have done so was planned for 2025 and was never enacted.
Is my US Social Security taxed in Thailand?
No. Article 20(2) of the US–Thailand treaty makes social security and similar public pensions taxable only in the paying state, so US Social Security is taxable in the US and is not assessable in Thailand even when remitted. US private pensions are treated differently under Article 20(1) — those are taxable in your state of residence, meaning Thailand.
When do I become a Thai tax resident?
When you are present in Thailand for 180 days or more in aggregate during a calendar year. The days do not need to be consecutive, and arrival and departure days both count. It is assessed per calendar year, so your status can change from one year to the next.
Do ATM withdrawals count as remittance?
Yes. Remittance is broader than a bank transfer — it covers ATM withdrawals in Thailand on a foreign card, foreign card spending in Thailand, cash physically carried in, and crypto proceeds converted and brought in. Anyone assuming they can live on a foreign card without remitting anything is working from a misunderstanding of the rule.
How do I avoid Thai tax on my savings?
Savings accumulated before 1 January 2024 are not assessable when remitted, so the practical step is documenting your account balances as at 31 December 2023 — that evidence is what protects the position. Beyond that, income earned in a year in which you spent fewer than 180 days in Thailand is not assessable when later brought in. Take advice on your own circumstances rather than acting on a general page.
Sources
- Revenue Department Orders P.161/2566 and P.162/2566
- Revenue Code Section 41 — tax residency
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Thailand — 2026 rates and allowances
- Royal Decree No. 743 — LTR foreign income exemption
- US–Thailand income tax convention 1996; UK–Thailand convention 1981
- Internal Revenue Service — FBAR and Form 8938 requirements, FEIE for tax year 2026
