WARNING - THAILAND TEACHER TAX REFUND

<font size="3">When you contact an accountant in Thailand to start the process you will be informed that it should take between 3 &ndash; 6 months depending on how busy they are at the Thai Tax Authority.</font><font face="Times New Roman"><u>Do not believe it!</u></font><font size="3">I started this process in Feb 2009 about 14 months ago giving all of the information requested by the accountant plus the &pound;240 fee. This was a reputable company with full accreditation by the British Embassy in Thailand then the requests started to come in every month or so for more and more information.</font><font size="3">When I asked for the contact details of the Thai Tax Officer dealing with my claim I was informed that he could not be contacted. </font><font face="Times New Roman">What started out as subject specific emails sent specifically to me ended up being a, &ldquo;to all&rdquo; email to a bank of people.</font><font size="3">The final piece of information requested from me was to supply a tax declaration from the previous tax year which had to be certified by the Thailand Embassy in that country.</font><font face="Times New Roman">Now, I am not saying that this is a con but do not believe the hype that it is easy to claim back tax from Thailand if you leave within two years of entering the country.</font><font size="3">This is just a friendly warning from a fellow teacher who is now &pound;240 lighter with nothing to show for it.</font> If anyone has claimed back Teachers Tax in Thailand I would really like to here your comments on this issue.

 

My school did it for me, which school were you at.

Bob's langage skool on soi 4 will not do it.

 

Thankfully this doesn't look like one of my claims as I have never asked anyone to obtain papers from an embassy.
There are all manner of people handling this work now, and claims generally take between six months and two years at pesent. 14 months in not at all exceptional.

 

My school got my refund in 3 weeks, like everything here. It is not what you know, it is who you know.

 

Conventional refunds based upon the annual 91 form will often take just a few weeks, but these are comparatively small sums of money, usually ThB 5,000 or less.
Tax treaty claims are for full refund of taxes for two years, and are often for more than ThB 250,000. There are considerably more checks than with the smaller claims and there are very few Revenue staff who can handle them.

 

I received my taxes back after using one of the legitimate tax lawyers. He was able to get them back, but it took over a year. He did tell me that it could be anywhere from 3 months to over a year when I signed up with him. He was very helpful in getting my paperwork as the school I use to work for would not respond to emails or send him the information that I requested. He had to go meet with them to get it. Yes it was expensive for me to pay him, but I know that he had to do a lot of work in order to get my refund. He had to go to the school several times as well as contact the revenue office frequently. From what I understand, it is hit and miss as to which revenue office will give refunds quickly and if they have a change of staff while your claim is in the office it can take even longer. I think that if someone is going to go through this process then they need to ask around to other teachers and find out who has had success with which lawyers before they give money to anyone. The other advice I would give is don't expect the money. That way if and when you do get it, it is like a surprise!

 

I am happy to report that I successfully claimed back Teachers Tax in Thailand in December 2007, along with several of my ex-colleagues. I supplied all of the documentation requested by the accountant 'Thormaturge' as listed on this forum, and he was able to obtain any additional information that was necessary from my previous school. My advice is stick to personal recommendations rather than any 'lists of accountants'

 

There are two whom I know to have vanished in the past year
The process has slowed down in the past couple of years largely due to new Revenue Department procedures but refunds are still emerging at a reasonable rate.

 

I used a lawyer that was referred to me by other teachers at Thai Chinese International School. I taught there from July 05 - July 07 and I didn't start the process until May of 2009. I was back in the states and received the money in November 09 - it was worth the wait.

 

Five years ago I heard about a possibility of getrting my Thai tax refunded (at the time if you worked there less than 24 months..i was 23 onths!!) Nobody seemed to know how to do it though and my school (SIS) said it was not possible. I thought there must be a way so I posted a question for help on a Thai Teacher's Forum and Thormaturge offered to get me my tax refund. To be honest I didnt really expect to ever see it, but I HAVE IT NOW! I got it in steps, per tax year, the first tax installment very soon, then a few months after the second one. Thormaturge was overcame many burocracy obstacles (from the school and the tax offices) knowing what to do and finally managed to get the last year's installment too. SUCCESS!! Because the last installment was a few years after I had left Thailand, my bank had deactivated my account, so Thormaturge couldnt put the cheque in. He then posted me some letters and contact numbers to give to my local bank in Indonesia. The letters worked and I was able to get cash my Thai government cheque from abroad! It took a while but the amount was definitely worth the wait. Thornaturge was effective and succeeded. Definitely recommended!!

 

Thormaturge was successful in getting me my money although it took a long time to get it. This was partly due to one school being very uhelpful in providing the necessary documents in addition to the bureacratic inconsistencies in different revenue offices. It is possible to get the tax money refunded but it can be difficult. There is no logic to how the system works. Some people who submitted claims when I did got a refund 1 or 2 years before me.
From my understanding if you have worked here for 2 years and then leave the country the process is fairly straight forward. Complications arise for those people like me who have stayed more than 2 years whether in the same school or a different one. The interpretation of the tax treaty among different revenue officers is an issue. Some offices are more helpful than others.
Thormaturge has managed to get MANY people their tax refund and I would be happy to provide his details if you contact me through TES. It should be noted that people posing as tax lawyers and school staff in some places telling you they know hoe to do it just adds to the chaos and delays the process. There are a number of dubious characters (including some senior staff in schools) who submit claims and clog up the system as they have to be processed along with claims submitted by professionals.
It is possible to get your money but patience is needed. I am very happy to recommend Thormaturge to teachers seeking tax refunds. It should be noted that some nationalities are not able to claim a tax refund and further information should be sought.

 

What a load of dross this is! I have been in and out of Thailand, working in three International schools for the last 12 years and the tax system has always been the same. Don't put up blinking great warning signs, and exclamation marks just get used to it. I have a feeling that after the election this may change anyway.
Most of these things work themselves out. As someone already stated if you work for a reputable school they sort all of this lot out and you are not forced to resort to the bottom feeders who purport to only have your best interests at heart, for a fee!
Remember this IS Thailand not the UK. Things run at a different pace here... Jai yen yen!
Perce

 

My husband and I worked for a large and highly reputable school which does successfully, if slowly, claim teachers' taxes when they leave. My situation was unusual in that we had not transferred to Thailand directly from UK but via several years in the Middle East and the school was really unsure if they could help - this situation was unfamiliar to them. Not wanting to risk being unable to claim the tax, I contacted Thormaturge and was provided with a professional and efficient service, even obtaining a refund before the school managed to obtain the more conventional ones for colleagues of mine who were also leaving. Although we had to pay for this service it was well worth it, and I have since recommended Thormaturge to several others.

 

Hello nomad1970,
I am interested in obtaining the details of Thormaturge from you. I will be leaving Thailand after a 2 year contract at an International school here and would like to try and obtain my tax back. A few people have mentioned Thormaturge as being successful in gaining their tax back for them and so I figure it's worth a shot (depending on the cost that is - any ideas how much all up?).
Anyway, thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Adam

 

I started a temp contract in Thailand in Jan this year and will be starting a 2 yr contract in Aug. Will I be able to claim any of the money back that I have paid in tax? It would be very annoying if just for the sake of a few months too many I was not eligible for repayment. Does anyone know how this would work?

Thanks

 

WAIT! I'm sure we can find the guy for you!
how about...
Thormaturge!
The only man in all of Thailand who can get the job done!

 

The exemption relates to the first teaching visit for a period not exceeding two years.
Your first teaching visit is for the temporary contract started in January and that would be your exempt visit. The two-year contract commencing in August will not be exempt.

 

The school are going to pay me holiday pay until I start my new contract in Aug as a gesture of goodwill.

In this case is the situation still the same?

What do you suggest I do now?

Would I only be able to claim back money from Jan to July and should I start this now?

Thanks

 

I can't imagine they would do that because they would then be short of a teacher..... Would it be impossible for me to just try and claim back the tax for the 1st time period of from Jan to Aug now before I start my 2yr contract or do tax claims have to be only done when you leave for good?

 

You would not be able to claim a 2012 refund until January 2013 at the earliest and since your tax records would reflect tax payments in the third quarter relating to the same school it would be clear you have signed a new contract taking you over the two years.
In the current environment I doubt you would succeed with a claim. This was not the case up to mid 2010 and things may change again in the coming year.