When we have a branch office in Thailand, are we liable to pay taxes to the Thai government on overall income?

Answer:

No, branches of foreign companies in Thailand are liable to pay income tax at the normal Corporate Income Tax rate on locally earned income only. Hence, branch incomes that are remitted to the head office overseas are subject to an additional tax of 10%.

Branches of foreign commercial banks however are exempt from this tax in respect of their profits derived from the “out-out business”.

Contact MSNA for your Thai accounting and tax questions.

Why do we have to maintain our accounting even though our company is in dormant status?

Answer:

Even though your Thai company looks inactive, you have to pay rent and service fees to vendors, like MSNA or the contractors. You will have to withhold taxes and submit them within 7^th of the following month. Also once you are in the VAT system, you will have to file the VAT return every month. And when you have any transactions at all, you will need to talk to MSNA experts to give you guidance and advice. It is in your best interest to deal with a professional accounting firm who can communicate with you very well, like the English speaking accountants of MSNA.

Contact MSNA for your Thai accounting and taxation needs.

In Thai personal income tax computation, there are several types of income that the taxpayer shall not include or may not choose to include such income to the assessable income.

1. Income from sale of immovable property

A taxpayer shall not include income from sales of immovable property acquired by bequest or by way of gift to the assessable income when calculating personal income tax. However, if the sale is made for a commercial purpose, it is essential that such income must be included as the assessable income and be subject to personal income tax.

2. Interest income

The following forms of interest income may at the taxpayer’s selection, be excluded from the computation of PIT provided that a tax of 15% is withheld at source:

a. Interest on bonds or debentures issued by a government organization;

b. Interest on saving deposits in commercial banks if the aggregate amount of interest received is not more than 20,000 Baht during a taxable year;

c. Interest on loans paid by a finance company;

d. Interest received from any financial institution organized by a specific law of Thailand for the purpose of lending money to promote agriculture, commerce or industry.

3. Dividends

A taxpayer, who resides in Thailand and receives dividends or shares of profits from a registered company or a mutual fund which tax has been withheld at source at the rate of 10%, may opt to exclude such dividend from the assessable income when calculating personal income tax. However, in doing so, taxpayer will be unable to claim any refund or credit.

Contact MSNA for your Thai accounting and tax questions.

A client recently asked MSNA a question about fines for late filing of tax returns.

I understand that taxes must be filed within the deadline. If the last day of filing falls on a holiday or weekends, does it mean we have to file taxes before the due date? And if we file it after deadline, how much penalty do we have to pay?

Answer:

Yes, you have to file your Thai taxes within the due date. Failure to file tax returns and remit tax within the prescribed due date shall be subject to surcharge and penalty as follows:

I. Surcharge

1. Surcharge is 1.5% per month or a fraction thereof of the tax payable, but in no case shall the surcharge exceed the amount of tax payable for late filing of the following tax returns:

– Personal Income Tax,

– Corporate Income Tax (not including mid-year tax),

– Withholding Income Tax,

– Value Added Tax (VAT), and

– Specific Business Tax (SBT)

2. For Mid-Year Corporate Income Tax, surcharge is 20% of the tax payable or the deficient tax as the case may be.

3. House and Land tax for the year paid after the due date shall be subject to a surcharge of up to 10% if made within four months after the due date. If the tax is overdue for more than four months, the District Officer is empowered to attach the property on which the tax is due for the purpose of selling it by auction and applying the proceeds from sale for settlement of the tax due.

4. Municipal Tax for the year paid after the due date shall be subject to a surcharge at the rate of 10% to 24% of the tax due.

5. Signboard Tax for the year paid after the due date shall be subject to a surcharge at the rate of 10% of the tax due.

6. With regard to Social Security Fund, remittance of the contribution for the month after the due date is subject to a surcharge at the rate of 2% per month of the contribution amount due.

II. Penalties

1. For Corporate Income Tax, the maximum penalty of 200% of the tax due shall be imposed only in the case of tax assessment following the audit by the Revenue Department.
2. For Value Added Tax and Specific Business Tax, penalties will be:
   1. Up to 200% of tax due in case of failure to file a tax return
   2. Up to 100% of the shortfall in the tax due following an inaccurate tax return.

NOTE: The above penalties may be waived or reduced according to the regulation prescribed by the Director-General with the approval of the Minister of Finance.

III. Fine

Failure to file a return will be subject to a fine of not exceeding Baht 2,000.

However, in the event that the deadline of filing a tax return falls on a weekend or an official holiday, you can file and pay taxes on the next working day. This would not be regarded as late filing.

Contact MSNA for your Thai accounting and tax needs. As your tax agent, our well-experienced English speaking accountants will make sure that your taxes are prepared and filed accordingly.

Today, we got a question from one of our avid readers regarding written off fixed assets in Thailand.

What is the accepted method of writing off assets like computers, office equipment, etc., in Thailand? Is it straight line depreciation over a fixed period?

Answer:

Most fixed assets are written off over 5 years.

Computers can be depreciated 40% on the acquired date. The rest of 60% will be depreciated over 3 years.

Leasehold improvement must be depreciated over 20 years, in general.

Contact MSNA for your Thai accounting and tax questions.

Are foreigners allowed to open foreign currency bank account in Thailand? How about a bank account in Thai Baht currency?

Yes, foreigners or non-residents may open and maintain foreign currency bank accounts with authorized banks in Thailand without limit. The accounts can be freely credited with funds coming from abroad. Payments from Thai residents or borrowing from authorized banks can be deposited subject to supporting evidences. Moreover, balances on such accounts may be freely withdrawn.

Non-residents may also open Thai Baht accounts with authorized banks in Thailand as follows:

1) Non-resident Baht Account for Securities (NRBS): The account may be debited or credited for the purpose of investment in securities and other financial instruments such as equity instruments, debt instruments, unit trusts, derivatives transactions traded on the Thailand Futures Exchange and the Agricultural Futures Exchange of Thailand;

2) Non-resident Baht Account (NRBA): The account may be debited or credited for general purposes (i.e. other than investment in securities) such as trade, services, foreign direct investment, investment in immovable assets and loans.

The total daily outstanding balances for each type of account shall not exceed THB 300 million per non-resident. However, transfers between different types of accounts are not allowed.

Contact MSNA if you need assistance in preparing the requirements to open a bank account in Thailand.

One of our accounting clients has asked us about the preparation of inventory report.

Question:

Is it mandatory for all Thai companies to prepare the inventory report? Do you provide this service?

Answer:

Sorry, but we do not prepare inventory movement report for our clients. It is the responsibility of every VAT registered Thai company that produce, import or sell products.

The Revenue Code of the Thai Revenue Department specifies that VAT registrants must not only keep in input VAT and output VAT reports but also stock or goods and inventory records. Since your company sells products, you need to print out and prepare the inventory movement report in the format set by the VAT law (it is like a stock card, each model one report). Even though you never keep stock, you need to prepare this report.

Each model has to have a stock card in the format set by the Thai tax law. Apart from the header of the report, each stock card contains the following columns:

Date, Document Number, Quantity In, Quantity Out, Balance

And when you import it or sell your product, you need to fill out this report within 3 days. If the Revenue Department comes to check your company, they will ask to see this report. And if they see that you do not have it, or it is not correct, they will fine you.

Contact MSNA for your Thai accounting and tax questions.

Under the Royal decree no. 575, the personal income tax rates for 2013 and 2014 income have been reduced. The new personal income tax rates are as follows:

Contact English speaking accountants of MSNA for your tax questions and for the preparation and submission of your Thailand personal income tax.

The Thai Revenue Department has recently changed the personal income tax rates for the tax years 2013 and 2014.

If you earned income and taxes were withheld using the progressive rate during the year 2013, when you file your personal income tax return of 2013 whose deadline is 31 March 2014, you will most likely get some tax refund due to the fact that your employer withheld the tax using the rates that were in effect last year.

Here are the new personal income tax rates:

If you need help to prepare and file your Thai personal income tax return, please contact MSNA. We have been providing foreigner income tax service for many years.

In November, we posted an article about the new law regarding tax invoices which previously was to take effect from 1 January 2014. However, on 26 December 2013, the Thai Revenue Department has changed the date to take effect on 1 January 2015.

According to this new law, the tax invoice has to have the items on it as follows:

Under the address and contact number of the company, one must add:
– Headquarters (or in case of a branch office in Thailand, has to add the branch number too so that it can be specified whether the head office or the branch office is the one who issues the tax invoice.)

– Tax ID number, which should be near the company name and address) is the same number as the company’s registration number.

2. Under the address of the customer, add:

– ( ) Headquarters ( ) Branch Number………………..

– Tax ID No.: …………………………………

This is because when a tax invoice is issued to a company in Thailand, the issuer will have to check mark to indicate if the buyer of the goods/service is the headquarters or the branch of that company and need also to specify their Tax ID number which is the same as their company registration number.

Reminder if you are the customer:

From 1 January 2014, when you get a tax invoice from a vendor, please make sure you see their Tax ID number and that they specify headquarters or branch number near their company name on top of the tax invoice. Also, near your company name and address, it must specify headquarters (or branch) and your company’s Tax ID Number.

Know more about this new law regarding tax invoices and Thai taxation related matters. Contact MSNA for your accounting, tax and other business needs.