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Yes, Thailand has a tax treaty with the UK, the US and Australia; they are among 59 jurisdictions on its treaty list. A Thailand tax treaty does not switch off Thai tax, though. If you spend 180 days or more in Thailand in a calendar year, foreign income you earned from 1 January 2024 is taxed when you bring it into the country. The treaty decides which country has the first right to tax each kind of income and whether Thailand lets you credit tax already paid at home. US citizens are a special case: the US keeps taxing them wherever they live.
In short
- Thailand has comprehensive double tax treaties with 59 jurisdictions, including the UK, the US and Australia.
- Thai tax on remitted foreign income applies whether or not your country has a treaty. A treaty only shares out the right to tax and sets up relief.
- Thailand credits foreign tax only where the treaty with your country allows it.
- A US citizen stays taxable in the US on worldwide income under the treaty's savings clause, however many days he spends in Phuket.
- The DTV, retirement, marriage and Elite visas give no tax relief. Some LTR categories do, under their own rules rather than a treaty.
How a tax treaty works for someone living in Thailand
Each country decides by its own rules whether you are its tax resident. Thailand uses a simple test: 180 days or more in Thailand between 1 January and 31 December makes you resident for that year. How the days are counted is explained in the 180-day rule.
A Thai resident pays tax on foreign income when it is remitted to Thailand. Under Departmental Instruction Por. 161/2566, income earned from 1 January 2024 in a resident year is taxed when it arrives, in whatever year that happens. Under Por. 162/2566, savings and income earned before 1 January 2024 are not taxed when brought in, and neither is income from years when you were not resident. The rate follows the Thai progressive scale: the first THB 150,000 of taxable income is taxed at 0%, and the top rate is 35%. The wider picture is in our guide to Thai tax on foreign income.
A treaty sits on top of these rules. It does not switch off Thai tax on remitted income as a general rule: it says which country may tax a given kind of income, and for some kinds, such as certain government-service pensions, it can leave the right to tax with one country only. Where both countries may tax the same income, the treaty gives the other country a way to avoid taxing it twice, usually through a credit.
Which income the treaty question matters for
The Thai side is the same whether you come from the UK, the US or Australia. What differs is the treaty article that decides the home-country side and any credit.
| Income you bring into Thailand | Thai side if you are resident that year | What we read in the treaty |
|---|---|---|
| Pension for 2024 or later | Taxed when remitted, unless the treaty reserves it to the paying country | The treaty provisions on pensions, and whether they treat state and private pensions differently |
| Salary from a job at home, earned from 2024 | Taxed when remitted | The employment income article |
| Dividends and interest for 2024 or later | Taxed when remitted | The dividend and interest articles, including any limit on tax at source |
| Rent from a property at home | Taxed when remitted, if earned from 2024 | The article on income from immovable property |
| Savings and income earned before 1 January 2024 | Not taxed when remitted | Not needed: the Thai side is already clear |
| Income from a year you spent under 180 days in Thailand | Not taxed when remitted | Not needed for the Thai side |
UK–Thailand: pensions, salaries and dividends
The UK and Thailand have a double tax treaty. For a Briton living in Phuket, the Thai side is set by the remittance rule: pension, salary, dividends or interest earned from 2024 in a resident year become assessable income when they arrive, and savings from before 2024 do not.
Whether the UK also taxes a payment, and whether Thailand credits the UK tax, is decided by specific articles of the treaty. Our lawyers check how those provisions treat the kind of pension you actually receive.
Here is the Thai side for a British retiree. He spends 200 days in Phuket in 2026, so he is a Thai tax resident for 2026. During the year he transfers £8,000 of savings he had built up before 2024, and £12,000 of his 2026 pension.
- The £8,000 of savings is not taxed when it arrives, provided he can show that the money existed before 1 January 2024. A bank statement as at 31 December 2023 does this well.
- Under Thai remittance rules, the £12,000 of pension is assessable income in Thailand for 2026, unless the treaty gives the UK the sole right to tax that kind of pension — this can apply to some government-service pensions. Where that exception does not apply, the amount is converted to baht and taxed on the progressive scale.
- Whether the UK also taxes that pension, and whether Thailand credits any UK tax, depends on how the UK–Thailand treaty treats his type of pension.
The typical situation 180 days and a savings remittance shows how a split between savings and new income looks on paper.
US–Thailand and the saving clause
The US–Thailand income tax treaty has been in force since 15 December 1997. It contains a savings clause, so the US keeps taxing its citizens on worldwide income wherever they live. An American in Phuket stays taxable in the US whether or not he becomes a Thai resident.
The Thai side does not change because you hold a US passport. Spend 180 days or more in Thailand and remit income earned from 2024, and that income is taxed in Thailand. The US then gives a foreign tax credit for the Thai tax. For that to work, the two returns have to agree on dates and amounts, so we check the figures with your US preparer.
How this plays out for an American on a DTV with dividends, interest and rental income is shown in two tax residencies in practice.
Australia–Thailand
Australia and Thailand also have a double tax treaty. Australia decides residency by its own rules, which are separate from the Thai 180-day test. So a person who keeps strong ties with Australia can be an Australian resident and a Thai resident in the same year.
For superannuation, salary, dividends and rent from Australian property, the Thai side is the same as for anyone else: income earned from 2024 is taxed when remitted in a resident year. The Australian side and any credit depend on the treaty articles for each kind of income. If both countries treat you as resident, the next section applies.
Tie-breaker rules when both countries claim you
People who split the year between Phuket and home can be tax residents of two countries at once. Each country applies its own test, and both tests can be met.
Tax treaties usually contain a residence article with tie-breaker rules. They decide which of the two countries counts as your residence for treaty purposes. That matters, because it settles which country taxes first and which one gives the credit. If both countries treat you as resident, our lawyers start with the residence article of your country's treaty and check your circumstances against it.
Claiming a foreign tax credit in Thailand
Thailand credits foreign tax only where the treaty with your country allows it. If the treaty gives no credit for a kind of income, Thai rules give none either.
A Thai resident reports remitted foreign income on the PND 90 return for the year the money arrived, and claims any treaty credit in connection with that return, with proof of the foreign tax paid. The return is usually due by the end of March of the following year: for 2025 income the paper deadline was 31 March 2026. The Revenue Department announces each year's dates. How the return is prepared step by step is covered on filing a Thai tax return.
Keep three kinds of records for every transfer:
- proof of when and where the money was earned: payslips, pension statements, dividend vouchers;
- proof of foreign tax paid on that income;
- the bank record of the transfer into Thailand.
What a treaty does not solve
- Visas. The DTV, Elite (Thailand Privilege), retirement and marriage visas give no tax relief. A treaty does not change that.
- LTR. Holders of the Long-Term Resident visa in the Wealthy Global Citizen, Wealthy Pensioner and Work-from-Thailand categories are exempt from tax on foreign income. That exemption comes from the LTR rules, not from any treaty (BOI).
- Drafts. The Revenue Department has drafted an exemption for income remitted in the year it is earned or the following year, but it is not law. A draft to tax residents on all foreign income, remitted or not, has not been enacted either.
- Reporting. Since September 2023 Thailand has exchanged data on offshore accounts under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). This is reporting, not a tax: what is taxed is still income remitted to Thailand. It does mean that the Revenue Department can see foreign accounts held by Thai residents.
What to do next
Write down what you receive: pension, salary, dividends, rent and savings, with the year each payment was earned. Count your days in Thailand for each calendar year. Then send us that list and the country you are taxed in. Our team will tell you what to bring in, what to keep on file and which treaty articles apply to you.
On the call, our lawyers go through your situation and agree the price before we start. Our lawyers are licensed by the Lawyers Council of Thailand. To start, use the form on tax advice for foreigners. The final tax is decided by the tax authorities of both countries, so we explain your position rather than promise a result.
