Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Foreign Bank Account Reporting, so-called FBARS and how they pertain to bank accounts utilized by retirees here in the Kingdom, those folks who are using a bank balance for example to maintain a Retirement Visa Extension here in the Kingdom. What are we talking about?

Okay, the criteria for maintaining an O or an O-A Retirement Visa Extension here in Thailand is either 800,000 Baht bank balance or 65,000 Baht coming in in pension into that bank account on a monthly basis. There is also a mixing criteria, there's like a third prong where supposedly they can mix bank balance with income. I have done a number of videos on this; I had to do a correction video on this at one point because yes it is technically possible. I have never seen it happen. I have never seen Immigration exercise their discretion to allow for this mixing thing and especially in the high volume posts, Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiangmai, even probably Hua Hin, I think it is going to be pretty rare. Maybe out in the provinces somewhere where they have got more time, maybe they can do the mixing but I think your best rule of thumb as I have said before and I will say it again, is to presume either 800,000 in a Thai bank account or 65,000 income on a monthly basis maintained and proved up in order to your Retirement Visa. Bur maintaining 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank account in and of itself, which is roughly $23,000 in US, maintaining that 800,000 in and of itself may trigger the mechanism that requires Foreign Bank Account Reporting, so-called FBAR reporting, pursuant to American Tax Law, things like the Foreign Account Transparency Compliance Act (FATCA) but even before that we had the FBAR requirements. Again it says the requirement that Americans disclose their Foreign Bank Accounts or even possibly foreign financial instruments or accounts with foreign financial institutions which are over the amount of $10,000. People say to me, "Why 10,000? That is such a low threshold." Yeah when they promulgated the initial law, it was like back when Pablo Escobar was roaming the Earth and anyone with $10,000 in an offshore bank account might as well have been Scarface. Well these days $10,000 in an offshore bank account is virtually nothing. 

So again, but it creates the duty to go ahead and file this FBAR and this is why I made this video is yeah retirees who are using 800,000 bank balance by dint of the fact you are using that 800,000 bank balance to maintain your Retirement Visa status, pretty much makes it incumbent on you to go ahead and file an FBAR with FinCen under the Treasury back in the United States. So that's something to understand and keep in mind if you are looking to be a retiree here in Thailand or you are already a retiree and you are maintaining a bank balance to go ahead and extend your Retirement Visa on an ongoing basis here in the Kingdom of Thailand.