Thai Crypto tax

[sazz10]

Hi

I've gotten myself into a bit of a problem with crypto. I left Wales UK in January 2020. Came to Thailand and been here ever since. UK tax authorities know I left but I still have my Barclays account to my parents address.

Im sure you'll all think im a fool but somebody told me about the tax law in Thailand where i dont have to declare anything if I dont bring money in from overseas in the same year that i made it. Without getting proper advice I thought this would count for crypto aswell.

So in March this year I sold half my crypto and took it out into pounds. It was about 1 million pounds and went to my UK barclays account. They didnt ask me for anything but the source of the money I used to buy the crypto. I gave them my wage slips from 2019 and they were happy. I then transferred it all out to an offshore account.

From speaking to some people this week ive found out that I was wrong and that for crypto in Thailand that law doesnt apply and I should be paying 35% of that money to Thailand in income tax. My friends here who also do crypto have told me not to worry and that they have cashed out similar amounts and that Thailand doesnt care.

For now I have stopped selling any crypto but I have a lot I want to sell in the next year

I really want to stay in Thailand but it seems like being here isnt the best choice?

I was hoping someone would have advice on the mess I im in and also what I could do going forward to do things in a legit way. It seems here legit isnt the norm though

 

[Mercury]

As you say, "It seems here legit isn't the norm". Thai law related to crypto is blur/changing and they have no means and possibly nor willing to enforce it, especially against a foreigner on his foreign income located oversees.

Don't worry much about Thailand, maybe more about HMRC that might ask you some tax residence certificate at some point.

If you want to make things legit staying in Thailand, you can set up an offshore company (UAE, Singapore, ...) to invest and cash out crypto, then receive dividends in TH year+1 tax free.

 

[Vor]

my two options would be 1. Leave Thailand and move to another country if your really paranoid about it 2. Just ignore it it's offshore and Thailand isn't gonna chase it down. The odds you get in trouble for this in Thailand are next to being struck my lightning. One of the perks of Thailand

 

[wellington]

In a nutshell, if you've lived outside of the UK over the bulk of the period and not entered for more than approx 90 days, you are therefore a UK Non Resident, and the UK taxes based on where you exchange the crypto, so if its exchanged outside of the UK and deposited into the UK then there is no tax on that front.

Thailand likewise doesn't charge tax on funds that are matured outside of thailand and brought in after one year (experience), but they may charge tax on funds that are redeemed within thailand.

 

[wellington]

Biggest issue you will have, is getting those proceeds back out of Thailand lol

 

[Vor]

Biggest issue you will have, is getting those proceeds back out of Thailand lol

Which is why it's good he has it in UK and should never bring it in. Thai king's piggy bank is fine.

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

Hi

I've gotten myself into a bit of a problem with crypto. I left Wales UK in January 2020. Came to Thailand and been here ever since. UK tax authorities know I left but I still have my Barclays account to my parents address.

Im sure you'll all think im a fool but somebody told me about the tax law in Thailand where i dont have to declare anything if I dont bring money in from overseas in the same year that i made it. Without getting proper advice I thought this would count for crypto aswell.

So in March this year I sold half my crypto and took it out into pounds. It was about 1 million pounds and went to my UK barclays account. They didnt ask me for anything but the source of the money I used to buy the crypto. I gave them my wage slips from 2019 and they were happy. I then transferred it all out to an offshore account.

From speaking to some people this week ive found out that I was wrong and that for crypto in Thailand that law doesnt apply and I should be paying 35% of that money to Thailand in income tax. My friends here who also do crypto have told me not to worry and that they have cashed out similar amounts and that Thailand doesnt care.

For now I have stopped selling any crypto but I have a lot I want to sell in the next year

I really want to stay in Thailand but it seems like being here isnt the best choice?

I was hoping someone would have advice on the mess I im in and also what I could do going forward to do things in a legit way. It seems here legit isnt the norm though

Hi there,

For your future set up, there are ways you can transfer your crypto under an appropriate company structure which will result into zero taxation at the point of conversion. This will not influence your decision to stay in Thailand or not as at the time of conversion it will never become a matter of Thailand tax or other law.You will need to assess a few things in achieving this, but it is rather doable.

 

[TravelAfficionado]

Make sure to stay non UK resident for a minimum of 5 years. If you return to the UK within 5 years, your capital gains will be taxed in the UK in the year of your return under the temporary non residence rules.

 

[randomname11]

One thing is how the rules are in Thailand, another on is how it's followed. Don't worry about the Thai Tax Authorities, worry more about UK
When transferring in, keep it below 50,000 USD (equivalent) and no questions will be asked. Above is possible, but then the bank will require some documentation for the amount.
(Example: If you are planning to buy a condo/house, write "purpose to buy property" and show the bank a contract. That would be enough for them).

In regards to getting them out... It's an old saga that you can't transfer money out of Thailand. You can today with out any problems. Most banks even have it available through their online banking app.

 

[skysurfer42]

Yeah I'll be more worried with HMRC than Thai. From what I know you need to be out of UK for next 5 years, no more than 3-4 weeks in the UK per year. Who knows how good HMRC is with these things? Is that amount worth HMRC chasing, especially if you are out of the country. idk...

 

[thomas10101010]

Hi there,

For your future set up, there are ways you can transfer your crypto under an appropriate company structure which will result into zero taxation at the point of conversion. This will not influence your decision to stay in Thailand or not as at the time of conversion it will never become a matter of Thailand tax or other law.You will need to assess a few things in achieving this, but it is rather doable.

Sorry for hijacking the thread. I'm very interested in knowing more about this for my personal setup (Swedish citizen with tax residency in Thailand). The thing that is most mysterious to me is how to transfer crypto held personally into the company without incurring tax at the point of transfer of ownership to the company. Would you be willing to elaborate more on how this works, either here on in pm?