Scotian2012 wrote:Its a hard thing to grasp, but foreign accounts are really not a priority for Thai Banks as the deposits are relatively small-scale, and indeed are a bit of a overhead with new regulatory/tax requirements.
Out of interest, once opened, are farang accounts treated any differently to a Thai nationals account?
What are the new tax regulations?
(I'm on my 2nd Kasikorn account, never been to LOS with more than an exemption or a tourist visa, so far)
I believe that the only real difference is when you transfer larger sums of foreign cash into your account from overseas, as they need to check tax liability
I ran into difficulties recently trying to transfer funds from a pension fund that had closed. The cash needed to be declared by the bank to the tax authorities. If I bring the funds this year I pay tax, if I bring them on January 1 they are tax free.....go figure!!! The bank needs to comply and this is additional cost and effort to ensure that taxation is correct.
"'The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain
Bristolian wrote:I believe that the only real difference is when you transfer larger sums of foreign cash into your account from overseas, as they need to check tax liability
I ran into difficulties recently trying to transfer funds from a pension fund that had closed. The cash needed to be declared by the bank to the tax authorities. If I bring the funds this year I pay tax, if I bring them on January 1 they are tax free.....go figure!!! The bank needs to comply and this is additional cost and effort to ensure that taxation is correct.
A biy confusing there, mate? Was it because you have a work permit, and therefore pay tax?
Asuming you are referring to a Thai bank.
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
Bristolian wrote:I believe that the only real difference is when you transfer larger sums of foreign cash into your account from overseas, as they need to check tax liability
I ran into difficulties recently trying to transfer funds from a pension fund that had closed. The cash needed to be declared by the bank to the tax authorities. If I bring the funds this year I pay tax, if I bring them on January 1 they are tax free.....go figure!!! The bank needs to comply and this is additional cost and effort to ensure that taxation is correct.
A biy confusing there, mate? Was it because you have a work permit, and therefore pay tax?
Asuming you are referring to a Thai bank.
Welcome to my world where confusion reigns supreme I try not to confuse others but……
Of course you are right in your assumptions; I do have a work permit and therefore I am tax liable in Thailand. The funds from my closed pension were untaxed at source and, had I brought them to Thailand, in the same financial year as the payout, they would have become taxable in Thailand.
Banks in Thailand have a duty to record and inform the authorities of transfers of large sums of money; I am not sure the limits but when I previously transferred funds for buying a condo I was contacted both by my bank and by the BOT requesting details of how the funds were going to be used.
"'The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain
The limit is 20,000 USD or equivalent. When I've gone over that I or the wife had to fill out a simple form indicating what the money was for i.e., auto purchase, house purchase, flood repairs, hospital charges etc. They and no one else has ever questioned beyond that simple initial explanation. Pete
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
prcscct wrote:The limit is 20,000 USD or equivalent. When I've gone over that I or the wife had to fill out a simple form indicating what the money was for i.e., auto purchase, house purchase, flood repairs, hospital charges etc. They and no one else has ever questioned beyond that simple initial explanation. Pete
In my case I was traveling to Japan and received a telephone call from Bangkok Bank, whilst I was in the departure lounge at Swampy. I explained the purpose of the transfer and was not asked to go to the bank to fill out any forms. I thought that was it……..On arrival at Narita I received a call from the BOT who asked the same questions and seemed perfectly ok with the transfer and I heard no more.
"'The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain
As for the inward transfer limit it is either something new, or just like every other authority in Thailand, it depends on who happens to check such things.
I have bought in 6 figure amounts in the past without question, albeit was several years ago, and have never been questioned.
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
Back in 2003 to 2005 when we were buying land and building a home we transferred in larger amounts several times with no explanation needed.
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
hhfarang wrote: Back in 2003 to 2005 when we were buying land and building a home we transferred in larger amounts several times with no explanation needed.
I guess it just applies to those 2 questionable characters above, hhfarang!
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
Right on hhfarang, I remember transferring large amounts of funds on a monthly basis to both Bangkok and Kasikorn banks at the same time period of 2003-2005 and no one ever queried the transfers.
There are lots of regulations coming into effect - FATCA, FATF, Dodd-Frank...they have a US angle on them just now, but will quickly be adopted by EuroZone and probably China.
So it puts more overhead on Thai Banks to comply with overseas regulations on what is a small deposit base - so I guess it comes down to value of keeping that business.
One minor detail I missed above........I don't have any accounts here. The funds where transferred into a Thai owned account. Maybe that makes a difference and kicked in the over 20K USD form? No idea. For us it started in 2006 with K Bank and house payment inbound transfers, and 2008 with money for a new car. I now intentionally keep inbounds to 18-19 K and no questions. Pete
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Besides K Bank and Bangkok Bank (names i read above) and many other Thai banks, are there any international banks in HH like HSBC , Standard Chartered or are those banks only in Bangkok
I try not to confuse others but……
