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Thailand Foreign-Income Tax Relief Is Still Only a Draft
· Luxy Samui
The proposed exemption for foreign income remitted to Thailand within two years was still not law in late September 2026.
Foreign residents who bring money into Thailand are still waiting for a tax relief that was first announced in 2025. A status page published by the legal site ThaiLawOnline on 27 September 2026 says the proposed exemption for foreign-source income had not been published in the Royal Gazette and therefore had no legal force. The rule introduced in 2024 continues to apply.
The rule that applies now
Since 1 January 2024, the Revenue Department has applied Departmental Instruction Por. 161/2566. Under it, a person who is tax resident in Thailand is taxed on foreign-source income when it is brought into the country, whatever the year in which it arrives.
A second instruction, Por. 162/2566, protects older money. Income earned before 1 January 2024 is not caught by the new interpretation, even if it is transferred to Thailand later.
What has been proposed
The Revenue Department announced a relaxation in mid-2025. As described by ThaiLawOnline and by the investment news service AIAIG, foreign income would be exempt from Thai personal income tax if it is remitted in the same calendar year in which it was earned or in the following year.
AIAIG wrote on 31 March 2026 that the measure was still a draft and that cabinet and Council of State approval had not been completed. It also said some practical points were unclear, including how credits for tax paid abroad would work.
Why it is not in force
ThaiLawOnline explains that the exemption would be made by a Royal Decree under the Revenue Code. Its check of the Revenue Department's register of decrees, last verified on 25 September 2026, found no entry on foreign-source income remitted to Thailand. The site stresses that a measure being announced, being approved and being in force are three separate stages, and that only publication in the Royal Gazette makes it binding.
What it means for villa owners
This matters to owners in two ways. First, owners who are tax resident in Thailand often pay for a villa, a renovation or daily life with money from abroad. Until the decree is published, those transfers should be planned under the 2024 rule, not under the proposed relief. Keep records that show when the money was earned and when it was sent.
Second, the proposal concerns foreign-source income only. Rent earned from a villa in Thailand is not foreign income, so the draft would not change how it is taxed.
This article is news and not tax advice. Rules on residence, double tax treaties and deductions depend on each person's situation, so please confirm your position with a Thai accountant or tax adviser before moving large sums. If you are still deciding whether to invest on the island, you can browse property for sale in Koh Samui and discuss the tax side with your adviser first.
