Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) is a versatile method for producing large-scale parts from a variety of materials [1,2] across different industries and applications [3]. However, the issue of residual stress and distortion is a significant challenge [2]. The inherent strain method has been successful in simulating residual stresses and displacements in Powder Bed Fusion [4–8] and three-axis Directed Energy Deposition [9–12]; however, its application to five-axis WAAM has been limited by physical and computational constraints. This study is dedicated to developing a new, more accurate, efficient, and process-representative simulation framework for predicting displacements in five-axis WAAM, thereby overcoming these limitations. The working hypothesis is that accounting for temperature-dependent thermal strains refines prediction precision. A simulation framework based on machine coordinates was developed. The thermo-inherent strain method is introduced in this work, incorporating temperature-dependent strain updates based on a simplified thermal process simulation. The inherent strain is separated into the thermal strain affected by the updates and a constant strain term that can be calibrated. Validation experiments demonstrated that the thermo-inherent strain method accurately predicted displacement fields, reducing relative errors from 116% (conventional method) to 12% for complex multi-wall geometries. A new metric, Displacement-Associated Potential (DAP), was introduced to quantify the influence of thermal strain energy. The results confirm that residual thermal strains have a significant impact on displacement behavior, particularly in early layers and under asymmetric clamping. This work extends the applicability of inherent strain simulations to complex five-axis WAAM processes, providing a foundation for digital distortion compensation. Limitations include the thermal model's calibration complexity.