Thailand's taxes at a glance
Structure used: Self-employed person on a DTV working from Thailand for foreign clients, taxed at the progressive rates on Thai-source fees (section 40(2) hire of service income, 50% expense deduction capped at THB 100,000, THB 60,000 personal allowance). Bands are the effective tax on profit for a remote worker using this structure, with clients abroad and costs of 15% of revenue.
Thailand tax residency: the 180-day test
The Revenue Department's guide to the P.N.D. 90 return sets a single test: stay in Thailand for at least 180 days in the tax year, which is the calendar year, and you are a resident; stay less and you are a non-resident. The days can come in 1 stay or several, and there is no home, family or center-of-interests test on top.
Residence decides less than it does elsewhere. The same guide states that Thailand taxes residents and non-residents alike on income from employment or business carried on in Thailand, regardless of whether it is paid inside or outside Thailand. So the 180-day line only decides what happens to your foreign income. It does nothing for the work you do on Thai soil.
Staying under 180 days to avoid Thai tax: when it works and when it does not
Works
You spend 150 days in Chiang Mai, do no work there, and live on dividends from a portfolio held in Singapore. You are not resident, and the dividends are foreign income, so Thailand taxes none of it.
Fails
You spend the same 150 days in Chiang Mai and keep invoicing your US clients from a co-working space. You are still not resident, but the work was done in Thailand, so the fees for those 150 days are Thai-source income taxed at up to 35%, even though they were paid into a US account.
Thailand personal income tax rates
Personal income tax rates on net income, in force for 2026
| Net income in the year | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to THB 150,000 (about $4,470) | 0% |
| THB 150,000–300,000 (about $4,468–8,937) | 5% |
| THB 300,000–500,000 (about $8,937–14,894) | 10% |
| THB 500,000–750,000 (about $14,894–22,342) | 15% |
| THB 750,000–1,000,000 (about $22,342–29,788) | 20% |
| THB 1,000,000–2,000,000 (about $29,788–59,577) | 25% |
| THB 2,000,000–5,000,000 (about $59,577–148,943) | 30% |
| Over THB 5,000,000 (about $149,000) | 35% |
Net income is what is left after the expense deduction for each type of income and your allowances. Under the P.N.D. 90 guide, fees for a hire of service under section 40(2) of the Revenue Code get a 50% deduction capped at THB 100,000 (about $2,980), business income under section 40(8) with no listed rate deducts actual expenses, and everyone gets a THB 60,000 (about $1,790) personal allowance. If your income other than salary reaches THB 120,000 (about $3,570), you pay the higher of the progressive tax and 0.5% of that gross income, when the 0.5% comes to at least THB 5,000 (about $149).
| Fees billed | THB 3,357,000 |
|---|---|
| Expense deduction for hire-of-service fees, 50% capped | THB 100,000 |
| Personal allowance | THB 60,000 |
| Net income | THB 3,197,000 |
| Tax: THB 365,000 on the first THB 2,000,000, plus 30% of THB 1,197,000 | THB 724,100 (about $21,600) |
| Share of THB 2,853,450 profit, with 15% real costs | 25.38% |
If the fees count as section 40(8) business income, real costs are deducted instead and the tax is THB 603,035 (about $18,000), or 21.13% of profit. The 0.5% minimum tax, THB 16,785 (about $500) here, is lower in both cases.
How Thailand taxes foreign income since 2024
A resident is taxed on income from outside Thailand only if it was earned from January 1, 2024 onwards and is brought into Thailand, in full or in part, in the same or a later tax year, according to the Revenue Department's guide. Income earned before 2024 can come in without Thai tax whenever you bring it, and income kept abroad is not taxed at all. A non-resident is never taxed on foreign income.
The rule reaches investment income and pay for work done outside Thailand. A resident who brings $30,000 of dividends earned in 2025 into Thailand, with no other income and no foreign tax to credit, has THB 1,007,100 (about $30,000) of income. After the THB 60,000 (about $1,790) allowance, THB 947,100 (about $28,200) is taxed, and the bill is THB 104,420 (about $3,110). The same $30,000 drawn from savings built up before 2024 owes nothing, so records showing when each sum was earned are worth keeping.
Work done in Thailand never waits for remittance. That is the reverse of Mauritius's Premium Visa, which leaves pay for remote work done on the island untaxed until it is brought in. A proposed Thai exemption for foreign income brought in during the year it is earned or the year after has been drafted but not enacted, so plan on the rule as written.
VAT once your billings grow
Anyone who regularly provides services in Thailand with turnover above THB 1,800,000 (about $53,600) a year is subject to VAT, according to the Revenue Department's VAT page, which puts a freelancer billing $100,000 over the line. Services rendered in Thailand and used outside Thailand can be zero-rated, under conditions the Director-General sets, so foreign clients need not be charged VAT even after you register.
What to file in Thailand
Thailand filing checklist for a remote worker or freelancer
- Count your days in Thailand in the calendar year: 180 or more makes you resident, but any work done there is taxable from day 1.
- Get a 13-digit Thai taxpayer identification number once you have Thai-taxable income.
- File the P.N.D. 90 return (P.N.D. 91 if your only income is a salary) by March 31 for the previous calendar year, or up to 8 days later if you file online.
- You must file if your income for the year exceeds THB 60,000 (about $1,790), or THB 120,000 (about $3,570) combined for a married couple.
- Tax of THB 3,000 (about $89) or more can be paid in 3 equal installments on March 31, April 30 and May 31; late payment costs 1.5% a month plus a fine of up to THB 2,000 (about $60).
- Keep foreign income earned from 2024 in foreign accounts in any year you are resident, and keep records proving which money was earned before 2024.
- Register for VAT if your turnover passes THB 1,800,000 (about $53,600) a year.
Ways to move to Thailand
Special tax regimes in Thailand
Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa tax benefits
The Board of Investment's 10-year LTR visa gives highly skilled professionals working for Thai employers a 17% flat income tax, and some LTR categories an exemption on overseas income. It targets wealthy citizens, pensioners, employees of large foreign companies and skilled professionals, not freelancers.
Open to new applicants. Lasts up to 10 years. Source: ltr.boi.go.th, checked September 28, 2026
Running your own company while living in Thailand
Thailand draws its line at where the work happens, not at who pays. A salary or fee your own foreign company pays you for work you do in Thailand is income from work carried on in Thailand, taxed at the progressive rates like any other fee. Routing the money through a company abroad does not change its source.
Dividends are different. They are foreign income, so a resident pays Thai tax on them only when they are brought into Thailand and only if they were earned from 2024. Thailand has no controlled foreign company rules for individuals, so a company's retained profits are not taxed to you.
Income from your own foreign company, taxed in Thailand for a resident
| Income | Kept abroad | Brought into Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| Salary or fees for work you do in Thailand | Taxed at 0%–35% | Taxed at 0%–35% |
| Dividends earned from 2024 | Not taxed | Taxed at 0%–35% |
| Dividends or savings from before 2024 | Not taxed | Not taxed |
The Index models this as a DTV setup with foreign income kept abroad: it holds for investment income and for work genuinely done outside Thailand, and it fails for anyone who works from a Thai desk and hopes the company will carry the income offshore.
David's note
If you work from Thailand, I would budget for Thai tax on that work from the first month rather than build a structure to avoid it. The arrangements that hold up are the ones where either the work or the income really sits outside Thailand, and a company abroad changes neither.
US citizens living in Thailand
Thailand is on the IRS list of income tax treaty countries but not among the 31 countries with a US totalization agreement. An American taxed in Thailand on work done there chooses between excluding up to $132,900 of 2026 earnings under the foreign earned income exclusion and crediting the Thai tax, but no credit is allowed on excluded income. Self-employed, you owe 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit, about $14,130 on $100,000, which the exclusion does not reduce.
The costliest Thailand mistake: treating the DTV as a tax-free work visa
The DTV lets you work remotely; it does not exempt the work
The DTV's workcation category is built for remote workers and freelancers, but nothing in it changes the source rule. Pay for work you do in Thailand is Thai income, taxed at 0% to 35% whether it lands in a Thai account or stays abroad, and whether you stay 90 days or 300. At $100,000 of billings that is about $21,570 a year.
The visa itself is generous. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks workcation applicants for a bank statement ending at THB 500,000 (about $14,900) or more, 6 months of income proof, a foreign employment contract or company registration, a portfolio and a lease of at least 6 months, and the visa runs 5 years with stays of up to 180 days, each extendable once.
Long stays add the second trap. A DTV holder who passes 180 days in a calendar year becomes resident, and from then on any foreign income earned from 2024 that they bring in, in that year or any later one, is taxed as well.
Who Thailand suits, and who it does not
Good fit
- People living on savings or income earned before 2024, which can be brought into Thailand tax free.
- Investors who keep foreign income abroad and live on money brought in from pre-2024 savings.
- People who qualify for the LTR visa's overseas income exemption.
Poor fit
- Freelancers who work from Thailand for foreign clients and expect it to be tax free: that work is Thai-source income taxed at up to 35%.
- Anyone who needs to bring foreign earnings from 2024 onwards into Thailand after becoming tax resident.
Recent tax and visa changes in Thailand
Destination Thailand Visa introduced: 5 years, up to 180 days per entry, for remote workers and freelancers. kpmg.com
Foreign income earned from 2024 becomes taxable when a tax resident brings it into Thailand in the same or any later year (Revenue Department instructions Por. 161/2566 and Por. 162/2566). rd.go.th
