The rule, in one sentence
If you're a Thai tax resident (180 days or more a year), Thailand taxes two things: what you earn inside the country and the foreign income you remit, meaning what you bring into Thailand. Foreign income that never enters the country simply isn't taxed there. That's why controlling what you bring in is the lever that decides how much you pay.
What counts as remitted
"Remitting" means bringing money into Thailand. Under the Revenue Department's usual interpretation, practically any route by which that money ends up available in the country counts:
- Transfers from a foreign account to a Thai account.
- Withdrawing at a Thai ATM with a card linked to a foreign account.
- Paying with a foreign card at businesses in Thailand: the funds sit outside, but the spending happens here.
- Bringing in cash and using it in the country.
- Receiving payment into a local account for work invoiced to clients abroad.
This is territory with nuances: the route and the timing matter, and practice keeps evolving.
What isn't a remittance
Money that never enters Thailand isn't taxed in Thailand. Your salary sitting in your Spanish bank, your investments abroad, what you spend outside the country on a trip: none of that is a remittance as long as you don't bring it in. That's why many residents keep the bulk of their money abroad and only remit what they need to live on. It's a big part of why the tax bill ends up being a few hundred euros a year, not a percentage of all their income.
The 2024 change
Here's the nuance a lot of old information skips over. Until 2023, an unwritten rule applied: foreign income you brought in during a different year than the one you earned it in wasn't taxed. Earn it in 2022, let it "rest," bring it in in 2023 tax-free.
Since 1 January 2024 (Revenue Department instructions P.161/2566 and P.162/2566) that's over: foreign income you remit is taxed in the year you bring it in, regardless of when you earned it. The following-year trick no longer exists.
Your savings from before 2024 are safe
The good news: income earned before 1 January 2024 stays exempt when remitted, even if you bring it in today. The requirement is being able to prove it. Keep two things:
- The balance of your accounts as of 31 December 2023 (a statement is enough).
- Evidence of the origin of that money (payslips, tax returns, sales), in case it's asked for.
With that snapshot in place, that "cushion" travels to Thailand without going through the till. If you mix it with new money without keeping records, you lose the traceability — which is why it pays to sort it out before you leave, in the same spirit as the foreign asset declarations.
What's still brewing
The rule is still in motion. In 2025 the Thai government proposed softening it: exempting foreign income you bring in the same year you earn it or the year after. As of today it's only a proposal — it hasn't been passed — so the sensible approach is to plan with the 2024 rule in hand and keep an eye on the changes.
How it fits with the rest
The remittance rule doesn't stand alone: it rests on the 180 days that make you a resident, on the treaty with Spain that stops you paying twice, and on the crypto rules if you move digital assets. The full map is in the tax guide and in the pillar tax guide.
Where Bexpat fits in
We don't file your return or tell you how much to remit: we give you the map — this — and we set up the move (visa, flight, arrival and apartment) that anchors your life in Thailand. Run your case through the calculator to see the rest of the numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Does paying with a foreign card in Thailand count as a remittance?
Under the usual interpretation, yes: using money that sits in a foreign account here — by card or at the ATM — counts as a remittance. Money that never enters the country isn't taxed. It's a point with nuances.
Are my savings from before 2024 taxed when I bring them in?
No. Income from before 1 January 2024 is exempt when remitted. The key is proving it: keep the balance as of 31 December 2023 and where the money came from.
Do I have to bring in my whole salary?
No. Only what you remit gets taxed; what you leave outside doesn't. Bringing in only what you need to live on is why many people end up paying a few hundred euros a year.
Is the rule going to change?
Possibly. In 2025 it was proposed to exempt what you bring in the same year or the year after, but it isn't law yet. In the meantime the 2024 rule applies: whatever you remit gets taxed, regardless of when you earned it.