Vietnam (VN)

Vietnam is a dynamic, rapidly developing Socialist Republic stretching 1,650km down the eastern coast of the Indochinese Peninsula — a country of extraordinary geographical diversity, from the karst mountains of the north and the Red River Delta, through the stunning coastline of the Central region, to the vast Mekong Delta in the south.

Capital: Hanoi

Region: Asia

Language: Vietnamese

Currency: VND (₫)

Cost of living: Very affordable (index 22)

Emergency: 113

Tax & Payslip Guide

Understanding your taxes in Vietnam — tax year Calendar year: January 1 – December 31.

📅

Tax Year

Calendar year: January 1 – December 31

⏰

Filing Deadline

Q1 (Jan-Mar): quarterly PIT withholding return by 30 April. Q2: by 31 July. Q3: by 31 October. Q4: by 31 January following year. Annual PIT finalisation (quyết toán thuế): by 31 March of the following year for individuals; by 31 March for employers. Employed individuals can authorise their employer to finalise on their behalf. Self-employed individuals must file personally. Late filing penalty: 10–25% of tax shortfall plus 0.03%/day interest.

🧾

VAT (Standard)

10%

📊 Income Tax Brackets

Income from	Income to	Rate	Notes
0	120,000,000	5%	Up to VND 120,000,000/year (≤VND 10,000,000/month). Applies after personal deduction of VND 15,500,000/month and VND 6,200,000/month per registered dependent. New PIT Law restructured from 7 to 5 brackets effective 1 January 2026.
120,000,000	360,000,000	10%	VND 120,000,001 to VND 360,000,000/year (VND 10,000,001–30,000,000/month).
360,000,000	720,000,000	20%	VND 360,000,001 to VND 720,000,000/year (VND 30,000,001–60,000,000/month).
720,000,000	1,200,000,000	30%	VND 720,000,001 to VND 1,200,000,000/year (VND 60,000,001–100,000,000/month).
1,200,000,000	∞	35%	Above VND 1,200,000,000/year (above VND 100,000,000/month). Non-residents (less than 183 days in Vietnam per year): flat 20% on all Vietnam-source income regardless of amount.

🏛️ Social Contributions

BHXH — Social Insurance (Employee)

Employee: 8%

Employer: 17.5%

Bảo Hiểm Xã Hội — mandatory for all employees on formal labour contracts. Provides retirement pension, sickness pay, maternity benefit, work injury and death benefit. Contribution ceiling: 20× statutory basic salary = VND 46,800,000/month (based on VND 2,340,000 basic salary, 2026). Employee contributes 8% of gross salary (capped), employer contributes 17.5%. Note: the regional minimum wage (VND 5,310,000/month for Region I effective January 2026) applies to the BHTN ceiling, not BHXH/BHYT.

BHYT — Health Insurance (Employee)

Employee: 1.5%

Employer: 3%

Bảo Hiểm Y Tế — mandatory health insurance fund providing access to public hospitals at subsidised rates (80–100% coverage for inpatient, reduced for outpatient). Same ceiling as BHXH (VND 46,800,000/month). Employee contributes 1.5%, employer contributes 3%.

BHTN — Unemployment Insurance (Employee)

Employee: 1%

Employer: 1%

Bảo Hiểm Thất Nghiệp — provides unemployment benefit of 60% of contributory salary for up to 12 months if involuntarily unemployed with 12+ months contribution. Only applies to enterprises with 10+ employees. Note: foreign employees on fixed-term contracts of less than 12 months are currently exempt from BHTN.

🛒 VAT Rates

10%

Standard

5% — essential goods: basic foodstuffs, medicine, agricultural inputs, educational materials, cultural services

Reduced

0% — exports, international transport, software services for export

Super reduced

A temporary VAT reduction (8% instead of 10%) applies to a range of goods (excluding education, medical, banking, insurance, and securities). Confirmed active through 31 December 2026 by National Assembly Resolution 204/2025/QH15. VAT registration threshold: VND 1 billion/year revenue.

🧾 Sample Payslip Decoder

Gross Salary VND 30,000,000/month

Gross salary + VND 30,000,000

BHXH Employee Contribution (8% of capped salary — ceiling VND 29,800,000) - -VND 2,384,000

BHYT Employee Contribution (1.5% of capped salary) - -VND 447,000

BHTN Employee Contribution (1% of capped salary) - -VND 298,000

PIT monthly withholding (approx. 5.4% effective — progressive 5%/10%/15% on taxable income after VND 11,000,000/month personal deduction) - -VND 1,631,000

Net Salary (Take-home) VND 25,240,000/month

Based on single taxpayer with no dependants, gross salary VND 30,000,000/month, Region 1 (HCMC/Hanoi). Social insurance contributions are capped at 20× statutory minimum wage (VND 29,800,000 in 2026). Effective PIT rate: approximately 5.4% of gross salary. No dependent deduction claimed. Additional deductions (charity, approved insurance premiums) can further reduce the tax base. Employer additionally contributes 21.5% (BHXH 17.5% + BHYT 3% + BHTN 1%) on capped salary = VND 6,407,000/month on top of gross salary — the full employment cost is approximately VND 36,407,000/month. 13th month salary (Tết bonus) is taxable as normal income in the month paid.

🌍 Special Expat Tax Rules

Tax residence: 183+ days in Vietnam in a calendar year OR permanent registration (Hộ Khẩu/KT3). Tax residents pay PIT at progressive rates on worldwide income. Non-residents pay 20% flat rate on Vietnam-source income only. Personal deductions (2026): VND 15,500,000/month for the taxpayer (raised from VND 11,000,000); VND 6,200,000/month per registered dependent (raised from VND 4,400,000). Expat allowances: housing, schooling, flights home, language training paid by employer are generally PIT-exempt if structured under Circular 78/2014/TT-BTC, but complex and should be verified with a tax adviser. The "183-day rule" counts days physically present in Vietnam — business trips, holidays and weekends all count.

📋 Double Tax Treaties

Vietnam has signed Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) with 80+ countries including: Germany, France, UK, Netherlands, USA, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, China, India, Canada, Sweden, Norway and many others. DTAAs generally follow OECD model and cover: income from employment, business profits, dividends, interest, royalties and capital gains. Withholding tax rates reduced under DTAAs. Expats should obtain a Certificate of Tax Residence from their home country's tax authority to claim treaty benefits in Vietnam. Treaty benefits are not automatic — must be applied for at the General Department of Taxation (GDT).

General Department of Taxation (Tổng cục Thuế — GDT)

https://www.gdt.gov.vn

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