Personal Income Tax exemptions for Long Term Resident Visa holders

28 February 2022

There are four categories of the LTR visa: wealthy global citizens; wealthy pensioners; work-from-Thailand professionals and highly skilled professionals.  The Thai cabinet has approved waiving personal income tax liabilities for the first three categories.  Please note that this proposal is not yet law.

Wealthy global citizens must invest at least USD 500,000 in Thai government bonds, real estate, or other assets, as well as hold USD 1 million of assets in total. They must also have annual income of at least USD 80,000 over the past two years.

Wealthy pensioners, being at least 50 years old, must invest at least USD 250,000 in Thai government bonds or real estate and have annual income of at least USD 40,000.

Work-from-Thailand professionals (or “digital nomads”) must have annual income of at least USD 40,000, hold at least a masters’ degree or own intellectual property rights and have five years’ research experience.

The fourth category is highly skilled professionals, who are defined as experts in digital services who work in targeted industries or in academia.  They should work for SET-listed companies or have worked for at least three years for private companies with revenues of at least USD 50 million.  They would not benefit from the proposed income tax exemption. However, they may be able to benefit from the flat rate of personal income tax 17% that currently applies to certain expats working in the Easter Economic Corridor.