Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing whether or not all foreigners are going to need a Thai Tax ID number here in Thailand. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Foreigners and their overseas income: what next? Bear in mind, viewers need to be aware of this. A Thai Tax ID number is what is required in order for one to be able to file their taxes here in Thailand, so this is the number you use if you are going to file taxes. Let me be clear, not everyone may need this number. It's not a foregone conclusion that folks are going to need their Thai Tax Identification number just by dint of the fact that they are in Thailand. Quoting directly: "Will all foreigners who spend half a year or more in Thailand be required to register with the Revenue (again, I think they mean the Revenue Department) by obtaining a tin (tax identification number) and submitting the required forms? The submission deadline for the calendar year 2024 will be in the January-March quarter of 2025. Revenue spokespersons have hinted at the all-inclusive scenario, but there has not been a formal declaration. Could the tax offices cope with the rush?" Well yeah, probably. Believe me, Governments go out of their way when it comes to tax collection, so yeah they'll find the resources if they want to.

As noted in that article elsewhere, and I urge those who are watching this video go check out that article in detail, it's not a foregone conclusion that you need a Tax ID number; even Thais don't necessarily have one. It only is necessary if you are required to file taxes. As I have discussed in many other videos and I know people get sort of frustrated with me when I say this, but yeah tax liability is going to be dictated by the underlying facts in a given case and application of relevant Thai Law. There may be people who don't need to do this at all and I have said in the past that maybe down the road, a tax filing might be required in association with a Retirement Visa Extension; I have never said that is a foregone conclusion. I said I could see a scenario play out where that may occur but again it's not a foregone conclusion. And again, many people who are just simply here in Thailand - especially people like retirees - they may not need to deal with a Tax Identification Number at all. So for this reason I would not worry greatly about it. I know many retirees especially are greatly concerned about this issue; please don't, please don't. It's going to be okay. As with everything, this too shall pass. 

Yes there may be a few of you out there that may find themselves in a situation where you at least have some level of assessable income or assessable revenue - I don't think income is the right word - but assessable revenue possibly here in Thailand, but in many cases you may not have to pay anything, you just have to deal with some paperwork. So again specific facts and specific cases are going to drive the legal analysis regarding the necessity of a Thai Tax Identification Number. 

Meanwhile, a thing to keep in mind or something to keep in mind at least for the present is that again, we are not looking at a situation where everyone is necessarily going to find themselves owing the taxman in Thailand, in fact quite the opposite. As I have said in many other videos, I think it's going to be like 80/20 if at all, where 80% of the foreigners here in Thailand this won't affect them whatsoever. 20% perhaps it will but again I think a number of different factors are going to mitigate against the liability aspect of the tax; again assessability is a different thing than liability. But again, in the vast majority of cases I think people do not necessarily need to worry about this and they definitely don't need to worry about it this minute. As noted in that article yeah we're looking at quite a ways down the road before a filing would even be necessary; it would be 2025 at the earliest under these new, well not new rules, but under this new regime where we have seen the rescission of the old rule regarding timing of inbound income and we are now under the current situation that we are in. So the thing to take away from this video is for now take a big deep breath, there isn't anything to worry about, filings aren't going to be necessary this minute. Meanwhile, the vast majority of people I don't think are going to need to worry about a Tax ID number here in the Kingdom of Thailand.