Thailand Income Tax for Foreigners: Rates, Filing, and the 2024 Remittance Rule

Can’t figure out if you have to file personal income taxes in Thailand? This guide has you covered.

When it comes to Thailand income tax for foreigners, there’s a lot of misinformation floating around on the internet.

Some expats will tell you that they never pay income tax. Others, however, will tell you that they file every year. Who should you listen to? Then there are the tax rates. If you do have to file personal income taxes in Thailand, what percentage will you be taxed?

In addition, Thailand introduced a new tax regulation in 2024 requiring you to pay taxes on your pre-2024 foreign-earned income if you bring it into the country. To make sure this is enforced, Thailand has begun asking all banks to comply with the Common Reporting Standard for tax purposes.

So many questions that need reliable answers.

With that in mind, this guide will help you determine if you’re a tax or non-tax resident in Thailand, what your tax rates in the country are, and how to file your personal income taxes. If you want to avoid tax complications and need help from an expert, you can get in touch with Expat Tax Thailand.

Do Expats Pay Income Tax in Thailand?

Thailand is not a tax haven. So if you plan on living here without encountering any legal issues, you have to make sure you file taxes on any liable earnings.

Everyone living in Thailand pays taxes. It comes in many forms. The most outstanding tax is VAT (value-added tax), which is charged at 7 percent on most products and services in Thailand. 

Taxes are also hidden in every service and product you get in Thailand. If you buy a condo, you have to pay condo tax. If you own a car, you have to pay car tax every year. 

If you are working in Thailand, another common type of tax you’ll have to pay is personal income tax. 

Even digital nomads who work remotely in Thailand might have to pay income taxes. 

To determine if you have to pay income taxes in Thailand, you first need to find out if you’re a tax resident in Thailand.

Tax Residents Vs. Non-Tax Residents

Expats in Thailand fall into two categories:

• Tax residents
• Non-tax residents

Thailand Tax Residents

A tax resident is anyone who lives in Thailand for 180 days of a calendar year. Anyone shy of that number is considered a non-tax resident. 

This important difference in residency classification means there is also a difference in what income is taxable.

Tax residents must pay taxes on any income they earn in Thailand as well as any income brought in from overseas as noted in Section 1 of the Revenue Department’s website. For a detailed breakdown of the 2024 rule changes, see our Thailand foreign-earned income tax guide. 

However, any income you earn during the year but leave in a bank account outside of Thailand is not subject to taxes unless you bring it to Thailand.

This means, if you make money abroad and don’t want to pay income taxes on it in Thailand, you must leave the money in a foreign bank account without sending it to Thailand.

This also applies to pensions, but we’ll talk about that in greater detail in a section below.

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Thailand Non-Tax Residents

In comparison to tax residents, non-tax residents are only liable for income that is earned in Thailand. This means your income from foreign sources aren’t taxed.

Please do note that to legally be a tax resident in Thailand and pay Thailand income tax, you need to get a Thailand tax ID from your local Revenue Department. If you are working in Thailand, your employer will do it for you.

Do I Need to File Thailand Tax?

This totally depends on your situation. Here’s a general guideline:

You do not need to file Thailand tax if you:

• are not a Thai tax resident (by staying in Thailand for less than 180 days in a calendar year) and do not make an income in Thailand, such as from employment or rental property.
• bring foreign-earned income to Thailand that falls below the minimum threshold (THB120,000 for pensions and THB60,000 for other income).
• remit any non-accessible income to Thailand, such as U.S. Social Security, Canadian pensions, pensions from certain military services, or original investments.

On the other hand, you need to file Thailand tax if you:

• are a Thai tax resident and generate any income in Thailand, such as from employment, rental property, capital gains, dividends, properties sales, and so on.
• remit money to Thailand that’s above the minimum threshold.

Please note that, for all of the cases, you should always keep all of your financial documents well-organized to prove the source of your money if needed.

It’s also good to know that taxation is a sensitive issue, and each personal situation is different. If you are unsure whether you need to file taxes in Thailand, here are two ways to find out:

1. Visit your local Revenue Department – Bring all relevant financial documents, such as your pension records, payslips, investment statements, and bank statements, along with a Thai speaker to help avoid miscommunication. The Thai Revenue Department can review your documents in detail and determine whether you need to file taxes.
2. Consult a tax advisor, such as Expat Tax Thailand.

Personal Income Tax Rates 

Thailand has a progressive tax system, which means your tax rate increases as your income increases. 

You must pay taxes once you earn more than THB150,000 a year after tax deductions. Then, the more you make, the higher tax rates you have to pay. 

At present, the maximum tax rate is 35 percent for those who make over THB5,000,000 a year. 

The table below shows what your tax rates will be at different incomes.

Taxable Income (THB)	Tax Rate
0 – 150,000	0%
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%

As you might’ve noticed, tax rates are comparable to most other countries, so the assumption that Thailand is a tax haven is untrue.

Employment is the most common source of personal income tax for expats in Thailand. Read our guide on working in Thailand for more context. 

Tax Deductions and Allowances

To decrease taxpayers’ burdens, Thailand has a number of deductibles and allowances available to both Thais and expats. 

Major deductions include:

• Employment income
• Copyright income
• Income from renting out buildings, agricultural land, vehicles
• Liberal professions income 

On top of that, the Thai government also allows a number of allowances when calculating total taxes such as but not limited to:

• Personal allowance
• Spousal allowance
• Child allowance
• Education
• Parents allowance
• Health insurance premiums
• Life insurance premiums
• Home mortgage interest
• Charitable contributions

The deduction and allowance rates amount for different income sources vary. 

This table shows popular deductions for expats:

Type	Amount (THB)
Personal allowance (available to everyone)	60,000
Employment	100,000
Spouse allowance (if your spouse doesn’t have an income)	60,000
Child allowance per person	30,000
Parent allowance per person (both you and your spouse)	30,000
Health Insurance	25,000
Thai ESG Funds	Up to 30% of income, capped at THB200,000
Social Security	Same amount you contribute
Donation	Same amount you donate but shouldn’t exceed 10% of your income
Rental Income	30% of your annual rental income

Note that deductions are subject to change every now and then. You can check the Revenue Department website for the most up-to-date rates.

Taking advantage of the allowances and deductions the Thai government provides can save you money on taxes, so it’s definitely in your best interest to make the most of them.

Non-tax residents are also eligible for some personal and specific allowances.

A Worked Example: Calculating What You’d Actually Owe

The tax rate table and the deductions table above tell you the rules. Seeing them applied to a real number is what actually answers “how much will I pay.” Here’s a simple example using the same figures already on this page.

Example: A Single Tax Resident Earning THB1,200,000 a Year

Say you’re a Thai tax resident with THB1,200,000 in gross salary for the year, no dependents, and no other income sources.

• Gross income: THB1,200,000
• Employment income deduction: this is 50% of your employment income, capped at THB100,000, so only THB100,000 comes off, not THB600,000
• Personal allowance: THB60,000, available to everyone regardless of income type
• Net taxable income: THB1,200,000 minus THB100,000 minus THB60,000 = THB1,040,000

Run that THB1,040,000 through the progressive bands from the Personal Income Tax Rates table above, one band at a time:

Band (THB)	Rate	Tax Owed in This Band
0 – 150,000	0%	THB0
150,001 – 300,000	5%	THB7,500
300,001 – 500,000	10%	THB20,000
500,001 – 750,000	15%	THB37,500
750,001 – 1,000,000	20%	THB50,000
1,000,001 – 1,040,000	25%	THB10,000
Total tax owed		THB125,000

THB125,000 works out to an effective rate of about 10.4% on the THB1,200,000 gross salary, well under the 25% band it technically reaches into. Add a spouse allowance, child allowance, health insurance premiums, or a Thai ESG fund contribution from the deductions table above, and the net taxable income, and the tax owed, drops further.

This example only uses the personal allowance and the employment deduction to keep the math visible. Add rental income, dividends, or remitted foreign income on top of a salary, and each income type combines with deductions differently, rental income gets its own 30% deduction, for instance, and remitted foreign income is counted on top of Thai-sourced income only once it’s actually brought in. Our guide on who actually needs to file Thai tax walks through how mixed income years like that get counted.

One case where these progressive bands don’t apply at all: if you hold a Long-Term Resident visa in the highly-skilled professional category, a flat 17% rate can replace the whole progressive structure above. Whether that beats the roughly 10.4% effective rate in this example depends entirely on income level, worth running both ways before assuming the flat rate is automatically better. More on that in Special Personal Income Tax Rate below.

Special Personal Income Tax Rate

Thailand offers a special visa known as the Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa. This visa provides eligible holders with a unique income tax benefit: a flat personal income tax rate of 17%. It’s important to note that this preferential rate primarily applies to individuals in the highly-skilled professional category.

For more information, check out our guide to the LTR visa.

Dividends and Bond Tax Rates 

Besides any income you earn from your employment in Thailand, you will also be expected to pay tax on other earnings. 

This includes but isn’t limited to capital gains, investment income, dividends, interest, and rental income. 

The table below shows you the different tax rates for these situations.

Type	Rate
Dividends	10%
Bond	15%

When you receive income from dividends or bonds in Thailand, there is a withholding tax at the rate of either 10% or 15%, respectively. You may not need to report it when filing your tax return unless you want to claim tax credits and request a tax refund.

However, before doing so, it’s recommended to talk to a tax advisor to ensure you calculate everything correctly.

Rental Income Tax

If you have rental income, it is subject to personal income tax at the rate of 0%-35%, as mentioned earlier in the previous section. But you can also claim a 30% tax deduction on your rental income.

In addition to that, your property is also subject to property tax at the rate of 0.02% to 0.1%, based on the type of your property.

Withholding Taxes

Thailand has a tax withholding system where your employer, payer, or financial institute withholds a percentage of your income from each paycheck and submits it to the Revenue Department. 

If it’s an income from employment, the withholding tax rate will be calculated based on your annual income from the progressive tax rate chart mentioned earlier. 

Your total annual tax due at the end of the year will then be divided by the number of payments – for example 12 if you get paid once a month – and this is how much taxes will be deducted from each of your paychecks. 

Type	Rate
Employment	0-35%
Rents and prizes	5%
Service fee	3%
Advertising fee	2%
Dividends	10%
Interest	1%
Royalties	3%

Although your payer withholds your taxes and pays them on your behalf, you should always ask for withholding tax certificate, which is necessary for filing your personal income taxes. 

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Filing Taxes

For most people, personal income tax filing starts on 1 January and is due by 31 March of every year for any income earned in the previous year.

If you file your income tax online, the deadline is usually April 8th.

The tax year ends on 31 December and starts on 1 January of every year.

You can file your taxes online through the Revenue Department E-Filing system.

Here’s a list of what you need to file taxes in Thailand:

• Tax ID (see next section on how to get your tax ID)
• E-filing account (you can register once you have a Thai tax ID)
• 50 tawi (for those who are employed in Thailand – your employer will give you this)
• Withholding tax certificate
• Deduction evidence such as receipts, Thai ESG fund certificates, and so on.

If you work in Thailand, your employer may help you file your taxes.

If you file your own taxes, ask your Thai colleagues or an accountant for help since the tax filing form is only available in Thai. 

Otherwise, once you log in to the E-filing system, you have to take the following steps:

1. Add your personal address in Thailand
2. Choose your source of income 
3. Specify how much you make for each income type, including how much tax is already being withheld
4. Choose deductibles and specify amount

Please note that you need to choose the source of income correctly through the official code. 

For example, if it’s income from employment, it’s Section 40(1). If it’s income from subletting your condo, it’s Section 40(5).

Then, the system will show you how much tax you have to pay or how much of a tax return you’re going to get. 

Paying for Your Thailand Personal Income Tax

It’s very easy to do. After you file your tax, you have an option whether you want to pay for your income tax right now or not. If it is, you can do so right away by opening your Thai bank application on your phone and scan the QR code provided on the website.

This is also what I always did when filing my tax. If you prefer to pay it later, you can print the tax document and pay it later. It’s also possible to pay at a convenient store like Seven Eleven or Tesco.

Important: You need to pay for your Thailand personal income tax before April 30th to avoid any penalties. Also, keep a copy of your tax filing because you’ll need it when renewing your work permit.

Penalties for Filing Late or Not Filing at All

The Key Takeaways above mention a THB2,000 penalty, 1.5% monthly interest, and fines up to THB200,000 with possible jail time. Those are three separate things for three different situations, and the scary top number rarely applies to an ordinary late filer. Here’s what each one actually covers.

Missing the Filing Deadline

File your return late, or skip it altogether, and the fine is up to THB2,000. It’s separate from any tax you owe, and you can be charged it even in a year when you owed nothing, because it’s a penalty for the missing paperwork rather than the missing money.

Paying Late

File on time but pay late, and a surcharge of 1.5% of the unpaid tax gets added for every month, or part of a month, the bill stays unpaid, counting from the day after the deadline. If the Revenue Department has granted you an extension and you pay within it, that drops to 0.75% a month. The surcharge keeps building until you clear the balance, so a bill left for a full year can cost more in surcharge than the original tax did.

Deliberate Evasion

The big numbers, a fine of THB2,000 to THB200,000 and three months to seven years in prison, are reserved for deliberate fraud: knowingly filing false information, or scheming to dodge tax or claim a refund you aren’t owed. This is a criminal charge, not the routine penalty an honest late filing or an accountant’s slip would ever attract.

If you’ve missed a filing year, or you’re not sure whether an old remittance should have been declared, sorting it out yourself rather than sitting on it keeps the matter a late-filing one rather than anything that starts to look like evasion.

Keeping the documents this page already covers, your withholding tax certificate, deduction receipts, and TIN, on hand from year to year makes it far easier to answer a Revenue Department query if one ever comes up, instead of scrambling to rebuild your records after the fact. (If you ever need to point an accountant to them, these three penalties sit under Sections 35, 27, and 37 of the Revenue Code.)

Getting a Tax Return

You can ask to get a tax return at the end of the e-filing system.

If you get a tax return, you can ask the Revenue Department to send a check to your address or you can donate it to a political party. 

It can take anywhere from under a week to a few months to get your tax return depending on when you file. If you file early, there’s a chance that you’ll get your tax return within a week or two. If you file late in March, then it could take many months to get your tax return. 

Important: Please note that when you request a tax return, it’s likely that the Revenue Department will ask for more documents, including evidence of income, tax allowances, and tax deductions. If they do, you can upload requested documents through the system – and you should be good to go. 

Mid-Year Tax Return

If you earn advertising fees, are employed in public entertainment, or have rental income, you’re also required to file a mid-year tax return by September 30th. 

With all that said, when filing personal income taxes, consult with an accountant to make sure that you can plan your taxes in advance and file them correctly to prevent any fines and/or penalties. 

Double Taxation Agreement

61 countries have double taxation agreements with Thailand to ensure you won’t be taxed twice – once by Thailand and again by your country of origin. 

The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Norway, Russia, are a few of the countries that have such treaties in place. You can see a full list here. 

However, even if Thailand has a double taxation agreement with your country, you might still have to file personal income taxes both in Thailand and in your home country. 

For instance, U.S. Citizens have to file in both countries in which they can do it using a tax filing software such as TurboTax. To do this, you must get an English tax certificate from your local Revenue Department in Thailand. 

In addition to that, a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) works as a tax credit. When you file taxes in your home country, you can use the tax credit to reduce your Thai income tax liability.

Common misconception: A common misconception is that a DTA exempts you from filing in Thailand altogether. In practice, a DTA usually works as a credit system: you may offset tax already paid abroad against your Thai liability, but you still need to file and provide proof of foreign tax paid.

Are Pensions Subject to Tax?

Pension and taxes in Thailand are tricky, and it’s a hot topic for those who retire in Thailand. If you are on a Thailand retirement visa, understanding pension tax treatment is especially important. 

Before 2024, while certain pensions were subject to tax, you were unlikely to pay pension tax in Thailand. However, the situation completely changed in 2024 due to the new foreign-earned income tax regulations.

It’s likely that when you send your pension to Thailand, you are subject to personal income tax, with three main exceptions:

1. It’s a pension you earned before 2024. Keep your pension record well just in case the Revenue Department ask for it.
2. There’s a double taxation agreement between Thailand and your country stating that the pension, mainly from the government, is subject to tax exclusion.
3. It’s a pension that falls under non-accessible income, such as payments from the US Social Security.

On the other hand, if it’s a pension from a private company, such as through an investment, it’s likely that you need to pay tax on that.

It’s best to read the double taxation agreement between Thailand and your home country. You can find it from this link on the Revenue Department website.

Is a Credit Card Subject to Tax?

As of now, there is no legal requirement to file taxes in Thailand simply for using an international credit card and paying it off with foreign income.

However, this does not mean it is risk-free for Thai tax residents to use an international credit card as a way to evade Thai taxes. The situation remains somewhat in a grey area, and tax regulations could change in the future.

How Does the Revenue Department Know My Financial Status?

The Thai Revenue Department uses the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). At the end of each year, financial institutions are required to report key details about your financial history, including your account balance, interest earned, capital gains, and other financial transactions.

This is a common practice in many countries worldwide to track financial activity and ensure tax compliance.

Does Thailand Tax Foreign-Earned Income?

Starting September 2023, Thailand implemented a significant change in its tax policy regarding foreign-earned income.

Previously, foreign-earned income was not subject to Thai tax as long as it was not brought into Thailand within the same calendar year.

However, following the announcement, all foreign-earned income is now subject to Thai tax. If you have already paid taxes on that income in your home country, there is a chance that you may not need to pay it in Thailand due to the double taxation agreement.

Currently, we are in a transition period. Everyone is awaiting detailed guidelines from the Thailand Revenue Department.

On November 20, 2023, they released a new announcement stating that foreign-earned income earned before January 1, 2024, will not be subject to Thai tax if brought into Thailand. However, you need to provide evidence of when the income was earned.

Tip: One practical issue expats frequently encounter is mixing pre-2024 savings with post-2024 income in the same bank account, which makes it difficult to prove which funds are exempt from Thai tax. Keeping a separate account for pre-2024 savings avoids this problem entirely.

Where the 2024 Remittance Rule Comes From, and a Bigger Change That Isn’t Law Yet

The 2024 remittance rule described above comes from two Revenue Department orders. They’re worth knowing by name, since that’s what an accountant or the Revenue Department will call them if the rule ever comes up in writing.

The Two Orders Behind the 2024 Change

• Por.161/2566 (September 15, 2023) is the order that changed the rule: foreign income a tax resident brings into Thailand is now taxed in the year it’s remitted, no matter which year it was earned. That closed the old workaround of parking foreign income offshore for a calendar year and then bringing it in tax-free.
• Por.162/2566 (November 20, 2023) is the follow-up that added an exception: Por.161’s rule doesn’t touch income earned before January 1, 2024. That’s where the “pre-2024 savings stay exempt” point earlier on this page comes from, and it’s why dated proof of those older savings is worth holding onto.

A Bigger Reform Is Still a Draft, Not Law

Separately from those two orders, the government has drafted a much bigger change: taxing residents on their worldwide income as they earn it, not just on what they bring into Thailand. Under the draft, anyone spending 180 days or more a year here would owe Thai tax on their global income whether or not a single baht of it ever reaches the country. The same draft would soften the current remittance rule with a two-year grace period, so income earned from 2024 onward would stay exempt as long as you bring it in within two tax years, easing the pressure Por.161 created to either remit straight away or leave the money offshore for good.

Current status: it’s still only a draft. It stalled when Parliament dissolved ahead of the February 2026 election, and it has more approval stages to clear before it could become law. The remittance rule from Por.161 and Por.162 above is the one actually in force today. Anyone telling you Thailand has already switched to taxing worldwide income is getting ahead of the facts, so check with a tax advisor before acting on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much tax would I actually owe on a simple salary?

It depends on your deductions and allowances, and those matter as much as your gross salary. As a worked example, a single tax resident with THB1,200,000 in gross salary and no dependents owes about THB125,000 after the standard employment deduction and personal allowance, an effective rate of roughly 10.4%. See the full breakdown above.

What’s the difference between Por.161/2566 and Por.162/2566?

Por.161/2566 set the rule that foreign-sourced income is taxed in the year it’s remitted to Thailand. Por.162/2566, issued about two months later, exempted income earned before January 1, 2024 from that rule.

Has Thailand switched to taxing worldwide income?

Not yet. A draft law proposing that shift stalled when Parliament dissolved ahead of the February 2026 election, and it still has approval stages to clear before it could take effect. The rule in force today still taxes foreign income only when you bring it into Thailand.

What happens if I file my Thai tax return late?

A late or missing filing carries a fine of up to THB2,000, and that applies even if you owed no tax for the year. If you also owe tax and haven’t paid it, a separate surcharge of 1.5% a month on the unpaid amount stacks on top of that fine.

What’s the difference between a late-filing fine and a tax evasion charge?

A late filing is a routine penalty, up to THB2,000 plus a surcharge on any unpaid tax. Tax evasion is a criminal charge that only applies to deliberate fraud, such as knowingly filing false information, and it carries a fine of THB2,000 to THB200,000 and three months to seven years in prison. An honest late filing never crosses into that territory.

Which form do I file, PND90 or PND91?

PND91 is for employment income only. PND90 covers everything else, pensions, freelance fees, dividends, rental income, and remitted foreign income. Our foreign-earned income tax guide walks through the declaration process in more detail.

Does the employment income deduction really give me THB100,000 off automatically?

The employment deduction is 50% of your employment income, capped at THB100,000. Anyone earning more than THB200,000 a year from employment hits the cap and gets the full THB100,000; below that, the deduction is only half of what you actually earned.