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About this tool
Plan how much Thai baht to carry as notes versus card spend, costing the changer markup, GST, TCS and the flat Thai ATM fee.
This planner sizes the baht float for a Thailand trip and prices it against the card alternative. It applies the money changer's markup and the GST that Rule 32(2)(b) of the CGST Rules charges on buying foreign exchange, then compares that with drawing the same baht from Thai ATMs — where local banks add a flat fee of roughly ฿220 to every foreign-card withdrawal, which is what makes several small withdrawals expensive. It also flags the RBI limit of USD 3,000 in currency notes per visit and the ₹10,00,000 LRS threshold for TCS.
Open THB Cash Budget Planner on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Enter the values you already know.
Fine-tune the options to match your scenario.
Read the result and use it in your planning or reporting.
The comparison between buying notes in India and using Thai ATMs turns on a flat fee, and the planner counts the number of withdrawals rather than assuming one.
Defaults to a cash-heavy split because street kitchens, songthaews and island guesthouses do not take cards.
Breaks the float into notes, so you do not arrive with a wallet of ฿1,000s nobody can change.
Plan for around half to two-thirds of your on-ground spend in baht. At mid-range spending of about ฿2,000 per person per day, ten days works out near ฿11,000 to ฿14,000 per person in notes, with hotels, malls and chain restaurants left on the card.
Thai banks levy a flat fee of about ฿220 per withdrawal on foreign cards, regardless of the amount, and that is separate from your Indian bank's own charge and its foreign-currency markup. Because the fee is per transaction, withdrawing ฿20,000 once costs the same fee as withdrawing ฿2,000 once.
It is generally a poor idea. Rupees are not a freely traded currency in Thailand and few changers quote a competitive rate for them, so you lose more on the spread than you save. Buying baht in India, or carrying US dollars and changing them at a Bangkok exchange booth, both work better — and paying by card where cards are accepted usually costs less than either.
GST is charged on the value of the money-changing service, not on the currency. Rule 32(2)(b) of the CGST Rules sets that value at 1% of the gross amount up to ₹1,00,000, subject to a minimum of ₹250, so ₹50,000 of baht carries GST of 18% on ₹500 — that is ₹90. The slab tapers above ₹1,00,000, and this is informational rather than tax advice.
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