Ask HN: Does legal tax evasion work for regular people?

Hello fellow HN readers,

For some time now I've been researching how to become a digital nomad and legally optimise my taxes.

There are numerous services that claim to be able to help with this, here are just two examples that I found:

https://taxhackers.io

https://denationalize.me

Does anyone have any experience of this and can tell me if it really works and is legal?

Also, why do they charge so much when there are other services that can do this for much less (e.g. Stripe Atlas: https://stripe.com/atlas)?

I am thinking of moving to Thailand, but I do not want to be a perpetual traveller. Can setting up a US LLC as a non-resident (or a UAE free zone company) be considered "foreign sourced income" without being taxed even if I am a tax resident of Thailand (>180 days living there) and what experience can you possibly share if you have tried something like this before?

What additional advice can you give me and others to make this a great trip instead of a nightmare?

Thanks for all your input and a healthy discussion on this topic!

7 points | by o1o1o1 7 hours ago

4 comments

  • csomar 5 hours ago
    The most important thing to understand is that these services don't have your interest in mind and they are out of country, so they can offer you bad advice with no liability on their end (vs. say a CPA). Your problem is not setting up a "free zone company" or whatever that means but getting your current obligations to drop. You do that by visiting your local tax office and telling them you are off the country. It doesn't mean your liabilities disappear overnight.

    Your biggest liability (tax-wise) is going to come from your revenue source. That's also where you should be careful. Next, is the country of your passport (because they got you by the **). Everybody else matter very little which is why you should steer away from Dubai, HK, off-shore, etc.. until you understand the nuances of your situation.

  • chvid 7 hours ago
    As far as I can tell these service are essentially the same as not reporting an income in a roundabout way - illegal but you will likely get away with it because how will the tax authorities of your country know.

    Do these services provide you with legal representation towards your home country? My guess is probably not.

    [-]
    • o1o1o1 6 hours ago
      That would be problematic, but isn't that still allowed under Thai tax law (see my answer here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43370402#43370656)?

      These services do not provide legal representation as far as I know.

      [-]
      • chvid 6 hours ago
        But are you moving your residency to Thailand? If so get a Thai accountant and a Thai company in your name.

        Most countries except the US will not tax you if you move to another country.

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        • chvid 6 hours ago
          Though all the digital nomads I met in Thailand kept their company / legal structure in their home country. Setting up shop in a new country - in particular in a slightly dodgy one - may not be worth the trouble to save some taxes on a modest income.
    • csomar 5 hours ago
      It's 2025 and your depending on your country they might be getting quite a bit of information (bank accounts, brokerage account, insurances transactions, Beneficial Ownership, etc...) Lookup CRS.
      [-]
      • chvid 4 hours ago
        But do any of these setups help you with that? Ie. get a tax free company that is not under your name but under your control. And get an international bank account for that company plus an international debit card.

        Plus you would need customers who are cool with paying you through an entity like that.

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        • csomar 3 hours ago
          Not only that but the system is guarded through the banks. Even if you open a bank account for your company, you have to fill beneficial ownership rules for that bank account. So they might end up linking you to it that way.
  • eacapeisfutuile 6 hours ago
    No those services won’t be legal. If you stay in Thailand for that period you can pay tax there and then use FEIE to not pay double to the US
    [-]
    • o1o1o1 6 hours ago
      Ok, this may be true for US citizens who are taxed based on their citizenship, but what about other nationalities (I am not a US citizen)?

      The current laws in Thailand state that foreign sourced income is only taxed if it is remitted to Thailand (source: https://mahanakornpartners.com/overview-of-personal-income-t...).

      So this should be an option, don't you think?

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      • eacapeisfutuile 6 hours ago
        Same, but residence probably always require a time period. I think it highly depends on your actual citizenship and what tax agreements they have with Thailand etc.
  • carlosjobim 3 hours ago
    Your life should be split like this:

    One country for citizenship, one country for residence, one country for your money.

    This arrangement earns you a lifetime of peace of mind.

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    • scarface_74 15 minutes ago
      Why is that optimal?

      I understand at least having a dual residency as a back up plan and that’s our plan with establishing residency in Costa Rica before retirement and keeping our by then paid off condo in the US.