The Thai Social Security Fund is the government-administered fund by the Social Security Office which provides social security coverage to the insured persons with source of fund coming from employers, employees and the government. The SSF covers only non-work-related contingencies with benefits covering medical care, sickness, maternity, invalidity, death, old age, child allowance and unemployment.

Hence, when a company in Thailand starts hiring 1 or more employees, it has to register the employees in the system and submit the social security fund to the Social Security Office within 30 days from the first day of employment. The employer or an authorized person can submit the Registration Forms as follows:

• The Employer/Company Registration Form (SSO 1-01)
• The Employee/Insured Person Registration Form (SSO 1-03)

For the case of Burmese employees, they must obtain the work permit first before the company can register them in the system. However, if a Burmese has been employed by the company as a director or in case he/she holds a different job position but at the same time, he/she is a shareholder of the company, he/she is not required to be in the Social Security Fund system because he/she is considered as an owner of the company.

The company should also note that when an employee resigns or has had his/her employment contract terminated, the company must notify the SSO that the said employee is no longer employed within 15 days of the following month. The form to submit is the Notification Form for the Cessation of Being an Insured Person (SSO 6-09)

Moreover, when an employee changes his/her given name or family name or any other information pertaining to his/her family status, or the number of children of the said employee’s family, the company must notify the SSO these changes within 15 days of the following month using the form for making notifying of Changes of Employee Information (SSO 6-10).

Thai Lawyers can help register the Myanmar companies and its employees into the Social Security Fund system. We also process work permit & visa applications for Burmese employees before we register them with SSO. Contact us now for more information and expert advice.

One of our Myanmar clients has asked us if they are required to register their work rules with the Department of Labor Protection and Welfare, the Ministry of Labour. Currently, they have 10 employees. Here is our response as an employer’s perspective.

In accordance with the Thai Labour Law, if the company has hired ten employees or more, it is required to have work rules in the Thai language. There is no need to register the work rules with the Ministry of Labour but the work rules must be displayed in the company’s office and must contain at least particulars on the following:

• Working days
• Normal working time
• Rest periods
• Holidays
• Rules of taking holidays
• Rules governing overtime and holiday work
• The date and place of payment of wages
• Overtime pay
• Holiday pay
• Holiday overtime pay
• Leave and rules of taking leave
• Discipline and disciplinary measures
• Lodging of grievances
• Termination of employment
• Severance pay and special severance pay

As an employer, you must announce the work rules within fifteen days from the date the employer employs ten or more employees. You should always keep a copy of the work rules at the office, hand out and post the work rules in a noticeable spot in the workplace easily available for employees to know and read.

In case you have to amend or revise the work rules, you must announce that amended work rules within seven days from the date that the amended work rules has been implemented.

Thai Lawyers can assist employers in drafting work rules for employees as well as reviewing their employment contracts to make sure it is in line with the Thai Labour Law. Contact us now for initial consultation.

If you will be doing consulting business, you may be eligible for Thailand BOI promotion under the activity “Trade and Investment Support Offices (TISO)”. The scope of activity covers advisory services on business operations except those engaged in buying and selling securities, foreign currency exchange, accounting, legal, advertising, and architectural and civil engineering businesses.

The main condition for this activity is that the company’s annual selling and administrative expenses must be at least 10 million Baht. Note that the direct costs of your services, for example, the salaries of the consultants who provide the company’s services to clients, are not part of the selling and administrative expenses. Your Thai accountant who knows how to fill out a corporate income tax return should be able to tell what expenses are considered to be in this group. MSNA group, which is a local Thai accounting firm with years of experience in helping foreign businesses obtain a BOI certificate, may be a great help in this area.

Although you cannot get tax exemption under this activity, you can still be granted with non-tax incentives which are as follows:

• more visa and work permits for foreign employees to work in your BOI promoted company
• privilege to own land to be used for operating the BOI promoted activity
• can be allowed to take out or remit money abroad in foreign currency

Contact MSNA group for getting BOI promotion, company registration, visa and work permits.

According to Section 41 of the Revenue Code of the Thai Revenue Department, foreigners have the duty to file their taxes in Thailand as below:

1. Income derived in Thailand

If a foreigner has income from sources within Thailand either by employment, own business or assets located in Thailand, such income is subject to income tax whether such income is paid within or outside Thailand.

• Income derived outside Thailand

If a foreigner has income outside Thailand, such income is subject to Thailand income tax if these two conditions are met:

• Such income has been incurred in any tax year starting from 1 January 2024 onward by a foreigner who stays in Thailand for 180 days or more in a tax year, and;
• Such income earned from 1 January 2024 has been remitted or brought into Thailand (whether wholly or partially) in any tax year from 2024 onward

For instance, a Burmese who lives in Thailand for at least 180 days in 2024 with income from Myanmar or another country brings the money earned before 2024 into Thailand in 2024, then it will not be taxed. If he/she brings the money earned in 2024 into Thailand in 2025, then it will be taxed in 2025. However, if he/she has income earned outside Thailand but he/she is not a tax resident in Thailand and brought or remitted such income into Thailand later, it is not subject to Thai tax because he/she did not stay in Thailand for 180 days or more during the tax year.

Tax Returns to be Filed

If he has income derived from employment in Thailand only, he must submit the personal income tax return P.N.D. 91.

If he has income derived within Thailand and outside Thailand or just from outside Thailand, he must submit the personal income tax return P.N.D. 90.

MSNA Group can not only help Burmese people on how to do business in Thailand, we can also help you with Thailand taxes. If you need assistance in filing your personal income tax returns in Thailand, you come to the right place. Contact us now for more information.

Today, a client whom we helped register a 100% Myanmar owned export company in Thailand asked us if it is necessary for them to be registered in the VAT system. Here is our response:

Normally, a company is required to register into the VAT system if the gross sale has reached 1.8 million Baht in a year or the company hires foreigners and needs to apply for a work permit because the VAT registration certificate is one of the documents requested by the Thai immigration bureau. Anyway, the company may choose to register into the VAT system before that. And once you are registered into the VAT system, you have to submit your monthly VAT returns (PP.30) with or without sale transactions. You can decide to apply for VAT refund from the Revenue Department later but keep in mind that the tax officer will request to see all supporting documents before giving you the refund.

Thai Lawyers can help you register the company into the VAT system. MSNA Group can handle bookkeeping, accounting, tax filing and consultation on Thai taxes. We will ensure that you’re your documents are properly kept in files for easier reference when tax authorities request to see them. We can also assist you in representing your company with the Revenue Department especially when you apply for VAT refund. However, we will not be responsible to speed up the process because it is up to the tax officials when they can finish checking your documents and consider your application to claim VAT. You may find helpful information on what to do once a company is registered in the VAT system, and how withholding taxes in Thailand work.

Who wants a Tax Residence Certificate or “Certificate of Residence”? Simply put, the foreigners who want to show it to their home country to prove that they should pay tax to Thailand and not their home country. Tax residence certificate may be issued by the Thai Revenue Department upon request by a foreigner who stayed in the country for 180 days or more in a calendar year. If you were in Thailand for such a period in many years, you need a Tax residence certificate for each year. Not one certificate is good for various years.  By the way, do not confuse it with a Tax Clearance Certificate or an Income Tax Payment Certificate.

A company registered in Thailand may also request a tax residence certificate. However, here we want to talk only about individuals who may want to obtain one. MSNA Group can assist you in getting it issued by the Thai tax authorities. The two most important things are:

1. You need to be able to prove that you were in Thailand (continuously or not) at least 180 days in the year by showing the copy of your passport pages where there are stamps of your entries and exits.
2. You need to have income earned in that year and brought into Thailand the same year, or you were working in Thailand with a work permit. This way, you would file your personal income tax of that year. The Revenue Department needs to see your tax return with its official receipt and your Tax ID card.

Just contact MSNA Group so we can help you obtain your Tax ID card, prepare and file your tax return, get an Income Tax Payment Certificate or a Tax Clearance Certificate  or a Tax Residence Certificate (which the Revenue Department calls “Certificate of Residence”). Essentially, the document looks like this:

What is an Income Tax Payment Certificate? When foreigners work in Thailand, they have to pay taxes here. Your Thai employer must get a work permit for you to be able to pay you legally. Every month when they pay you salary, they need to withhold your personal income tax and submit it to the Thai Revenue Department by the 7^th of the following month (or 15^th if they do it online). At the end of the year (or at the time you leave the company during the year), the employer must give you a document called 50 Tawi, or withholding tax certificate. The document has the detail of the total income you earned that year from this company, the total tax and the total social security amounts they withheld from you that year. However, it is not your Income Tax Payment Certificate.

When you prepare your personal income tax return at the beginning of the following year (31 March is the deadline), you will have to fill out the amount of tax withheld that is written in the withholding tax certificate. This tax is your tax credit. It is the tax you paid during the year by the employer’s withholding it from your income. If you did not have other sources of income from anywhere else, most likely you will not have to pay more taxes if your employer’s payroll team calculated your monthly withholding tax correctly. In some cases you will get a tax refund.

When you file your personal income tax return (PND90 or PND91 depending on whether you have income sources other than from work), you will get a receipt issued by the Revenue Department. This receipt is not enough of a proof to the Inland Revenue Service in your home country. You will need to request the Thai Revenue Department to issue an “Income Tax Payment Certificate”, which is in English and it is accepted as the proof that you paid taxes in Thailand.

An “Income Tax Payment Certificate” is not the same as a “Tax Resident Certificate”. The latter is the certificate issued by the Thai Revenue Department to certify that you were a tax resident in Thailand in the year it is issued for. Only when you have stayed in Thailand for 180 days or more in a calendar year can you request for a Tax Resident Certificate.

If you need Thai tax service, or an “Income Tax Payment Certificate” or a “Tax Resident Certificate”, contact MSNA Group for assistance. We are the official accountant of the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand and have served the international community for over 25 years.

Can tourists buy a condo in Thailand? Yes you can. However, when foreigners buy a condo, they need to send the purchase money from overseas. The Land Department needs the evidence of your foreign money transfer to process the registration of the change in the ownership. However, normally banks will not open a bank account for a foreign tourist. How can tourists by a condo in Thailand if they do not have a bank account here? You need to send your money to Thailand to your bank account because your bank needs to issue a letter to the Land department certifying that you sent the purchase money into Thailand. What to do?

You will have to contact your country’s embassy in Thailand to issue a letter to the bank. The letter should mention that the embassy certifies your passport, that you are a citizen of that country and that they request the bank to open a saving account for you.

Depending on the bank, to open an account for you, they may ask for a residence certificate in addition to the letter from your embassy. A resident certificate is issued by the immigration office in the province where you can provide an address that is not a hotel.

When tourists buy a condo in Thailand, it is prudent that they consult with an expert like ThaiLawyers so they can be sure that the sale and purchase agreement is legal, fair and in line with the normal practice in Thailand. We will help guide you through the process while protecting your interest. If you cannot be at the Land Department to do the title deed transfer, ThaiLawyers can represent you and make sure you become the new legal owner of the condo in Thailand.

Contact MSNA group for your next real estate transaction in Thailand. We may even refer you to the best and most reliable agents who will protect you and not the other side.

Employees who are registered in Thailand Social Security system are entitled to the following compensation when they become unemployed:

1. In case of voluntary resignation, or end of the employment agreement, the insured person will receive a compensation of 30% of wages for 90 days calculated from the monthly salary of not more than THB 15,000.
2. In case of being laid-off, the insured person will receive 50% of wages for 180 days calculated from the monthly salary of not more than THB 15,000.
3. In case of termination due to force majeure (natural disaster), the employees will receive a compensation of 50% of wages for a maximum of 180 days.

Foreigners are entitled to the same benefits as Thai nationals. However, unemployment benefits will be given if the employees meet these conditions:

• Social security contributions must be made for at least 6 months within the 15-month period before the unemployment.
• Termination must not be due to an actual offense
• The applicant must register for unemployment benefits at the Social Security Area Office within 30 days from the unemployment date

The Social Security Office will pay the compensation benefit on monthly basis by crediting to the Thai bank account as stated by the insured person in his/her application for unemployment benefits.

Contact MSNA Group for consultation on Thai labor law or for your visa and work permit.