Can I Retire in Thailand

Travelling to Thailand since 1996, living in Phuket now. Which city suits you, and what life here is really like. No affiliate links.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

@BOHHOT I’m in Thalang, about an hour down the road from you. Made the same move for the same reasons. Five minutes to the beach is the bit people underestimate until they have it.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

Americans retiring in Thailand: Social Security and your 401(k) are taxed in opposite directions.

Under Article 20 of the US-Thailand treaty, Social Security is taxable only in the US. Remit it into a Thai bank account and Thailand has no claim on it, whatever your Thai residency status.

A 401(k) withdrawal or private pension runs the other way. The treaty gives that taxing right to your country of residence, which is Thailand.

https://t.co/nwYkqDGvJm

[Alex MacGregor @alexmacgregor__]

POV: you’re on a rooftop bar in Bangkok 🇹🇭

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

@stephbb1210 Off topic - but my wife and i had never been there either (safe to say most people haven't) but living in Singapore as we were we flew down there to see our team (Geelong cats) get beaten up by the West Coast eagles (Perth), cie le vie. still love that city.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

If you're Australian, Phuket is one of only two Thai destinations you can reach without changing planes. Jetstar runs Perth, Melbourne and Sydney. Bangkok is the other, on Qantas and Thai. Everywhere else means a connection.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

@MartinCainActon @VodafoneUK Says someone who's own profile website is also broke. Go figure.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

Same advice - cos we're now all watching.

Defamation here is criminal, not civil. Imputing something to a named person that exposes them to hatred or contempt is Criminal Code s326, up to 1 year. Published online it becomes s328, up to 2 years and a 200,000 baht fine.

Truth is not an automatic defence and the burden of proving it sits on you.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

So you know - Defamation here is criminal, not civil.

Imputing something to a named person that exposes them to hatred or contempt is Criminal Code s326, up to 1 year. Published online it becomes s328, up to 2 years and a 200,000 baht fine.

Truth is not an automatic defence and the burden of proving it sits on you.

So you might want to tone you accusations down a tad.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

@stephbb1210 But Perth is nice. :-)

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

@hoestleren @509Tiernan And split between two that's 550 each, door to door with the bags. Hard to argue with after a long flight.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

@stephbb1210 C'mon. Win lose or draw (we won inside 2 days to be fair) you still have to love being in Perth.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

@MartinCainActon Around 18,000 a year die on Thai roads. Motorcyclists are 83.8% of that, overwhelmingly Thai. Foreign casualties are Burmese, Lao, Russian, Chinese, American, French.

Ride without a licence valid for that bike and everything voids. Por Ror Bor, Thai cover, travel insurance.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

If your Thai health policy has renewed since 20 March 2025, check it for a co-payment clause.

Three claims for common conditions totalling more than 200% of your annual premium triggers a 30% co-payment the following year. General claims reaching 400% of premium does the same. Both in one year takes it to 50%.

Major surgery and critical illness are excluded. Insurers regulated outside Thailand sit outside the rule entirely.

https://t.co/8nUWuEqvFR

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

A 90-year leasehold in Thailand is not enforceable.

Supreme Court Decision 4655/2566, 18 March 2025. Phuket case. The tenant had prepaid 90 years of rent in a lump sum. The Court voided the renewal clauses, ordered him out, and set damages at 30,000 baht a month until he left.

30 years is the cap. Price a leasehold villa on 30.

https://t.co/8HflPZwfqc

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

One thing to get right in that report.

The “remit it in the same year and pay nothing” exemption is still a draft. Not gazetted, so it changes nothing yet.

The rule governing your 2026 transfers is the January 2024 one: 180 days makes you a tax resident, and foreign income earned in a resident year is assessable when it lands.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

@MartinCainActon That’s not the island I live on.

The crackdown actually running is on nominee ownership and scam operations.

Phase 6 hit Hua Hin this month.

Earlier phases covered Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi.

That one matters if you’re buying property through a Thai company.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

@theramonjackson Can’t believe I left off Jetstar. I said Bangkok direct was Qantas and Thai. Jetstar fly it too, out of Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne. Thanks for the Brisbane one.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

@KChaisingharn @509Tiernan That’s the one. Ekamai to North Pattaya, Roong Reuang run it, around 148 baht and two to three hours depending on traffic. Cheapest way there.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

From Bangkok, Ekamai bus terminal, about 150 baht, two to three hours. If you’re flying into Suvarnabhumi, Roong Reuang run direct from the airport, check-in desk on level 1 by gate 8, so you skip the city entirely. Buses drop at Pattaya Bus Station about 3 km north of town, then songthaew (aka baht bus) or Grab to the hotel.

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

@qeizus Klai Kangwon Palace has been at Hua Hin since 1929. I was vice captain of an Australian team at the King's Cup Elephant Polo there in 2002. Visited plenty, never lived there. What years were you going?

[Can I Retire in Thailand @CanIRetireInTH]

@R73861Anthony Warm all year, food’s good, healthcare is fine, people are super friendly and respectful, and costs about a third of Australia. Suits some people. Of course it’s not everybody’s cup of tea.