Thai Income Tax For Foreigners

Reviewed September 2026
Foreigners in Thailand pay personal income tax on the same terms as Thai nationals, at the same progressive rates from 0% to 35% and with the same allowances. What decides how much of their income is taxed is tax residency: residents pay on income from Thai sources and on foreign income they bring into Thailand, while non-residents pay on Thai income only. The current rates and allowances are set out in personal income tax 2026, and our personal income tax service prepares and files returns for foreign residents.

You are a Thai tax resident for any calendar year in which you spend 180 days or more in Thailand. The days do not need to be consecutive: every stay during the year counts towards the total, and the count starts again on 1 January. Visa type makes no difference, so a retiree, a remote worker on a DTV and an employee on a work permit are all tested in the same way.

Income from Thai sources means income from work done in Thailand, a business carried on here or an asset located here. It is taxed whether it is paid inside or outside the country.

Since 1 January 2024, the Revenue Department's guidance for foreigners taxes foreign income when two conditions are both met:

• It was earned in a year from 2024 onwards in which you spent 180 days or more in Thailand. Residency is tested in the year the income was earned.
• It is brought into Thailand, whether in the same year or a later one.

Two consequences follow. Income earned before 2024 is not taxed, even if you bring it in now. And income earned in a year when you were not a resident is not taxed, even if you bring it in later. Taxable foreign income is added to your Thai income for the year in which it arrives, and where only part of it is brought in, only that part is taxed.

Holders of the Long-Term Resident visa in the wealthy global citizen, wealthy pensioner and work-from-Thailand professional categories are exempt on foreign income they bring in, under Royal Decree No. 743.

A short assignment. Sarah, an Australian consultant, spends 120 days in Thailand working for a Thai company and earns 600,000 baht. She is a non-resident, so the 600,000 baht is taxed in Thailand and her Australian income is not.

Income from two countries. James, a British citizen, spends 240 days in Thailand. His fee from a Thai side project is taxed here, and so is any part of his UK salary that he brings into Thailand. Because the UK and Thailand have a double tax agreement, UK tax already paid on that salary can be credited against the Thai tax.

A remote worker. Emma, an American developer on a DTV, spends 210 days in Thailand while working for a US company. She is a Thai tax resident, but her salary is only taxed here if she brings it into Thailand. Paying US tax on it does not, by itself, exempt it.

A long holiday. Tom, a Canadian business owner, spends 120 days in Thailand with no Thai income. He is a non-resident, so he owes no Thai tax, even on money he brings in to spend.

Thailand has double tax agreements with more than 60 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany and Singapore. The Revenue Department keeps the full list, with the text of each agreement.

Where an agreement applies, tax paid abroad on income that Thailand also taxes can be credited against the Thai tax on the same income. The credit cannot exceed the Thai tax due on that income, and where your country has no agreement with Thailand, no credit is given for tax paid there.

Relief is not automatic. You declare the foreign income on your Thai return and claim the credit, with evidence of the tax paid abroad: the Revenue Department recommends a tax payment certificate from the foreign tax authority, and documents must be in English or Thai.

Each agreement allocates taxing rights differently. Some leave certain income, such as government service pensions, taxable only in the country that pays it, so the terms of your own agreement decide the outcome. Where you need to prove your Thai residency to another country's tax authority, the Revenue Department issues a certificate of residence

Returns are due by 31 March of the following year, with online filing usually open until early April; the Revenue Department confirms the date each year. Foreign income brought into Thailand goes on the same return as your Thai income, on PND 91 if all of it is from employment and on PND 90 otherwise.

Whether tax is due on money brought into Thailand depends on when and where it was earned, so your records are what prove your position. The Revenue Department may ask for documents showing where income came from, and they must be in English or Thai. Keep records of:

• Every transfer into Thailand: the date, the amount and the account it came from.
• Card spending and cash: spending on a foreign credit or debit card in Thailand, cash withdrawals from a foreign account and cash carried in can all be treated as bringing money in, not only bank transfers, so keep the statements for those cards and accounts too.
• Tax paid abroad: the tax payment certificates or returns from your home country, which you need to claim a credit under a double tax agreement.
• When your savings were built up: statements showing money earned before 2024, ideally held in a separate account from newer income, so that each transfer can be traced to its source.

  Whether you are a Thai tax resident, and what you owe on money brought in from abroad, turns on your days in Thailand and your double tax agreement. We work out your position and file your return. See our personal income tax service or get in touch.