Question 1

What does the engagement cost?

Accepted Answer

The first thirty-minute conversation is without charge and without obligation. Where an engagement follows, Richard is paid through commission on the products arranged and an ongoing fee on the assets managed. Every figure that applies to you, and what it pays, is set out in writing in the recommendation and the engagement letter before you proceed.

Question 2

Are you regulated by SEC Thailand?

Accepted Answer

No. Neither the practice nor Business Class Asia is licensed by SEC Thailand as an investment intermediary. In practice this means no securities are transacted directly. Execution is conducted through FCA-regulated platforms for UK-resident clients, or SEC Thailand-licensed brokers for Thai-resident execution. This is the standard structure for cross-border advisory and is fully disclosed on the regulatory page.

Question 3

How is the practice compensated?

Accepted Answer

Through commission on the products arranged and an ongoing fee on the assets managed. Because that links what Richard is paid to the products and assets involved, a conflict exists, and it is handled by disclosure: every cost, and what it pays, is set out in writing before you decide anything, and you may ask what any recommendation pays at any point.

Question 4

What happens to client assets if the practice ceases?

Accepted Answer

Client assets are never held by Richard Knight or by Business Class Asia. They are held by an appointed trustee or a regulated platform. Were the practice to cease tomorrow, the custody arrangement continues unchanged. Only the advisory relationship ends.

Question 5

Why is the practice deliberately small?

Accepted Answer

Fewer than ten new ongoing clients are accepted each year. Personal capacity is the binding constraint. Where capacity is full at the point of enquiry, that fact is communicated on the first call and a referral to a regulated alternative is offered.

Question 6

I have had a poor experience with an expat advisor previously. Why should I trust this practice?

Accepted Answer

There is no expectation that trust be extended on the first call. The first call is designed to give information sufficient for the visitor to decide with. CISI credentials may be verified independently on the public CISI register. If anything in the call presents as a pitch rather than information, ending the call is entirely appropriate.

Question 7

What happens during the call?

Accepted Answer

A thirty-minute conversation. Questions on both sides. Notes are taken throughout. The visitor leaves with a clearer view of what is in front of them. No pitch.

Question 8

Is preparation required?

Accepted Answer

Rough figures help: pension pots, savings, monthly income. Nothing precise is required. Documents are not requested in advance.

Question 9

What if the visitor is not in Bangkok, Hua Hin or Pattaya?

Accepted Answer

Zoom and WhatsApp video work equally well. Most first conversations are conducted remotely.

Question 10

Is the call recorded?

Accepted Answer

No. Written notes are taken. A copy of the notes is provided by email afterwards on request.

Question 11

Are American (US-person) clients accepted?

Accepted Answer

In some circumstances. US-person planning carries structural differences from UK-person planning, and FATCA and FBAR reporting represents a separate workload. The honest assessment is offered on the first call.

Question 12

Are Russian nationals accepted as clients?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The practice carries a long-standing Russian-national clientele. The site is published in Russian for that audience.

Question 13

What changed about Thai tax on foreign income in 2024?

Accepted Answer

Revenue Department Order Por. 161/2566 changed how Section 41 of the Revenue Code is applied. From 1 January 2024, foreign income that a Thai tax resident brings into Thailand is assessable in the year it arrives, whatever year it was earned. Before 2024, income was caught only if it was brought in during the same calendar year it was earned, so waiting a year took it out of scope. That route has closed for income earned from 2024 onwards.

Question 14

Who counts as a Thai tax resident?

Accepted Answer

Anyone present in Thailand for 180 days or more in a calendar year, counted in total rather than consecutively. Nationality, visa type and property ownership do not decide it; the day count does. A person below 180 days is non-resident for that year, and foreign income brought in during that year falls outside the remittance rule. The count restarts every 1 January, so the timing of travel and the timing of remittances both matter.

Question 15

Is money saved before 2024 taxed when it is brought into Thailand?

Accepted Answer

Generally not. Order Por. 162/2566 confirmed that foreign income earned before 1 January 2024 keeps the earlier treatment, so it is not taxed merely because it is brought in later. The practical difficulty is proof. Savings built up before 2024 are easiest to evidence when held in a separate account, with statements showing the balance at 31 December 2023. Mixing older savings with new income in one account makes that much harder.

Question 16

Is every transfer into Thailand treated as income?

Accepted Answer

No. The rule catches assessable income, such as pension payments, salary, dividends, interest and gains. A transfer of capital, for example savings built up from income earned before 2024, is generally not income in itself. The Revenue Department looks at the source of the money, so the records behind each transfer carry real weight. Where one account holds both capital and new income, the split has to be shown rather than assumed.

Question 17

Is a UK pension taxed in Thailand if the income is brought in?

Accepted Answer

It can be. The 1981 UK and Thailand double taxation convention has no article dealing with private pensions, so both countries may tax the same income, and relief for UK tax already paid is normally claimed as a credit against the Thai liability. Pensions for UK government service are treated differently: under Article 19 they are taxable only in the UK. The State Pension, workplace pensions and SIPP withdrawals are each worth looking at separately.

Question 18

When does a Thai tax return have to be filed?

Accepted Answer

A return for a calendar year is due by 31 March of the following year, with a short extension usually available for returns filed online through the Revenue Department website. A Thai tax identification number is needed first, and obtaining one can take time, so it is worth arranging well before the deadline. Whether a return is required at all depends on the level of assessable income, which should be checked each year rather than assumed.

Question 19

Does the Long-Term Resident visa change the position?

Accepted Answer

For some holders. Under Royal Decree No. 743, holders of the Wealthy Global Citizen, Wealthy Pensioner and Work-from-Thailand Professional categories of the LTR visa are exempt from Thai tax on foreign income brought into Thailand. The Highly Skilled Professional category does not carry that exemption. Each category has its own income and asset conditions, so the visa is best weighed as one part of the wider plan rather than on its own.

Question 20

What is the difference between a SIPP and a QROPS?

Accepted Answer

A SIPP is a UK self-invested personal pension. It stays within UK regulation and UK pension tax rules, and it can usually be kept after a move abroad. A QROPS is an overseas scheme that HMRC recognises as able to receive a UK pension transfer, so the money leaves the UK system. For most British residents of Thailand the comparison now turns on cost, the Overseas Transfer Charge and currency, rather than on any tax advantage a QROPS once offered.

Question 21

What is the Overseas Transfer Charge?

Accepted Answer

A 25% tax on a transfer from a UK registered pension scheme to a QROPS, unless an exclusion applies. The main exclusions are that the member lives in the same country as the receiving scheme, or that it is an occupational scheme of the member’s employer. From 30 October 2024, the former exclusion for transfers to a QROPS in the EEA or Gibraltar was removed. The charge can still arise later if residence changes within five full tax years of the transfer.

Question 22

Is a QROPS transfer still worth considering from Thailand?

Accepted Answer

Far less often than it once was. A Thai resident transferring to a QROPS based outside Thailand will usually meet the 25% charge, which removes a quarter of the fund at the outset, and many QROPS arrangements carry higher ongoing costs than a UK SIPP. There remain specific cases where a transfer can earn its place. The comparison with leaving the pension in the UK should be set out in writing, over twenty years, before any decision.

Question 23

Should a defined-benefit pension be transferred abroad?

Accepted Answer

Rarely. A defined-benefit scheme promises an income for life, often with inflation-linked increases and a spouse’s pension, and giving that up moves investment, longevity and currency risk onto the member. Where the transfer value is £30,000 or more, UK rules require advice from an FCA-authorised pension transfer specialist before the transfer can proceed, and the FCA’s starting assumption is that a transfer will not be suitable for most people.

Question 24

Does the UK State Pension increase while living in Thailand?

Accepted Answer

No. The UK State Pension is paid worldwide, but the annual increase is paid only to people living in the UK, the EEA, Switzerland, or a country whose social security agreement with the UK provides for it. Thailand is not one of those countries, so the pension stays frozen at the rate first paid abroad. Over a long retirement the missing increases compound, and that gap has to be met from other income.

Question 25

What changes for UK pensions and inheritance tax in April 2027?

Accepted Answer

From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits from UK registered pension schemes come into the estate for UK inheritance tax. Personal representatives, rather than scheme administrators, become responsible for reporting and paying the tax. Death-in-service benefits and dependants’ scheme pensions are excluded, and the spouse and civil partner exemption still applies. For anyone within scope of UK inheritance tax, a pension can no longer be assumed to sit outside the estate.

Question 26

Do US citizens living in Thailand still file US tax returns?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The United States taxes its citizens and green-card holders on worldwide income wherever they live, so a move to Thailand does not end the filing obligation. Foreign tax credits and the foreign earned income exclusion can reduce the US tax on some income, but the exclusion covers earned income only, not pensions or investment income. The Thai remittance rule sits on top of this, so the same income may need planning in both systems.

Question 27

What is the FBAR and who has to file it?

Accepted Answer

The FBAR is FinCEN Form 114, filed electronically with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. A US person must file it if the combined value of their foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point in the calendar year. It is due on 15 April, with an automatic extension to 15 October. Thai bank accounts count, as do accounts over which the person has signature authority. Penalties for not filing can be substantial, even where no tax is owed.

Question 28

How is FATCA reporting different from the FBAR?

Accepted Answer

FATCA reporting by individuals is made on IRS Form 8938, filed with the tax return, and it covers a wider range of foreign financial assets. For a single filer living abroad it applies where those assets exceeded $200,000 at the end of the year or $300,000 at any time, with double those amounts for a joint return. FATCA also requires foreign banks to report US-person accounts, which is why Thai banks ask about US status.

Question 29

What is a PFIC, and why does it matter to a US person?

Accepted Answer

A passive foreign investment company is, broadly, a non-US company whose income or assets are mainly passive. Most non-US mutual funds, unit trusts and ETFs fall within the definition, including many funds offered as standard on UK and Thai platforms. US persons holding them generally file Form 8621 each year, and gains and certain distributions can be taxed at the highest rates with an interest charge added. US-domiciled funds usually avoid the problem.

Question 30

What happens to a 401(k) or IRA after moving to Thailand?

Accepted Answer

It can usually stay where it is. US retirement accounts remain inside the US tax system, and withdrawals are taxed by the US under the usual rules. Some US providers restrict accounts held by customers with a foreign address, so the provider’s position is worth confirming before or soon after the move. How Thailand treats withdrawals brought into the country depends on the US and Thailand treaty and the remittance rule, and is best checked before large withdrawals.

Question 31

Can a US person use the same planning as a British expat?

Accepted Answer

Often not. Structures that work well for a British expat, such as UK ISAs, offshore bonds or non-US funds, can create US tax and reporting problems for a US person, including PFIC treatment. US persons also file annual FBAR and possibly FATCA reports wherever they live. Plans for couples where only one partner is a US person need particular care, because a structure that suits one spouse can penalise the other.

Question 32

Does an expat living in Thailand need a Thai will?

Accepted Answer

Anyone with assets in Thailand, such as a bank account or a condominium, has good reason to consider one. A foreign will can be recognised in Thailand, but proving it usually means certified translations and further court steps, which add time and cost for the family. A separate Thai will covering only Thai assets is often simpler, provided it is drafted to sit alongside the UK or other home-country will rather than replace it.

Question 33

What is the risk of having two wills?

Accepted Answer

The revocation trap. Most wills open with a clause revoking all earlier wills, so signing a new Thai will can accidentally cancel a UK will, or the reverse. Each will should state that it covers only the assets in its own country and that it does not revoke the other. The two documents are best drafted with each other in view, and reviewed together whenever either one changes.

Question 34

What happens if a foreigner dies in Thailand without a will?

Accepted Answer

Thai land and buildings pass under Thai law, while movable assets are generally governed by the law of the person’s domicile. Where Thai intestacy applies, the Civil and Commercial Code sets an order of statutory heirs, including a registered spouse, children and parents; an unmarried partner has no automatic share. An heir usually applies to a Thai court to appoint an estate administrator before banks will release assets, and the process takes months.

Question 35

Is there inheritance tax in Thailand?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but with a high threshold. Under the Inheritance Tax Act of 2015, the tax falls on the heir rather than the estate, and applies only to the value an heir receives above 100 million baht. The rate is 5% for ascendants and descendants and 10% for other heirs. For most expat families the Thai tax is not the main concern. UK inheritance tax, where it applies, usually is.

Question 36

Does UK inheritance tax apply to someone living in Thailand?

Accepted Answer

Since 6 April 2025, UK inheritance tax on worldwide assets depends on long-term UK residence rather than domicile. Someone UK resident for at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years is within scope, and that status continues for between three and 10 years after leaving, depending on how long they were resident. Outside the long-term residence test, only UK assets remain in scope. The main rate is 40% above the available nil-rate bands.

Question 37

How does Thai property pass to heirs?

Accepted Answer

Foreigners generally cannot own land in Thailand, but can own a condominium unit within the building’s foreign-ownership quota. A condominium registered to a foreign owner passes under the will or the intestacy rules like other assets, and the transfer to the heir is registered at the Land Office on the authority of the estate administrator. Arrangements that rely on nominee Thai shareholders to hold land are unlawful and can put the property itself at risk.

The questions worth asking first

Cost, regulation, custody and trust

Thai remittance tax and the 2024 rules

UK pensions when you live abroad

US persons in Thailand: FBAR, FATCA and PFIC

Estates and wills across the UK and Thailand

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The 2026 expat in Thailand
tax and pension playbook