Vietnam rewrote its personal income tax law in 2025, and the new rules apply to salaries and business income from 1 January 2026. The scale now has five bands from 5% to 35%, the family deductions are higher, and small businesses and freelancers registered as business individuals pay nothing on their first VND 1 billion of revenue.
This guide covers Vietnamese personal tax for people moving to or living in Vietnam in 2026, the calendar year: the residence tests, the new rates, freelancing, investments, crypto, social insurance and visas.
The key question is simple. Are you resident? Residents are taxed on worldwide income at up to 35%. Non-residents pay a flat 20% on Vietnamese pay. And a rental contract can make you resident without 183 days.
What's changed: the new Personal Income Tax Law (No. 109/2025/QH15) was passed on 10 December 2025. It takes effect on 1 July 2026, but its rules for salaries and business income apply to the whole 2026 tax year. The scale has gone from seven bands to five, with deductions of VND 15.5 million a month for you and VND 6.2 million for each dependant. The tax-free revenue limit for business individuals is VND 1 billion a year from 1 January 2026. Transfers of digital assets, including crypto, are taxable at 0.1% of the price from 1 July 2026, and the tax-free amount on inheritances and gifts rose to VND 20 million.
📋 Vietnam tax at a glance for 2026
Topic | Details |
|---|---|
Tax system | Worldwide income for residents. Non-residents are taxed only on income arising in Vietnam |
Top income tax rate | 35% on taxable pay above VND 100 million a month (VND 1.2 billion a year). Non-residents pay a flat 20% on employment income |
All-in on a US$100k salary | About 27% as a single resident (VND 2.56 billion, including social and health insurance). About 22% as a non-resident |
Foreign income | Taxed for residents, with a credit for foreign tax under a tax treaty. Pensions paid from abroad are exempt |
Dividends, interest, capital gains | 5% on dividends and interest. Interest on Vietnamese bank deposits is exempt. Share sales: 0.1% of the sale price |
Crypto gains | 0.1% of the sale price from 1 July 2026 |
Residence at a glance | Getting in: easy (183 days, or a registered home or leases totalling 183 days in the year). Leaving: a clean break with no exit tax, but you settle your tax before you go |
Double tax treaties | A wide network, including Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand |
Figures in dong are converted at VND 25,600 to US$1. The State Bank of Vietnam's central rate was about VND 25,640 in early October 2026.
The 183-day rule and the rented-home test
Why do people become resident in Vietnam without meaning to? Because only one of the two tests counts days.
Image 1 — a lease can make you resident in Vietnam without 183 days
You're a Vietnamese tax resident if you meet either of these:
183 days. You're in Vietnam for 183 days or more in a calendar year, or in the 12 consecutive months from the day you first arrive. Your arrival day and your departure day each count as a day, based on the stamps in your passport.
A regular home. You have a registered permanent home, or, for a foreigner, the address on your permanent or temporary residence card. Or you rent a home in Vietnam under contracts adding up to 183 days or more in the tax year.
The rental test is wide. It covers hotels, guest houses, serviced flats and housing your employer rents for you, and several shorter contracts are added together.
There is one way out. If you meet the home or rental test but are in Vietnam for fewer than 183 days, you're resident unless you prove you're tax resident in another country, with a certificate of residence from it. If a treaty country doesn't issue certificates, a copy of your passport showing your time there can be used.
How you stop being resident
Residence is decided year by year. You stop being resident in a year with fewer than 183 days in Vietnam and no home or leases totalling 183 days. If a lease keeps running after you leave, a certificate of residence from your new country protects you.
Vietnam has no exit tax for individuals. A foreigner whose employment contract ends must file a final return before leaving, within 45 days of the contract ending.
👉 Official Gazette: the consolidated Personal Income Tax Law 109/2025/QH15 (in Vietnamese)
Income tax rates for 2026
Residents pay tax on employment income after deductions, on a five-band scale set both monthly and yearly.
Vietnam income tax rates for residents in 2026
Taxable income per year | Per month | Rate |
|---|---|---|
Up to VND 120 million | Up to VND 10 million | 5% |
VND 120 million to 360 million | VND 10 million to 30 million | 10% |
VND 360 million to 720 million | VND 30 million to 60 million | 20% |
VND 720 million to 1.2 billion | VND 60 million to 100 million | 30% |
Over VND 1.2 billion | Over VND 100 million | 35% |
Source: Personal Income Tax Law No. 109/2025/QH15, Article 9, applying to employment income from the 2026 tax year.
Before tax is worked out, you deduct your compulsory social, health and unemployment insurance, a personal deduction of VND 15.5 million a month (VND 186 million a year) and VND 6.2 million a month for each dependant. The new law also allows deductions for some health and education costs, at levels set by the Government.
Non-residents get none of this. They pay a flat 20% on everything they earn for work done in Vietnam, wherever it's paid.
👉 Government of Vietnam portal: the progressive tax scale under Law 109/2025/QH15 (in Vietnamese)
👉 Government of Vietnam portal: what the new Personal Income Tax Law changes (in Vietnamese)
Worked example
You're single, tax resident and earn VND 2.56 billion in 2026 (about US$100k) from a Vietnamese employer on a two-year contract.
You pay social insurance of about VND 46.8 million and health insurance of about VND 8.8 million, because both are charged on capped earnings.
After those and the personal deduction of VND 186 million, your taxable income is about VND 2.32 billion and your income tax is about VND 637 million.
Your all-in bill is about VND 693 million, or 27% of your salary. As a non-resident, the tax would be a flat VND 512 million, about 22% with contributions.
Freelancing in Vietnam
This is where the 2026 rules are most generous. A resident doing business pays no income tax on revenue of up to VND 1 billion a year. Between VND 1 billion and 3 billion, you choose one of two methods:
Revenue method: a percentage of the revenue above VND 1 billion. It's 2% for most services, including consultancy and data processing, 0.5% for selling goods, and 5% for renting out property and for digital content such as games and digital advertising.
Profit method: 15% of your revenue less your business costs.
Above VND 3 billion you must use the profit method, at 17% up to VND 50 billion and 20% above that.
There's a condition. These rules are for business individuals. If you provide services without registering a business or registering for tax for your business, the fees count as pay and are taxed on the 5% to 35% scale, about 26% on US$100k. Ask the tax office whether you can register as a business individual before relying on the lower rates.
On US$100k (VND 2.56 billion) of service income, the revenue method costs VND 31.2 million, about 1.2%. Foreign self-employed people aren't in the compulsory social insurance scheme, which covers foreign employees on labour contracts.
Two catches. These rules are for residents: a non-resident providing services in Vietnam pays 5% of the whole revenue. And a low tax rate doesn't give you the right to work, so you need a visa and status that allow it. VAT may also apply above the limit, so check with the tax office before you start.
👉 Official Gazette: Law 09/2026/QH16 amending the Personal Income Tax Law (in Vietnamese)
Crypto, investments and pensions
How is crypto taxed in Vietnam? From 1 July 2026, the income tax law treats transfers of digital assets, including crypto-assets, as taxable. The tax is 0.1% of the transfer price on each sale, for residents and non-residents alike. It's a tax on what you sell for, not on your gain.
Vietnam is also piloting a crypto-asset market through licensed Vietnamese providers, under Government Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP, and the provider withholds the tax on each sale. Sales through these providers have been taxed at 0.1% of the price since April 2026, under Ministry of Finance circulars. Reporting for crypto on foreign exchanges is less settled, so keep records of every sale.
Dividends and interest: 5%. Interest on deposits with Vietnamese banks and on government bonds is exempt.
Shares and other securities: 0.1% of the sale price on each sale. Gains on open-ended fund units held for two years or more are exempt.
Other capital, such as a stake in a limited company: 20% of the gain, or 2% of the price if the cost can't be established.
Property: 2% of the sale price. The sale of your only home in Vietnam is exempt.
Pensions: pensions paid by the Vietnamese social insurance fund are exempt, and so is a pension paid from abroad to someone living in Vietnam. If yours is a private or company pension, check that it falls within this exemption.
Vietnam has no inheritance tax as such, but inheritances and gifts of shares, business interests, property and other assets that must be registered are taxed at 10% on the value above VND 20 million. Land and homes passing between close family, such as spouses, parents and children, are exempt. There is no wealth tax.
Social insurance
Foreign employees who work for an employer in Vietnam on a labour contract of at least 12 months must join compulsory social insurance. You pay 8% of your salary into the pension and survivors' fund, and your employer pays its own share on top. Health insurance adds 4.5% of salary, with you paying a third, so 1.5%.
Both are charged on salary up to a cap of 20 times the reference level. That works out at VND 46.8 million a month until June 2026 and VND 50.6 million from July 2026, after the base salary rose to VND 2.53 million.
You're exempt from social insurance if you've moved within a multinational group, if you'd already reached retirement age when the contract was signed, or if a treaty Vietnam has signed says otherwise.
Double tax treaties
Does Vietnam have double tax treaties? Yes. Vietnam has a wide network of double tax agreements, including with Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand. If you're resident in Vietnam and pay tax abroad on the same income, you can credit the foreign tax under the treaty.
A certificate of residence from another country also protects you from the rental test, as long as you're in Vietnam for fewer than 183 days.
Visas: no nomad visa, but a 90-day e-visa
Vietnam has no digital nomad visa and no visa for freelancers or retirees. The practical options are:
E-visa: open to citizens of every country since 15 August 2023. It lasts up to 90 days and can be single or multiple entry.
Visa-free entry: citizens of the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland can stay for up to 45 days without a visa, from 15 March 2025 to 14 March 2028. Citizens of Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland can visit for up to 45 days as tourists, from 15 August 2025 to 14 August 2028.
Work permit: to work for an employer in Vietnam, you need a work permit or a confirmation that you're exempt from one.
A visa doesn't change your tax position. The 183-day and lease tests still apply.
👉 Vietnam Immigration Department: e-visa portal
👉 Official Gazette: Resolution 44/NQ-CP on 45-day visa-free entry for 12 countries (in Vietnamese)
Who is Vietnam good for?
Ratings are relative to the 150+ countries TaxPilot covers, based on 2026 rules and the all-in cost including social and health insurance.
☑️ Who is Vietnam good for? Tax ratings for expats in 2026
Expat profile | Vietnam rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
Employees | Moderate | About 27% all-in on a US$100k salary (VND 2.56 billion) as a single resident, including social and health insurance on capped earnings. A non-resident pays a flat 20%, about 22% with contributions. |
Freelancers (self-employed) | Excellent | About 1.2% on US$100k of revenue if you're registered for tax as a business individual: no tax on the first VND 1 billion a year, then 2% of the rest for most services, with no compulsory social insurance. Unregistered fees are taxed like pay at 5% to 35%, about 26%. You still need a status that lets you work. |
Retirees | Good | About 1.7% on a US$40k pension from abroad plus US$20k of investment income: the pension is exempt and dividends and interest pay 5%. A 10% tax on inheritances of shares and property keeps it out of Excellent. |
Crypto gains | Good | From 1 July 2026, crypto sales are taxed at 0.1% of the sale price, so a US$100k gain costs a few hundred dollars at most. |
Investment income | Good | About 3% in our example: 5% on dividends and interest, and 0.1% of the sale price on shares. There's no wealth tax. |
Digital nomad visa | Moderate | There's no digital nomad visa. Every nationality can get an e-visa of up to 90 days, and some can visit visa-free for 45 days. Local employment needs a work permit. |
Filing and deadlines
The tax year is the calendar year. In your first year, if you reach 183 days only by counting 12 months from your arrival, your first tax year runs for those 12 months instead.
Employees: your employer deducts tax from your pay each month. If your employer finalises the year for you, its return is due by the last day of the third month after the year ends, so 31 March 2027 for 2026.
Filing yourself: if you finalise the year yourself rather than through your employer, the return is due by the last day of the fourth month, so 30 April 2027 for 2026.
Leaving Vietnam: a foreigner whose contract ends files before leaving, and within 45 days of the contract ending.
Frequently asked questions
When do you become tax resident in Vietnam?
You're resident if you're in Vietnam for 183 days or more in a calendar year or in the 12 months from your first arrival. A registered home or leases adding up to 183 days also make you resident, unless you prove residence in another country.
What are the income tax rates in Vietnam in 2026?
Residents pay 5% to 35% in five bands, with 35% above VND 1.2 billion a year, after a personal deduction of VND 15.5 million a month. Non-residents pay a flat 20% on Vietnamese employment income.
Does Vietnam tax foreign income?
Yes, if you're resident, with a credit for foreign tax under a treaty. Pensions paid from abroad are exempt. Non-residents are taxed only on Vietnamese income.
How are freelancers taxed in Vietnam?
Residents registered as business individuals pay nothing on business revenue of up to VND 1 billion a year. Up to VND 3 billion, you then pay either 2% of the excess for most services or 15% of your profit. Fees for services from someone who isn't registered are taxed like pay at 5% to 35%.
How is crypto taxed in Vietnam?
From 1 July 2026, crypto sales are taxed at 0.1% of the sale price, withheld by the provider on the licensed pilot market.
Does Vietnam have a digital nomad visa?
No. Every nationality can get an e-visa of up to 90 days, and citizens of 24 countries, including the UK, Japan, South Korea and much of Europe, can visit visa-free for 45 days.
Important information
This article is general information and does not constitute tax, legal, immigration or financial advice, and does not create a client relationship. Tax outcomes depend on travel history, income sources, treaty status and the law applying to the relevant year. Rates, thresholds and regimes change, and some measures described may be proposed rather than enacted; this article reflects our understanding as at the date of publication. Obtain advice from a suitably qualified professional before acting or refraining from action.
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