Reader Submission: Tax gift from the Thai government
The Thai government has introduced a temporary deduction to stimulate consumption/turnover. She did the same thing last year and I think the year before as well. The scheme applies to purchases until December 10, I believe. For the purchases you make in Thailand, you can reclaim the amount paid from the tax authorities.
Couple of comments. Applies to purchases made before December 10, I believe, up to a total of THB 15.000. Does not apply to purchases of spirits and smoking materials and you must prove the purchase with an invoice stating your name and address. A receipt is therefore not sufficient. You can simply ask for such a note in the store when purchasing.
I was in a large Tesco yesterday and the manager told me that I just had to report to the manager's office. Then they make it on the spot. Homepro simply has an administrative department that does this by default. Reclaiming tax is easy. This is not the place to go into that.
Those who file a tax return can simply enter it as a deduction on the return. So dear readers, for some of the readers this is an easy way to earn roughly $400. It applies to almost all purchases!!
Submitted by John
What you get back is only the VAT and that is 7%.
In order to get back the maximum of 400 euros (15.000 baht), you must spend 4 * 14 baht = 15.000 baht in the next 210.000 weeks. That won't work for me besides the fact that I don't feel like the whole paperwork for a few hundred Baht.
Correct. Moreover, only the 18 percent of people with higher incomes benefit from this because only they pay income tax. It is therefore a gift to the rich and through less tax revenue at the expense of the poor.
But luckily you can get your VAT back from a corridor to a massage parlor 🙂
I do not consider my Thai colleague who earns 15.000 Baht a month as a high-income person. And she also falls under the scheme because she pays payroll tax. Her income is more of 150.000 Baht per year.
And I also know graduates of wealthy parents who work in the business but receive no income. Everything is paid for by mom and dad of course. They are NOT covered by the scheme.
I wonder why she pays payroll taxes.
I start with an exemption of 90.000 Baht and then a tranche of 150.000 Baht with a 0% rate.
So you pay nothing about the first – minimum – 240.000 Baht.
http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6045.0.html
https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2016/05/in-focus-tax-issue-4.pdf
I think this is a wonderful way to register you, I wouldn't want a small advantage over me.
best regards,
For tourists there has always been the tax recovery? It is a lot of paperwork, I think, but if you want to put in the time and sense….
Thanks Chris for your response. I went too short. But, contrary to what you write the following. It's a gift for taxpayers and not for the people who don't pay taxes. They may deduct the entire amount from their tax with a maximum of 15.000 baht. It therefore concerns the entire amount and not the VAT on the amount. I'm still looking for the test in an understandable language from a tax consultant or possibly from the government itself. Haven't found it yet though
And you also have to be a tax resident in Thailand, otherwise this kite will not work.
It is therefore definitely not a scheme for everyone, you must be liable for income tax.
Most farang and most farmers and other thai in my area therefore have no use for it.
I believe this arrangement has been in place for two years. What you do is create an income tax deduction. I've been doing this for two years and you save on that maximum 15.000 Baht the IB at the marginal rate, so if that is 20% you pay 3.000 Baht less tax. You will not be refunded VAT.
The Thai tax authorities once gave me a piece of paper with name and address details and my tax number. If I want an invoice for a purchase, I submit this document and check that my data and tax number have been correctly transferred to the invoice and so far the tax authorities have accepted it without any problems.
This year is new that it is not only for consumer durables, but now also for groceries such as toilet paper, shampoo, food, etc. I just had a hotel stay and I deduct that too. Incidentally, my Thai wife says that it runs until December XNUMX.
What strikes me most are the negative responses. Of the first six, five are negative!
You can also simply take advantage of this arrangement. Last year I deducted a hotel stay on Koh Lipe and also a sofa, crockery, cupboard, bicycle helmet and clothes. And it doesn't take any effort either, because the shop draws up the bill and I hand it over to the Thai tax inspector who fills in my tax return for me. (Of course I calculate my tax return at home first). Moreover, in my mind 3000 Baht tax saved is worth at least double that.
John, thank you for posting this tip and I hope some positives will take advantage of it anyway. I sure do!