Before you start

Income from working in Vietnam
A personal tax code (MST) — your employer usually registers it
Knowing your residency status (the day count is only one of the two tests)

Step-by-step

1
Work out if you're a tax resident
Two independent tests, and either one makes you resident. Presence: 183+ days in a calendar year, or in any 12 consecutive months from the date of arrival. Home: a registered permanent residence, or a leased home in Vietnam under leases totalling 183 days or more in the tax year — which catches people who keep a Saigon lease running while travelling. Fail both and you're a non-resident.
OnlineWho: You——
2
Get a tax code (MST)
Foreigners are issued a 10-digit personal tax code. Your employer normally registers it within 10 days of your first taxable income; you can also register via the tax authority. It's yours for life. Circular 86/2024 moved Vietnamese citizens onto their 12-digit ID number as their tax code from 1 July 2025, but foreigners without a Vietnamese ID stay on the 10-digit MST — expect portals and counters to assume 12 digits.
Via employerWho: Employer + youWithin ~10 days of first payFree
3
Employer withholds PIT monthly
From the 2026 tax year the resident scale has five brackets, not seven: 5% up to VND 10M of monthly taxable income, 10% to 30M, 20% to 60M, 30% to 100M and 35% above that — after a personal deduction of VND 15.5M a month and VND 6.2M per registered dependant. Non-residents pay a flat 20% on Vietnam-sourced income with no deductions. Your employer deducts it from payroll.
Via employerWho: Your employerMonthly5–35% (resident) / 20% (non-resident)
4
File the annual finalization (residents)
Residents reconcile the year. If your employer authorises the finalization for you, the deadline is the last day of the 3rd month after year-end; self-filers have until the last day of the 4th month (around 30 April). Non-residents don't finalize.
OnlineWho: You / employerBy end of Mar (employer) / Apr (self)Balancing payment if under-withheld

Documents you’ll need

Passport / TRC
Personal tax code (MST)
Labour contract and payslips
Income statements / withholding records from your employer
Records of any foreign income (residents)

Things most newcomers don’t know

183 days is not the only way to become resident — a lease will do it too.

Residents pay 5–35% on worldwide income and must finalize; non-residents pay a flat 20% on Vietnam income only and don't finalize. But the day count is only the first limb: holding a registered permanent residence, or a leased home under leases totalling 183 days or more in the tax year, makes you resident regardless of how much of the year you actually spent here. Track your days, and remember that leaving the flat rented while you travel does not stop the clock.

Source: PwC Vietnam

Employer withholding isn't the end of the story for residents.

Monthly deductions are provisional. As a resident you (or your employer on your behalf) still file an annual finalization that can leave you owing a balance or due a refund.

Source: Vietnam Briefing / GDT

The 2026 reform rewrote the brackets and the deductions, so most guidance online is now wrong.

From the 2026 tax year the resident scale runs on five brackets instead of seven, the personal deduction rose from VND 11 million to VND 15.5 million a month and the dependant deduction from VND 4.4 to VND 6.2 million. A resident with one dependant now pays nothing until roughly VND 24 million a month. Any calculator or article written before 2026 will overstate your liability, sometimes substantially. Register dependants early — the supporting documents need translation and legalisation, which is why people postpone it and lose a year of relief.

Source: 2026 Personal Income Tax reform (Law 109/2025/QH15)

Worldwide income means worldwide once you're resident.

Residents are taxed on income earned anywhere, not just Vietnam — so foreign salary, rental, or investment income can be in scope. Check whether a double-tax treaty applies before you assume you owe twice.

Source: PwC Vietnam

Common mistakes to avoid

Using a pre-2026 calculator built on the old seven-bracket scale and the VND 11M deduction
Counting only days and missing the leased-home limb of the residence test
Assuming employer withholding settles everything — residents must still finalize
Letting a second employer register a duplicate tax code
Forgetting that resident status pulls foreign income into scope
Leaving Vietnam without a tax clearance and finding it blocks a remittance or a return

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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