Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are asking the question should retirees switch to a DTV? I have made videos recently where I talked about the Destination Thailand Visa, and it is my opinion the Destination Thailand Visa is being specifically designed to streamline taking tax jurisdiction over foreign nationals here in Thailand. So, stuff that we have talked about with regard to tax and those kind of issues. That said, the question raised by this video is, should retirees switch to it or get into it if they're looking to retire in Thailand.

My opinion as of the time of this video is a standard O or even O-A Retirement Visa especially if you're already in it, sit tight, let's just wait and see how 2025 is. I think 2025 is going to be the “DMZ” year with regard to tax in Thailand as I have made another video contemporaneously with this video talking about that. But I think 2025 is the DMZ year where we will see everything probably shift after this year because Trump has come in. He's talking about this External Revenue Service. I imagine that's going to mean some sort of overhaul of the US Tax System. As we have discussed in other videos, despite in my opinion rather odd advice by some out there of sort of a one-size-fits-all analysis regarding tax liability in Thailand, again I don't think that you're necessarily liable for taxes just because of some of the things that some people say you are. For example, a bank wire is not in and of itself to my mind a taxable event. It's what is the purpose of the bank wire is the issue at hand with regard to taxable events. But let's leave that aside for the moment. The point I'm trying to make is with regard to Retirement Visas, the O Retirement Visa, standard O, coupled with the notion that again you have no affirmative duty to file a tax return in Thailand, you only do if you have some sort of income that would be considered "declarable" and by income, I mean “assessable income” that would be considered declarable. And again, depending on your circumstances you may or may not have that.

But the point I'm trying to make is those who are looking at the DTV as a possible retirement option or those who are looking to switch into it, I would sit tight right now on that. I think the standard Non-Immigrant Retirement Visa is probably the safe place to be at least for the moment, especially if you are already in it or you are just coming into Thailand for the first time, because again we just don't know what the DTV is going to look like and we especially don't know exactly what the tax sort of ramifications are going to be for that particular Visa moving forward.