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Thailand

Do you pay Thai tax on money you bring in from India?

I am a tax resident in Thailand and want to know if transferring my Indian income, including my tax-free NRE interest, is taxable here.

You live in Thailand, you have Indian income like NRE or NRO interest, rent, or investment gains, and you are not sure whether bringing that money into Thailand triggers Thai tax. A rule that changed in 2024 makes the timing matter more than it used to, and your tax-free-in-India NRE interest does not stay tax-free once it lands in Thailand.
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Last reviewed: 30 July 20266 min readReviewed by Preetesh Maloo, CA

The short answer

If you are in Thailand for 180 days or more in a calendar year, you are a Thai tax resident, and your foreign income, including your Indian income, is taxed in Thailand only when you bring it into the country. Since 1 January 2024 it does not matter which year you earned it, only that you remit it. Income you earned before 2024 is left out. So your Indian NRE interest, which is exempt in India, becomes taxable in Thailand at 5 to 35% when you remit it, and because India took no tax on it, there is nothing to credit against the Thai bill. Money you keep in India is not taxed in Thailand until you bring it in.

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Related situations

When Thailand taxes your foreign income

Thailand taxes you as a resident if you are in the country for 180 days or more in a calendar year. A resident is taxed on Thai income in full, and on foreign income, which includes all your Indian income, only when that money is brought into Thailand. Foreign income you leave abroad is not taxed until you remit it.

Until 2024 there was a way around this. If you earned foreign income in one year and brought it in only in a later year, it escaped Thai tax. From 1 January 2024, under Revenue Department Instruction Por. 161/2566, that gap is closed: remitted foreign income is taxable whatever year you earned it. A companion instruction, Por. 162/2566, protects income earned before 1 January 2024, so only income earned from 2024 onwards is caught by the new rule.

Your tax-free NRE interest is not tax-free in Thailand

Interest on an NRE account is exempt in India under Section 10(4)(ii), so there is no Indian tax and no TDS on it. But to Thailand it is simply foreign income, and when you remit it into Thailand it becomes Thai-assessable, taxed at the ordinary rates, which run from 5% to 35%.

The India-Thailand treaty gives Thailand a credit for Indian tax you paid on the same income. That helps for NRO interest, where India has already deducted tax at 30%. It does not help for NRE interest, because India took nothing, so there is no Indian tax to set against the Thai charge. NRE interest remitted to Thailand is taxed there in full.

How to plan the timing

Because the Thai charge only arises on remittance, the timing is a lever. Money you keep in India, in your NRE or NRO account, is not taxed in Thailand until you bring it in. If you do not need the funds in Thailand, leaving them in India defers the Thai tax, sometimes for a long time.

There is also a proposal, still only a draft in 2026 and not yet law, to exempt foreign income if you remit it in the same year you earn it or the year after. It may or may not be enacted, so plan on the current rule and treat the easing as a possibility, not a certainty. A CA who works both sides can help you decide what to bring in, and when.

A worked example

Priya has lived in Bangkok for several years and is a Thai tax resident. Her Indian NRE account earns eight lakh rupees of interest in 2025, tax-free in India.

If she transfers that interest to her Thai account in 2025 or later, it is post-2024 income, so it is Thai-assessable and taxed at Thai rates of up to 35%, with no Indian tax to credit because India exempted it. If instead she leaves the interest in her Indian account and only draws on savings she built up before 2024, nothing is caught, because pre-2024 income is carved out and money kept in India is not remitted. The tax depends on what she brings in, and when.

What's involved

What the CA actually does

  1. 1

    Sort what Thailand can tax

    We map your Indian income, NRE and NRO interest, rent and gains, and tell you which parts become Thai-assessable when you remit them, and which pre-2024 funds are outside the rule.

  2. 2

    Use the Indian tax you already paid

    For income where India deducted tax, we file so you can claim the India-Thailand treaty credit against your Thai liability, and recover any excess Indian TDS.

  3. 3

    Plan the remittance timing

    We help you decide what to keep in India and what to bring into Thailand, so you do not trigger a Thai charge you could have deferred.

  4. 4

    Keep the Indian side clean

    We handle your Indian return, TRC support and Form 10F (Form 41 from FY 2026-27), so the figures your Thai adviser needs are ready and correct.

What to have ready

Documents you'll typically need

  • Your days of presence in Thailand each year
  • Indian interest, rent and capital-gains statements
  • Records of which funds were earned before 2024
  • PAN and passport

References on this page

  • Thai Revenue Department Instruction Por. 161/2566 (from 1 Jan 2024)
  • Por. 162/2566 (pre-2024 income carve-out)
  • India-Thailand DTAA, Article 11
  • Section 10(4)(ii); Section 195 (Section 393 from FY 2026-27)

Frequently asked questions

Common questions

Only if you are a Thai tax resident (180 days or more in the calendar year) and the money is foreign income earned from 2024 onwards. Income earned before 2024 is carved out, and money you keep in India is not taxed in Thailand until you remit it. Once remitted, post-2024 Indian income is taxed at Thai rates of 5 to 35%.

Yes. NRE interest is exempt in India, but to Thailand it is foreign income, taxable when remitted. Because India took no tax on it, there is no Indian tax to credit against the Thai charge, so it is taxed in Thailand in full.

It gives Thailand a credit for Indian tax you actually paid, so it reduces double tax on NRO interest, where India deducts 30%. It does nothing for NRE interest, because India took nothing to credit. The treaty caps Indian source tax on interest at 10%.

No. The Thai charge only arises when foreign income is brought into Thailand. Money left in your Indian account is not remitted, so it is not taxed in Thailand, which is why timing what you bring in matters.

There is a draft proposal to exempt foreign income remitted in the same year it is earned or the year after, but as of 2026 it is not law. Plan on the current remittance rule and treat any easing as a possibility, not something to rely on.

The exceptions that change the answer

Where the general rule stops applying to you

Every rule below has a carve-out, a cut-off date or a condition that flips the answer. These are the ones that decide real cases.

NRO account: what it costs and what it caps

Right now: Interest taxed at 30% plus surcharge and cess; repatriation capped at USD 1 million a financial year

Where it works differently

A TRC and Form 10F (Form 41 from 1 Apr 2026) are furnished
The treaty rate applies to the interest, commonly 10-15% under Article 11 instead of 30% plus surcharge.
s.90(2). This is the single largest recurring recovery item for most NRIs.
Remitting out
Form 15CA is needed, plus Form 15CB from a CA where the remittance is chargeable and above Rs 5 lakh in the year.
Rule 37BB.
Joint holders
The USD 1 million ceiling is per person per financial year, so joint holders each have their own.
FEMA 13(R).

Commonly got wrong

  • NRO interest is taxed at 30%. Incomplete. Surcharge and 4% cess sit on top, and a treaty can cut it to 10-15%.30% plus surcharge and cess by default, but 10-15% under most treaties if you hold a TRC and file Form 10F.

Related

If this matched your situation, these go further

Inheriting or receiving a gift from India as a Thailand residentTDS was deducted on your NRE interest. Here is why, and how to get it backDo you pay Indonesian tax on your Indian income?Does South Korea tax your Indian income in your first five years there?Do you pay Brazilian tax on your Indian income?DTAA TDS recoveryForm 10F filing serviceDTAA rate lookupForm 10F generator

Bringing Indian money into Thailand and unsure about tax?

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