AOW, pension and tax in Thailand: the treaty helps, the treaty list doesn't

With Thailand two things get mixed up that have nothing to do with each other, and both are called "the treaty" in everyday use. They have different consequences, so it's worth keeping them apart.

Part 1 — the tax treaty: which country may tax

The Netherlands and Thailand have had a treaty for the avoidance of double taxation since 1975, and it arranges the following.

Article 18 — pensions and annuities. Assigned to the state of residence: "taxable only in that State". So your occupational pension is taxed in Thailand as soon as you are a tax resident there. There is an exception for payments borne by the profits of an enterprise in the other state, but that doesn't come into play for an ordinary pension payment.

Article 19 — government service. The paying country may tax. An ABP pension that you built up in government service therefore remains taxed in the Netherlands — civil servants, teachers in public education, police, defence. Precisely the same dividing line as with Greece.

If you want to use the assignment to Thailand, apply to the Belastingdienst for an exemption from wage tax for your pension payment. Without that statement your fund simply withholds Dutch wage tax and you have to claim it back afterwards.

And the AOW? That falls outside the treaty. The AOW (the Dutch state pension) is not remuneration in respect of past employment and not an annuity within the meaning of article 18, and the 1975 treaty has no separate article for social security benefits and no residual article that assigns other income to one country. So the Netherlands simply keeps withholding wage tax on your AOW — an exemption like the one for your occupational pension does not exist for the AOW — while Thailand may tax what you bring in of it. Thailand does have a credit for tax paid abroad; how that works out in your situation is precisely the question for a tax adviser who knows both systems.

Many people have a mixed pension: partly ABP from government years, partly a fund from private-sector years, plus AOW. Calculate those parts separately.

Part 2 — the SVB's treaty list, and Thailand isn't on it

This is a different list, with a different purpose: countries outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland with which the Netherlands has agreements on work and social security. That list includes, among others, Australia, Canada, China, India, Israel, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Turkey, the United States and South Korea.

Thailand is not on it.

The most important consequence concerns the survivor's benefit (Anw): as soon as you live outside the Netherlands you are no longer insured for it, so your partner cannot claim it if something happens to you. You can continue the insurance voluntarily, but you have to apply for that within a year of the end of your compulsory insurance. Don't let that deadline pass unnoticed — work out what it's worth and then take a decision.

There is another consequence, and it hits single people directly in the wallet: the amount of your AOW. Article 9a of the AOW Act provides that whoever lives outside the Netherlands, the EU/EEA, Switzerland or a treaty country receives at most the old-age pension for married persons. A single person who moves to Thailand therefore drops from the 70% rate to the 50% rate — almost a third less, purely because of the move. For couples nothing changes: they already had the 50% rate per person.

Assume, furthermore, that child benefit doesn't travel with you, and have the SVB confirm that before you count on it.

Two practical things: arrange your DigiD and Berichtenbox before departure, because the SVB corresponds through them and there is no counter in Thailand. And the SVB can periodically ask for a proof of life; respond quickly, because payment can be suspended.

Part 3 — what Thailand itself taxes

If you stay in Thailand for 180 days or more in a calendar year, you are a tax resident there. As a resident you are liable to tax on your Thai income and on the foreign income that you bring into Thailand.

The latter changed in 2024, and it is the most important fiscal development for Dutch people in Thailand. Foreign income earned from 1 January 2024 onwards is taxed as soon as you transfer it — in the same tax year or in a later year. The old practice of leaving income alone for a year and then transferring it tax-free no longer exists.

For a pensioner who transfers their pension to Thailand every month, that simply means: that pension is taxable in Thailand. The story going round in expat groups that pension is untaxed in Thailand is out of date.

The sum you do before departure

1. Which part of your pension may Thailand tax? Occupational pension and AOW yes, ABP from government service no.
2. How much of that do you actually bring into Thailand? Only what you transfer is taxable there.
3. What do you pay now in the Netherlands on that same part, and what remains after the exemption statement?
4. What is the Anw continuation worth, and is it worth applying for within the year?

This article explains the rules; it is not tax advice. A mixed pension, an owner-occupied home in the Netherlands or a substantial shareholding belongs with a tax adviser who knows both systems — see also when you need an adviser and when you don't.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 3 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but applied to your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines monitored. See the whole journey to Thailand.