Destinations · Thailand
Thailand
Ten-year visas and half-price living, but the tax-free era ended in 2024.
Tax regime
Australia treaty
Flight from Sydney
Timezone
How Thailand taxes youindicative
Thailand taxes residents (180+ days) on Thai-source income at progressive rates up to 35%, and on foreign income when it is remitted into Thailand. The old loophole (wait a calendar year, then remit tax-free) was killed from 1 January 2024: foreign income earned from 2024 onward is now taxable whenever you bring it in. Draft relaxations (e.g. exempting income remitted within the year earned or the next) have been floated but are not law at last check. An Australia treaty provides a tie-breaker and foreign tax credits. LTR visa holders in some categories get remitted foreign income exempted by royal decree.
- Salary
- Progressive 0, 35% on Thai-source salary. A THB 2m (~A$87k) salary pays roughly 18% effective after standard allowances.
- Capital gains
- Gains on SET-listed Thai shares are exempt. Foreign share gains earned from 2024 are taxable at progressive rates in the year remitted.
- Dividends & interest
- Thai dividends: 10% final withholding. Foreign dividends: progressive rates when remitted, with a treaty credit for Australian tax already paid.
- Crypto
- Crypto gains are assessable income at progressive rates, with 15% withholding on some disposals. Trades on SEC-licensed Thai exchanges have enjoyed temporary exemptions. Foreign-exchange crypto gains follow the remittance rules, taxable when brought in.
- Social security
- Employees pay a capped social security contribution (max THB 750/month), negligible for planning.
Australia has a tax treaty with Thailand
A treaty gives you two things that matter. First, a tie-breaker: if both countries claim you as a resident, the treaty cascade (permanent home → vital interests → habitual abode → nationality) decides who wins. You can’t simply be fully taxed twice on the same income. Second, reduced withholding on Australian-source income you keep: unfranked dividends at 15% and interest at 10% instead of the default non-treaty rates.
Walk your own facts through the cascade with the Treaty Tie-Breaker tool.
Visa pathways
Every pathway carries a tax-residency consequence, the row most visa guides leave out. A visa gets you in; it doesn’t decide who taxes you.
LTR (Long-Term Resident) visa
skilledindicative10-year visa across categories: wealthy global citizen (US$500k+ assets), wealthy pensioner (US$80k/year passive), work-from-Thailand professional (US$80k/year for a listed/large foreign employer), highly-skilled professional (17% flat Thai tax).
- Income $120,000+ / year
- Family can come
Timeline: ~3 months from application to arrival
Tax residency: Establishes treaty residence you can use in the tie-breaker if Australia argues you never left.
The prize: LTR holders in several categories get remitted foreign income exempted by royal decree, sidestepping the 2024 remittance change. Income and employer-size gates are checked properly. This is the best visa in Thailand if you qualify.
DTV (Destination Thailand Visa)
nomadindicative5-year multi-entry visa for remote workers and "soft power" activities (Muay Thai, cooking courses): THB 500k (~A$22k) in funds, 180 days per entry.
- Assets $22,000+
- Income must come from outside the country
- Family can come
Timeline: ~1 month from application to arrival
Tax residency: Doesn’t change tax residency either way on its own, your facts on the ground (home, family, time) decide.
Cheap and long, but it is a visitor-class visa: no work permit, and living on it full-time while claiming you have "left Australia permanently" is a hard story to run. 180+ days in a calendar year still makes you Thai tax resident.
Thailand Privilege (Elite) visa
goldenindicativeMembership-fee residence: from ~THB 900k (~A$39k) for 5 years up to 20-year tiers.
- Investment $39,000+
- No family inclusion
Timeline: ~2 months from application to arrival
Tax residency: Doesn’t change tax residency either way on its own, your facts on the ground (home, family, time) decide.
Pure pay-to-stay: no work rights, no path to permanence. Family members need their own memberships. Fine as a lifestyle visa; weak as the anchor of a tax exit.
Non-B work visa + work permit
workindicativeEmployer-sponsored route; the company needs THB 2m capital and 4 Thai employees per foreigner.
- Employer sponsor required
- Family can come
Timeline: ~2 months from application to arrival
Tax residency: Meeting its conditions makes you tax resident there, usually what you want, because a genuine new tax home is your strongest fact against Australia.
The classic route via a Thai employer or your own Thai company. Annual renewals, real paperwork.
Retirement visa (Non O-A / O)
retirementindicativeAge 50+, THB 800k (~A$35k) in a Thai bank or THB 65k/month income.
- Assets $35,000+
- Age 50+
- No family inclusion
Timeline: ~1 month from application to arrival
Tax residency: Meeting its conditions makes you tax resident there, usually what you want, because a genuine new tax home is your strongest fact against Australia.
Annual renewals with funds seasoning rules; O-A issued abroad requires health insurance. A retiree living here full-time is Thai tax resident, pension remittances are squarely inside the 2024 rules unless a treaty article protects them.
What Bangkok costsindicative
Typical expat defaults in AUD, the same figures the Break-Even Calculator pre-fills for Thailand. Treat them as comparison-grade, not budget-grade.
| Rent, family home in Bangkok (per month) | est. $2,800indicative |
| Rent, 1, 2br couple/single (per month) | est. $1,500indicative |
| International school (per child, per year) | est. $22,000indicative |
| Private health, family (per year) | est. $5,500indicative |
| Private health, single (per year) | est. $1,800indicative |
| One-off relocation (movers, flights, deposits) | est. $15,000indicative |
| Return flight home (per person) | est. $1,300indicative |
| Day-to-day cost index vs Sydney (ex-rent) | 50%indicative |
Honest downsides
- The 2024 remittance change turned Thailand from "de facto tax-free" into a real tax system overnight, and the rules are still settling, which is exactly the uncertainty you moved to avoid.
- Visa policy churns: rules on extensions, insurance and financial proof change frequently and vary by immigration office.
- Air quality in Bangkok and especially Chiang Mai (burning season, Feb, April) is a genuine health issue.
- You will never be more than a guest: property freehold is off-limits for land, and permanent residency/citizenship are rare in practice.
What most people miss about Thailand
- Foreign income earned from 2024 is taxed when remitted, living off savings is fine, but the burden of proving a remittance is pre-2024 capital (not new income) sits on you. Keep segregated accounts.
- Australian rental income remitted to Thailand can be taxed twice in sequence (AU non-resident tax first, Thai progressive rates on remittance) with the treaty credit paperwork in between.
- Become Thai resident by drifting past 180 days on a DTV without planning, and every remittance that year is potentially assessable, the visa does not decide your tax status, the day count does.
- The LTR remittance exemption belongs to specific categories, assume nothing until your category is confirmed in writing.
Run your numbers for Thailand
These open with Thailand already set as your destination, your answers stay in this browser.