Phuket, Thailand
🇹🇭 Countries · current to September 2026

Thailand, for a high earner.

2 addresses in Thailand on the Patrician.ch board, ranked by what a $1M earner keeps. Phuket leads at 34%.

In short, current to September 2026

  • Phuket ranks first in Thailand, at 34% on $1,000,000 and ahead on the engine score (safety, schools, sun, beauty, cost and ease of entry). Bangkok is the alternative.
  • A resident pays about 35% on a capital gain in Thailand.
  • No address in Thailand carries an annual wealth tax.
  • Inheritance: Children pay 5% or less. Thailand taxes inheritance above THB 100 million at 5% for descendants and parents and 10% for others. A spouse is exempt.
  • Thailand runs a special regime for new arrivals: Long-Term Resident visa with a 17% flat tax on employment income for highly skilled professionals, and a full exemption on foreign income for the qualifying LTR categories. Outside that visa, orders Por 161 and 162 of 2566 have taxed foreign income at 5% to 35% whenever a resident of 180 days or more brings it in, from 1 January 2024, with income earned before 2024 still exempt. A 2 year remittance exemption has been drafted since mid 2025 but is not law until it appears in the Royal Gazette.

Source: the Patrician.ch board, an original ranking of 100 residence addresses across 48 countries and territories. Tax rates, thresholds and routes are sourced. Cost, safety, schools, sun and beauty are Patrician.ch editorial indices. Figures current to September 2026. Updated . Cite as: Patrician.ch, Thailand for high earners 2026: Phuket vs Bangkok after tax, patrician.ch/countries/thailand/, September 2026.

Ranked

2 addresses in Thailand, by what a $1M earner keeps.

01
Phuket 🇹🇭 Thailandkeeps $665K of $1M, gains 35%, safety 6 of 10, schools 6 of 10
34%
02
Bangkok 🇹🇭 Thailandkeeps $665K of $1M, gains 35%, safety 6 of 10, schools 8 of 10
34%
AddressTax on $1MKeptGainsWealth taxHeirsCost
Phuket34%$665K35%NoneChildren pay 5% or less50
Bangkok34%$665K35%NoneChildren pay 5% or less52

Simplified marginal model, indicative 2026 brackets, non-US single filer. Wealth tax is the top rate. Cost is the Patrician.ch index where Zurich is 100.

Who gets in

The route into Thailand.

Long-Term Resident visa for the wealthy, pensioners, and remote workers, 10 years, or the Elite visa on a fee. Thai tax residence starts at 180 days.

Residence by investment · 2 of 2Remote work visa · 2 of 2

The regime for new arrivals.

Long-Term Resident visa with a 17% flat tax on employment income for highly skilled professionals, and a full exemption on foreign income for the qualifying LTR categories. Outside that visa, orders Por 161 and 162 of 2566 have taxed foreign income at 5% to 35% whenever a resident of 180 days or more brings it in, from 1 January 2024, with income earned before 2024 still exempt. A 2 year remittance exemption has been drafted since mid 2025 but is not law until it appears in the Royal Gazette

Every regime for new arrivals, compared

Keep reading

Thailand, head to head.

Phuket vs BangkokHead to headSingapore vs PhuketHead to headSingapore vs BangkokHead to headNiseko vs BangkokHead to headPhuket vs Hong KongHead to headBali vs PhuketHead to headBali vs BangkokHead to headBangkok vs Hong KongHead to head

Every country on the board · Glossary

Questions

The short answers.

Where should a high earner live in Thailand?

Phuket ranks first in Thailand, at 34% on $1,000,000 and ahead on the engine score (safety, schools, sun, beauty, cost and ease of entry). Bangkok is the alternative.

Ties on tax are broken by the Patrician.ch engine score at its default weights (safety, schools, sun, beauty, cost and ease of entry). Your own income and passports can reorder the list.

How much income tax does a $1M earner pay in Thailand?

34% effective across the 2 addresses on the Patrician.ch 2026 model, single filer, before social contributions.

Thailand runs a special regime for new arrivals: Long-Term Resident visa with a 17% flat tax on employment income for highly skilled professionals, and a full exemption on foreign income for the qualifying LTR categories. Outside that visa, orders Por 161 and 162 of 2566 have taxed foreign income at 5% to 35% whenever a resident of 180 days or more brings it in, from 1 January 2024, with income earned before 2024 still exempt. A 2 year remittance exemption has been drafted since mid 2025 but is not law until it appears in the Royal Gazette.

Does Thailand tax capital gains?

Yes.

A resident pays about 35% on a capital gain in Thailand, about $350K on a $1,000,000 gain.

Does Thailand have a wealth tax?

No. None of the 2 addresses in Thailand carries an annual wealth tax on the Patrician.ch model.

Does Thailand have an inheritance tax?

Children pay 5% or less in Thailand. Thailand taxes inheritance above THB 100 million at 5% for descendants and parents and 10% for others. A spouse is exempt.

Source: Inheritance Tax Act B.E. 2558, current to September 2026.

How does a foreigner get residence in Thailand?

Long-Term Resident visa for the wealthy, pensioners, and remote workers, 10 years, or the Elite visa on a fee.

Thai tax residence starts at 180 days. Routes that matter for money: Residence by investment, Remote work visa.

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The general case, ranked: Where should high earners live in 2026 · Best country to live in if you are rich · Best countries for high earners after tax · Europe · United States · Americans moving abroad · Tax calculator

Tax figures use a simplified marginal model with indicative 2026 brackets for a non-US single filer, ignore social contributions, most deductions, wealth taxes, and treaties, and are not advice. Residence rules change often. Verify before acting.

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