USA retiree taxes in Thailand

I am retired and do no pay taxes in Thailand.  All my retirement checks are first deposited in US bank and I wire transfer money to Thai bank as I require.

You can read the Thai tax code here:  http://www.samuiforsale.com/law-texts/t … -code.html

yogananda1893 wrote:

I am interested to retire in Thailand. I am US citizen. What is Thailand tax laws for foreign retirees

Ok, but you do pay tax in the states, right. You cannot dodge tax by retiring in a foreign country. There is a tax treaty between countries - you must pay tax on income, including pension income, either in the states or in the foreign country, including Thailand. I'm no expert on that, but Thai tax is about 20%. If you don't pay tax on money earned in the states, and don't pay tax on it in Thailand, you may hit a snag down the road. There are IRS forms that deal with these issues, but usually tax is withheld in the states in the first place, then income declared on the 1040 in the spring. If you've reported it as taxable income in the states, you're off the hook in Thailand.

Yes I do file and pay US Federal taxes on my income because as you know the US federal government has a long arm.  I did not include that fact in my original answer because OP asked about Thai taxes and I stated I did not pay Thai taxes and pointed him to site with Thai Tax law translated so he could draw his own conclusion after comparing with US tax code.

It is important for anyone concerned about taxes to read tax code of countries concerned or talk with tax expert before making any decision.  It can become costly if you do the wrong thing because taxing authorities show no mercy.

Sorry, I meant to tip the other fellow, and not to be critical. People don't always know about the mutual tax treaty. Don't know how many times I heard people say that farangs do not pay tax in Thailand (or say, Peru or...), often leaving the impression, perhaps unintended, that farangs don't pay tax. Of course, they most certainly must, if the money was not taxed in the home country, and if they keep money in long term CDs in Thailand or come by money some other way, then they pay tax in Thailand, and often they have a choice, here or there. You and I know that, but some don't. I only found out about the tax agreement between the US and Thailand by doing Google searches. The good side, of course, is that the agreement is supposed to prevent double taxation.

But you're right - everybody needs to study on his/her own. Have a nice day.