Was the Thailand Remittance Tax Repealed? (No — Here's the Actual State)

Was the Thailand Remittance Tax Repealed? (No — Here's the Actual State)

No, it was not repealed. As of mid-July 2026, the remittance-based rule under Por 161/2566 and Por 162/2566 (effective 1 January 2024) is still the live law: a Thai tax resident who brings foreign-sourced income into Thailand owes Thai personal income tax on it in the year of remittance, no matter which year the income was earned. A friendlier proposal drafted in 2025 would have softened this, but it was never passed, and a general election on 8 February 2026 pushed it into limbo. Nobody in government has confirmed it is coming back.

This page exists because the myth keeps circulating in expat Facebook groups and on YouTube: "they scrapped the remittance tax," or its opposite, "Thailand is about to tax your worldwide income even if you never send it home." Neither is true. Both are proposals that stalled. The rule you actually live under today is the one from 2024.

Quick answer: what's actually true right now

• The remittance tax was NOT repealed. Por 161/162 is still in force in July 2026.
• Thailand has NOT moved to worldwide taxation. A 2025 proposal to tax residents on foreign income even if it's never remitted was floated and never adopted.
• The 2025 "two-year exemption" relief was drafted but never enacted. It lapsed when parliament dissolved in December 2025 and is frozen pending the new government.
• A general election was held 8 February 2026; incumbent PM Anutin Charnvirakul's Bhumjaithai party won decisively and is forming a coalition, but no source since the election confirms whether the relief draft will be revived.
• Late filing costs up to ฿2,000 per return, plus a 1.5%/month surcharge on unpaid tax, capped at 100% of the amount owed.
• Pre-2024 savings are still exempt when remitted, if you can document them (see Por 162 below).

The live rule: Por 161/2566 and Por 162/2566

Two Revenue Department orders reshaped this in late 2023, and they are still what apply today.

Por 161/2566 (issued September 2023) closed the old timing loophole. Before it, foreign income was only taxable if you remitted it in the same calendar year you earned it — wait a year and send it later, and it arrived tax-free. Por 161 killed that. Now, remitting foreign-sourced income in any later year still triggers Thai tax if you're a tax resident when you bring it in.

Por 162/2566 (issued 20 November 2023) drew the line in time. The stricter rule only applies to income earned on or after 1 January 2024. Income you earned before that date — savings sitting in a foreign account, an old bonus, proceeds from a pre-2024 asset sale — is not assessable when you remit it later, provided you can show it predates 2024. That usually means a 31 December 2023 closing-balance statement plus records proving the money's origin. Our pre-2024 savings and Por 162 page covers what documentation actually holds up.

Whether any of this applies to you at all depends on the 180-day residency test: you're a Thai tax resident, and therefore in scope for the remittance rule, only if you're physically present in Thailand 180 days or more in a calendar year. Spend fewer days than that and only Thai-source income is taxable. See the 180-day rule breakdown for how the count actually works.

What the 2025 relief proposal actually said (and why it's not law)

Source: Nishimura & Asahi (June 2025); AIM Bangkok, "Shelved Due to 2026 Elections"; CNBC, 9 Feb 2026 · verified July 2026.

The 2025 draft would have exempted foreign income earned from 2024 onward if remitted into Thailand in the same year it was earned or the following year — a two-year grace window meant to make Thailand more attractive to wealthy long-term residents. It needed Cabinet approval and Council of State review, and the Revenue Department had hoped to have it ready for the 2026 filing season. It never got there. Anutin dissolved the House in December 2025, the election followed on 8 February 2026, and pending legislation, including this draft, paused with it.

The election resolved cleanly: Bhumjaithai won close to 191 of 500 seats, nearly triple its 2023 result, and is assembling a coalition with partners like Kla Tham — a far more stable outcome than Thailand's recent fractured parliaments. But a stable government is not the same as a revived tax bill. No Revenue Department announcement or Cabinet resolution has confirmed the exemption draft is back on the table. Treat "it's coming back soon" as someone's guess, not a citable fact.

Why the myth won't die

Three things feed the confusion. The 2025 draft got real press coverage when announced, and headlines like "Thailand prepares reversal on taxation of repatriated foreign income" keep circulating long after the story went stale. Relocation agents have a commercial incentive to describe the exemption as imminent because it makes Thailand an easier sell. And some 2024-era commentary still describes the original same-year loophole that Por 161 closed in September 2023 — readers find it and assume it's current.

None of that changes the operative fact: if you're a Thai tax resident in 2026 and you remit foreign-sourced income earned since 1 January 2024, it's assessable under the rule that has applied since that date.

What non-compliance actually costs

The Revenue Department's penalties are not theoretical. Filing late costs up to ฿2,000 per return. Paying late adds a 1.5% per month surcharge on the outstanding tax, up to 100% of the tax owed. If officials issue a summons and find you never filed, or paid less than you owed, you can additionally face a fine equal to or double the tax due. None of this is unique to foreigners, but expats who assume "they'll never chase a farang for this" are working from a bad assumption. Get a Thai tax ID if you're required to and file, even if the resulting bill is zero — the TIN and filing guide for foreigners covers who actually needs to register.

If you want a running scorecard of exactly where this reform sits without re-reading news archives every month, our foreign income tax status tracker is updated as sources confirm anything new — that page, not this one, is where a future revival of the exemption draft would first get flagged.

Retirees remitting pensions face their own DTA-specific rules layered on top of all this — US Social Security stays exempt, UK and Australian pensions are generally assessable with credit relief, not full exemption. See do retirees pay Thai tax on pensions and the US/UK/AU treaty rundown for the country-specific breakdown, and run your own numbers through the Thailand tax calculator rather than relying on someone else's example.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Thailand repeal the remittance tax in 2026?

No. The remittance-based rule under Por 161/2566 and Por 162/2566, effective 1 January 2024, is still the current law as of July 2026. No repeal has happened.

Is Thailand moving to worldwide taxation instead?

No. A 2025 proposal to tax Thai residents on foreign income regardless of whether it's remitted was discussed but never adopted. It is not law, and there is no confirmed timeline for it becoming law.

What happened to the "two-year exemption" everyone talked about in 2025?

It was drafted between May and June 2025, needed Cabinet and Council of State approval, and lapsed when parliament was dissolved in December 2025 ahead of the 8 February 2026 election. It has not been revived as of mid-2026, and no official source confirms it will be.

Is my foreign income tax-free if I remit it within two years?

Not under current law. That two-year window was only ever a proposal. Today, if you're a Thai tax resident and you remit foreign-sourced income earned since 1 January 2024, it's assessable in the year you remit it, regardless of how long you waited.

Is money I saved before 2024 still safe to bring in?

Generally yes. Por 162/2566 grandfathered income earned before 1 January 2024 — it stays outside the stricter rule when you later remit it, as long as you can document that it predates 2024 with a closing-balance statement and supporting records.

What happens if I just don't file?

You risk a late-filing fine up to ฿2,000, a 1.5%-per-month surcharge on unpaid tax (capped at 100% of the amount owed), and if Revenue officials catch an unfiled or underpaid return through a summons, an additional fine equal to or double the tax due.

The bottom line

Nothing was repealed. Nothing became worldwide taxation either. The rule that's applied since 1 January 2024 — remit it, get taxed on it, if you're a resident — is still exactly the rule in July 2026. A friendlier proposal existed, got real coverage, and then got shelved by an election. Plan around the law that exists, not the one someone hopes is coming, and revisit the status tracker before you make a remittance decision based on a headline you half-remember.