Thailand taxes foreign income for residents staying 180 days or more

How the remittance rule works

Thailand taxes foreign-sourced income that tax residents bring into the country, under Departmental Instruction Por.161/2566 issued by the Revenue Department on Sept. 15, 2023. The rule covers income derived from Jan. 1, 2024 onward and taxes it in the year it's remitted, not the year it was earned.

A follow-up instruction, Por.162/2566, preserves the old treatment for income earned before 2024. Money earned offshore in 2023 or earlier can still be brought into Thailand tax-free.

A draft relaxation announced in 2025 would exempt foreign income remitted within the same year it was earned or the following year. The proposal still needs Cabinet and Council of State approval and is expected to apply from the January,March 2026 filing period if passed.

Who falls into the tax net

Anyone who spends 180 days or more in Thailand in a calendar year is a tax resident, regardless of visa type or nationality. Tax residents owe Thai tax on foreign income once they remit it, whether by bank transfer, foreign card spending in Thailand or ATM withdrawal.

The rule hits:

• Long-stay expats on retirement, marriage or work-permit visas remitting pensions, dividends or business profits
• Digital nomads and remote workers crossing the 180-day threshold while funding their stay from offshore accounts
• Thai nationals returning home with foreign earnings

Short-stay visitors under 180 days remain non-residents for tax purposes and owe nothing on foreign income, only on Thai-source earnings.

What residents need to do

Assessable foreign income includes overseas salaries, business profits, rental income, dividends, interest, capital gains and pensions. Thai personal income tax runs on the calendar year, with returns due by March 31 of the following year.

Residents remitting foreign income should track three things: the date the income was earned, the date it entered Thailand and the days spent in Thailand each year. Income earned before 2024 should be documented separately, because it stays outside the new regime. Double-tax treaty relief may apply where the income was already taxed at source.

Read our full Thailand guide for the complete picture and check our visa updates for movement on the proposed two-year exemption.