Work permit and taxes for expat Youtubers

[kiteman9]

Are Youtubers that live in Thailand legally suppose to have a work permit and pay taxes? 

[OneMoreFarang]

That depends.

Are you one of those YouTubers and don't like taxes?

Or are you not happy about one of those YouTubers in Thailand who doesn't like taxes?

 

Who is going to check which person received how much money from YouTube to which bank account (maybe outside of Thailand)?

[Andy from Kent]

11 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

That depends.

Are you one of those YouTubers and don't like taxes?

Or are you not happy about one of those YouTubers in Thailand who doesn't like taxes?

 

Who is going to check which person received how much money from YouTube to which bank account (maybe outside of Thailand)?

 

 

You don't quite answer his question, do you?

 

[kiteman9]

4 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

That depends.

Are you one of those YouTubers and don't like taxes?

Or are you not happy about one of those YouTubers in Thailand who doesn't like taxes?

 

Who is going to check which person received how much money from YouTube to which bank account (maybe outside of Thailand)?

Answering a question with a question is no help. I figured it would be a tough question 

[mr mr]

2 minutes ago, Andy from Kent said:

14 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

That depends.

Are you one of those YouTubers and don't like taxes?

Or are you not happy about one of those YouTubers in Thailand who doesn't like taxes?

 

Who is going to check which person received how much money from YouTube to which bank account (maybe outside of Thailand)?

 

 

You don't quite answer his question, do you?

didn't take long to draw one out. 

[OneMoreFarang]

53 minutes ago, kiteman9 said:

Answering a question with a question is no help. I figured it would be a tough question 

Ok, I don't know the answer. But with my long time Thailand experience I am pretty sure the answer is something like this:

If you would ask someone official then you would probably hear that you should pay taxes.

And if you would ask the same official in private he would tell you: Don't ask!

Nobody will knock on your door and demand taxes on an income which is not officially payed by a Thai company and recorded in Thailand.

If you ask officially you only make it complicate. Don't ask, don't mention it, and don't pay. Problem solved. TiT

[varun]

Income from Youtube streams goes to your bank account -> whichever country that bank account is based in,

you pay IT in that country - simple as that. 

 

A Thai WP is only necessary if you're employed by a Thai company -either self-owned or belonging to a third-party.

Based on the above, there is no local income to declare - you are however, free to declare it - use your own best judgement.

[scorecard]

15 hours ago, Andy from Kent said:

 

 

You don't quite answer his question, do you?

 

Can you give a clear, specific factual answer?

[Poet]

16 hours ago, kiteman9 said:

Are Youtubers that live in Thailand legally suppose to have a work permit and pay taxes?

No.

 

[itsallmine68]

best email some Youtubers here in Thailand "20 seconds in Thailand' food critique Mark Weins in Bangkok Before you ask, No, I dont have their emails look on Youtube for info or Google

[MrMilk]

17 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Nobody will knock on your door

But how about the people that live here year after year, often with a Visa bought from a agent, and not showing any legit income/salary.

 

Isn't anyone going to ask any questions at any point?

[Poet]

16 minutes ago, MrMilk said:

Isn't anyone going to ask any questions at any point?

No.

 

[jackdd]

Depends...

If you produce videos in your room which you could do everywhere in this world, you receive the money in another country and pay taxes there, then no.

If you make videos about the life in Thailand and make money with it, then yes.

[Poet]

Just now, jackdd said:

Depends...

If you produce videos in your room which you could do everywhere in this world, you receive the money in another country and pay taxes there, then no.

If you make videos about the life in Thailand and make money with it, then yes.

That doesn't make any sense. What if the videos you produce in your room are about life in Thailand?

Look, I don't know why everyone is overcomplicating this. A foreign individual receiving payments from a foreign company into his foreign bank account is essentially invisible to the system. It doesn't matter if he wanders around Bangkok with his phone vlogging, or making TikToks, because everyone else is hypnotized by their phones too.

Just make sure you have a valid tourist visa or whatever, don't go around bragging about how much money you are earning (mainly because it infuriates the pensioners here on TVF), and get on with you life.

Again, the very simple answer to @kiteman9's question:

No.

[mtls2005]

Relatively frequent subject here, a search will yield many views.

 

Summary: some of the bigger vloggers here have incorporated and are legal, the rest are fine unless they run afoul of norms or the authorities.

 

 

[jackdd]

2 minutes ago, Poet said:

Look, I don't know why everyone is overcomplicating this. A foreign individual receiving payments from a foreign company into his foreign bank account is essentially invisible to the system. It doesn't matter if he wanders around Bangkok with his phone vlogging, or making TikToks, because everyone else is hypnotized by their phones too.

Until somebody has a problem with him and reports him to immigration police.

[NoshowJones]

50 minutes ago, MrMilk said:

But how about the people that live here year after year, often with a Visa bought from a agent, and not showing any legit income/salary.

 

Isn't anyone going to ask any questions at any point?

No one needs to for obvious reasons.

[OneMoreFarang]

18 hours ago, varun said:

A Thai WP is only necessary if you're employed by a Thai company -either self-owned or belonging to a third-party.

That is only in part correct.

If you help a friend to paint his apartment then that is in the view of the Thai authorities "working". And because you don't have a work permit (because you can't get a work permit for helping a friend) that work is illegal.

If any farang is seen behind the counter of a bar he is officially working. If he has no work permit then that is illegal. If i.e. the bar owner gives a beer to a customer 2m away from the bar then he is working in the eyes of Thailand.

Most of the time nobody cares about those little things. But sometimes they do. And that is when people get <censored> because they though everybody is doing it so why not me.

 

[jomtienisgood]

19 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

That depends.

Are you one of those YouTubers and don't like taxes?

Or are you not happy about one of those YouTubers in Thailand who doesn't like taxes?

 

Who is going to check which person received how much money from YouTube to which bank account (maybe outside of Thailand)?

I wasn't aware that YouTubing is a job, just a bunch of clowns. 5555555

[OneMoreFarang]

In case it wasn't mentioned already.

I think a big issue is what that YouTuber is doing. Videos about the wonderful temples and the wonderful people of Thailand, no problem. Videos about dirty beaches and corruption - better look for another job or another country.

[teacherclaire]

20 hours ago, kiteman9 said:

Answering a question with a question is no help. I figured it would be a tough question 

Is it of rhetorical nature? 

[Poet]

1 hour ago, jackdd said:

Until somebody has a problem with him and reports him to immigration police.

Well, okay, let's think that through. Immigration officers are alerted to a foreigner who is in the country on a valid visa but not one that allows him to occupy a job in Thailand. The informant explains that the miscreant is "making money from YouTube".

At that point, the officer on the other end of the call must process this wild notion that someone is making money from YouTube. He, himself, spends much of every working day on YouTube and, so far, has made not even one single satang from it.

He goes to his superior and says "Hey, I've got a hot tip on dirty farang who is here on a Tourist visa but is making YouTube videos".

"Okay", says the superior, "I've told you before. We only waste time on people we can extort. That means people we can actually catch in the act of receiving money, or selling something, or at least doing some form of work that we can prove is work, not just arsing around with their smartphone. Go back to your desk and, again, stop drinking before noon!"

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by Poet

[teacherclaire]

41 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

That is only in part correct.

If you help a friend to paint his apartment then that is in the view of the Thai authorities "working". And because you don't have a work permit (because you can't get a work permit for helping a friend) that work is illegal.

If any farang is seen behind the counter of a bar he is officially working. If he has no work permit then that is illegal. If i.e. the bar owner gives a beer to a customer 2m away from the bar then he is working in the eyes of Thailand.

Most of the time nobody cares about those little things. But sometimes they do. And that is when people get <censored> because they though everybody is doing it so why not me.

 

Youtube can quickly get you deported. Remember the German BBQ specialist who caught the hearts of Thais when helping his Isaan gurl?

 

Unfortunately,  he's a criminal in his country, and he soon got arrested. He didn't have a work permit to BBQ anything. 

I don't want to be a FB hero for a week.

 

 

[Poet]

2 minutes ago, teacherclaire said:

Youtube can quickly get you deported ... He didn't have a work permit to BBQ anything. 

So, it wasn't YouTube that got him deported. It was being videoed doing work for an actual stall or whatever his girlfriend was running.

[jomtienisgood]

6 minutes ago, Poet said:

So, it wasn't YouTube that got him deported. It was being videoed doing work for an actual stall or whatever his girlfriend was running.

Or maybe the fact that he was a wanted criminal in his country, dixit Teacherclaire.....

[lordblackader]

If you do any work in Thailand the answer, legally is yes. 

Anyone who says the law is grey or whatever has zero understanding of Thai law. You work here, legally you need a work permit. 

 

That said, enforcement of the law varies, they generally don't care as long as your activities are offshore. If you're filming here the answer would be yes. 

This interview with the Chiang Mai Labor Office gives some insight - when they refer to bloggers the same applies to YouTubers. 

[JeffersLos]

19 hours ago, varun said:

Income from Youtube streams goes to your bank account -> whichever country that bank account is based in,

you pay IT in that country - simple as that. 

Not as simple as that.

 

You can get a Thai tax number and officially pay tax on the income here. You don't need a Thai Work Permit or Work Visa to do this.

 

Many pensioners do this instead of paying the tax at a higher rate in their home country.

 

If the tax is lower in Thailand, and you're based here, pay the tax here, and it can be offset against the tax you pay in your home country (depending what country that is). 

[teacherclaire]

2 hours ago, Poet said:

So, it wasn't YouTube that got him deported. It was being videoed doing work for an actual stall or whatever his girlfriend was running.

But somebody put the damn film on YouTube and that got him going.

 

It's already enough to have cams everywhere.

 

  

Edited October 20, 2020 by teacherclaire

[khunPer]

23 hours ago, kiteman9 said:

Are Youtubers that live in Thailand legally suppose to have a work permit and pay taxes?

If you do it as a hobby for fun only, just do it – within the limit of what you are allowed to youtube about, if you youtube about Thailand – if you make any money from youtubing, then in you principle needs a work permit.

 

Any income derived from Thailand is taxable in Thailand. If you are so-called tax-resident, i.e. stays in the kingdom for 183 days or more within a year, then all income is taxable in Thailand, also foreign income; however foreign income only if you transfer it to Thailand within the same calendar year as it's earned.

 

You can only get at work permit if you are employed by a Thai company.

 

Some digital nomads works under the radar – foreign customers and foreign income only – and officially lives in Thailand from savings; however, it might be little more difficult to youtube under the radar, especially of you wish to create an income...

[stat]

22 hours ago, varun said:

Income from Youtube streams goes to your bank account -> whichever country that bank account is based in,

you pay IT in that country - simple as that. 

 

A Thai WP is only necessary if you're employed by a Thai company -either self-owned or belonging to a third-party.

Based on the above, there is no local income to declare - you are however, free to declare it - use your own best judgement.

Sorry simply not correct. You pay taxes in the country you reside in or in the country where the money was earned, depending on the DTA (Double taxation agreement). The location of the account is irrelevant in the case of an individual. Like mentioned here dont transfer money into Thailand in the same year and dont ask an official.

 

Following the legal code 100% would make you tax liable in Thailand.