Personal Tax Code and Income Tax for Foreigners in Vietnam
Vietnam taxes you according to whether you are a tax resident, and that status is decided by days present and by where you regularly live — not by your visa type or your job title. Get the residence test right, register a tax code, and the rest is mechanical: withholding during the year, family deductions if you qualify, an annual finalisation, and a clean exit file. Get it wrong and the bill surfaces years later, usually when you are trying to remit money home or close out an assignment.
Who needs this
- Foreign employees on a Vietnamese labour contract, whose employer must withhold and declare personal income tax against a tax code.
- Assignees and secondees paid partly or wholly from abroad while working in Vietnam — the payroll location does not decide where the income is taxed.
- Foreign directors and legal representatives who draw remuneration, allowances or director's fees from a Vietnamese entity.
- Long-stay residents with Vietnamese-source income outside employment, such as rent from a property or income from independent services.
- Anyone ending an assignment who needs a finalisation and tax records before closing accounts and remitting funds abroad.
What to bring
- Valid passport, with the pages showing entry and exit stamps — these are the primary evidence of your day count in Vietnam.
- Visa, temporary residence card or document of equivalent value covering the period being declared.
- Work permit or written confirmation of exemption from the work permit requirement.
- Labour contract, assignment or secondment letter, and any offshore employment contract that also covers your Vietnam work.
- Tax registration declaration for the individual, normally filed by the income-paying organisation on your behalf.
- Proof of accommodation in Vietnam — the lease agreement matters here, because a leased home is part of the residence test.
- Dependant documents if you claim family deductions: birth or marriage certificates, proof of the dependant's status, translated and legalised where issued abroad.
- Certificate of tax residence from your home country and foreign tax receipts, if you intend to rely on a double taxation agreement.
How it works
- 1
Settle your residence status before anything else
Under the Law on Personal Income Tax No. 109/2025/QH15 you are a tax resident if you are present in Vietnam for 183 days or more in a calendar year or in 12 consecutive months from your first day of presence, or if you have a regular place of residence in Vietnam — which includes registered permanent residence or a house leased under a fixed-term lease. Arrival and departure days each count as one day. If you have a regular residence here but are present under 183 days and cannot prove you are resident of another country, Vietnam treats you as a resident.
- 2
Register the tax code
Since 1 July 2025 the personal identification number issued by the Ministry of Public Security is used in place of a tax code for people who hold one, following Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC on tax registration. Foreign nationals who do not hold a Vietnamese personal identification number continue to use a tax code issued by the tax authority. In practice the income-paying organisation registers it for you from your passport details; if you have no Vietnamese payer, you register with the tax office that manages you directly.
- 3
Check how tax is actually being withheld on your pay
Residents are taxed on employment income under a progressive schedule of five brackets at 5%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 35%, with the top rate applying above 100 million dong of monthly assessable income. Non-residents are taxed at a flat 20% on salary and wages earned for work performed in Vietnam. Ask payroll in writing which basis they applied to you and from which month — a change of status mid-year has to be reflected, and it is far cheaper to correct in month three than at finalisation.
- 4
Register dependants if you qualify for family deductions
Family circumstance deductions are available to tax residents only. Law No. 109/2025/QH15 sets the deduction at 15.5 million dong per month for the taxpayer and 6.2 million dong per month for each dependant, applied from the 2026 tax period; confirm the figure in force for the year you are declaring with your managing tax office, since these levels are periodically adjusted. Foreign-issued dependant documents need translation and consular legalisation, which takes weeks — start before the deadline, not on it.
- 5
Keep a day-count and income file all year
Keep boarding passes, entry and exit stamps, the lease, payslips, withholding certificates and any foreign payslips covering Vietnam duties in one place. A tax resident is assessed on worldwide income, so offshore salary elements, bonuses paid abroad and foreign allowances belong in the file too. Reconstructing two years of travel from memory when the tax office asks is the single most expensive mistake in this area.
- 6
Finalise, and close out properly before you leave
Annual finalisation is either done through your employer or filed by you, and a foreign individual ending their Vietnam engagement is normally expected to finalise before departure. Filing channels and deadlines are published by the tax authority on the electronic tax portal — check them there for the year in question rather than relying on last year's calendar. Keep the finalisation confirmation: your bank will want it when you buy foreign currency and remit your savings home.
Where people get stuck
- Assuming a short assignment means non-resident status. The residence test has a second limb: a regular place of residence, including a house you lease under a fixed-term contract, can make you a Vietnamese tax resident even below 183 days.
- Declaring only the Vietnam-paid portion of the package. If you are a resident, income paid offshore for work done here — and worldwide income generally — is within scope; split payroll is one of the most common audit findings against foreign staff.
- Treating a double taxation agreement as automatic. Treaty relief must be claimed with a residence certificate and supporting documents through the prescribed procedure; tax already paid at home does not by itself discharge a Vietnamese liability.
- Ending up with more than one tax identifier. Duplicate registrations happen when a second employer registers you again from a differently spelled passport name — check with your managing tax office before you let anyone register a new code.
- Registering dependants after the fact. Deductions are given against a registered dependant record supported by legalised documents; retrospective claims are refused far more often than people expect.
- Leaving the country without finalising. An unfinalised year blocks the tax confirmation your bank needs for outbound remittance and follows you back if you return to Vietnam on a later assignment.
Common questions
Am I a tax resident or a non-resident?
You are a resident if you are present in Vietnam 183 days or more in a calendar year or in 12 consecutive months from your first day here, counting arrival and departure days as one day each, or if you have a regular place of residence here — registered permanent residence or a house leased under a fixed-term lease. Most foreign employees on a one-year contract with an apartment lease are residents from the outset, not from day 184.
Vietnam now uses the personal identification number instead of a tax code — does that apply to me?
That change, under Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC and effective from 1 July 2025, applies to people who hold a Vietnamese personal identification number issued by the Ministry of Public Security. A foreign national without one continues to use a tax code issued by the tax authority, normally registered through the organisation paying your income. Quote that code consistently on every declaration, contract and bank record.
My employer withholds tax every month. Do I still have to do anything?
Yes. Withholding is a payment mechanism, not a final settlement for most resident taxpayers, and the annual finalisation is where residence status, dependants, offshore income and treaty relief are actually reconciled. Confirm with payroll whether they will finalise on your behalf or whether you must file yourself, and check the current filing channels and deadlines on the electronic tax portal for the year concerned.
What do I need to settle before I leave Vietnam for good?
Finalise the tax year up to your departure, obtain the withholding certificates and the finalisation confirmation, and keep copies of your contract, payslips and bank statements. Your bank will ask for evidence of lawful income before converting and remitting your savings abroad, and your home-country tax authority may ask for proof of tax paid in Vietnam. Allow several weeks — this is not a last-week task.
Official sources
- Tax Department, Ministry of Finance — official portal
- Electronic tax portal (declaration, payment and lookup)
- Ministry of Finance — official portal
- Ministry of Finance — main contents of Personal Income Tax Law No. 109/2025/QH15
- Full text of Personal Income Tax Law No. 109/2025/QH15 (PDF)
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