Thailand has a treaty, no totalization agreement, and a residence rule that catches people out.
Thai personal income tax is progressive to 35% and there is a US income tax treaty, so the foreign tax credit is available and worth comparing against the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. There is no totalization agreement, so US self-employment tax applies in full.
Tax snapshot — Thailand
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Sources: IRS Publication 54; IRS Publication 901; US–Thailand income tax treaty (1997); SSA totalization agreement list; Rev. Proc. 2025-32. Checked 28 August 2026.
What that means on your return
Thailand taxes residents on assessable income brought into the country, and the treatment of foreign-sourced income remitted to Thailand changed in recent years. If you are living on remittances from outside, the Thai side of your position deserves a local adviser — I prepare the US side.
Remote workers and consultants are the largest group I see here, and they are the group with the worst surprise: the exclusion removes the income tax, and 15.3% SECA remains on every dollar of net self-employment income because there is no totalization agreement.
A great many Americans in Thailand hold accounts they have stopped thinking about. The FBAR threshold is $10,000 across all foreign accounts at any point in the year, and a dormant account at a high mid-year balance still counts.
If you are in Thailand as a…
Questions I get about Thailand
I run an online business from Thailand. What do I actually owe the US?
Income tax is usually removed by the exclusion or reduced by the credit. Self-employment tax is not: with no totalization agreement, 15.3% SECA applies to net self-employment income. That is the figure most people here have not budgeted for.
Does the treaty mean I only pay tax in one country?
No. It relieves double taxation, mostly through the credit mechanism, rather than assigning you to one country. You still file a US return every year.
Should I claim the exclusion or the foreign tax credit in Thailand?
It turns on your effective local rate. Where local tax is high the credit usually beats the exclusion and leaves your income counted for IRA purposes; where it is low the exclusion usually wins. Revoking the exclusion binds you for five years without IRS consent, so it is decided deliberately — that comparison is what the position review is for.
When is my return due?
15 June, under the automatic extension for filers living abroad. Form 4868 moves it to 15 October, and I file the extension free.
Do I have to file an FBAR for my Thai bank account?
If your foreign accounts together passed $10,000 at any point in the year, yes. You can file it free through FinCEN's own system. The non-willful penalty for not filing is $16,536.
I have not filed for several years. What now?
The Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures: three returns, six FBARs and Form 14653 certifying non-willfulness. Penalties are waived. Note that the IRS terminated the separate Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures around 1 July 2026.
Filing from Thailand this year?
Twenty minutes with the Enrolled Agent who will prepare and sign it. Complete return, $599.
An IRS Enrolled Agent working only on US tax for Americans living abroad. I prepare and sign every return myself — 17 years in practice, 12 of them as an Enrolled Agent.