Ho Chi Minh City

Salary from a foreign employer or fees from foreign clients

Taxed5%–35% progressive for residents; 20% flat for non-residents

Salary is taxed "regardless of where the income is paid" (Law 109/2025, Article 8; Decree 253, Article 46). A resident pays 5%–35% on worldwide pay after a personal allowance of VND 15.5 million a month (VND 186 million a year) plus VND 6.2 million per dependant, and after compulsory social contributions, including those paid abroad on foreign salary (Law, Articles 9–10; Decree 253, Article 46(2)). A non-resident pays a flat 20% on pay for work performed in Vietnam, wherever it is paid (Law, Article 21; Decree 253, Article 64), so remote work done from Vietnam is taxable from day one. Fees for services from a person who has not registered a business are taxed as employment income on the same scale (Decree 253, Article 8(2)(c)). Registered businesses are exempt up to VND 1 billion of annual revenue (Decree 253/2026, from the 2026 tax year) and 15% on profit (Law, Article 7), but this profile does not confirm that a foreign freelancer can register. A foreign employer does not withhold, so you declare and pay the tax yourself (Decree 253, Article 67(5)). Tax paid abroad is credited only where a tax treaty allows (Decree 253, Article 6(3)). The new scale and allowances apply to salary and business income from 1 January 2026 (Law, Article 29(2)).

On the nomad visa

Vietnam has no digital nomad or remote-work visa. Most long-stay visitors use an e-visa valid for up to 90 days, single or multiple entry. That stay has no tax status of its own: pay for work done in Vietnam is taxed at a flat 20% while you are non-resident. Once you pass 183 days, or rented housing including hotels for 183 days of a tax year, you are resident and taxed on worldwide income. Immigration law has no category for remote work for a foreign employer; this profile does not cover whether such work needs a work permit.

Dividends, interest, gains, rent and pensions from abroad

Taxed5% on dividends and interest; 0.1% of the sale price on securities; other rates by type

Residents are taxed on investment income from inside and outside Vietnam (Decree 253, Article 6(2)). Dividends and loan interest bear 5% (Law 109/2025, Article 12; Decree 253, Articles 9 and 52). Interest on deposits is exempt only at banks operating under Vietnam's Law on Credit Institutions (Decree 253, Article 24), so foreign bank interest is probably taxed at 5%; we found no official guidance confirming this. Sales of shares and other securities are taxed at 0.1% of the sale price. Gains on other stakes are taxed at 20% of the gain, or 2% of the price if cost cannot be shown (Law, Article 13; Decree 253, Articles 53–54). The decree defines securities by Vietnamese securities law, and does not say whether foreign-listed shares fall under the 0.1% rule or the 20% rule. Sales of digital assets, including crypto, are taxed at 0.1% of the price (Law, Article 19(2); Decree 253, Article 16(4)). Property sales bear 2% of the price (Law, Article 14). Rent is business income: 5% of rental revenue above VND 500 million a year (Law, Article 7(4)). Pensions paid by a social-insurance fund are exempt, expressly including pensions paid from abroad (Decree 253, Article 27). These rules for investment income took effect on 1 July 2026; earlier in 2026 the old law applied.

Net wealth and inheritance

No wealth taxInheritance tax applies

Vietnam has no net wealth tax. Inheritances and gifts are taxed as income of the recipient at 10% on the value above VND 20 million each time (VND 10 million before 1 July 2026). Only listed assets count: securities, stakes in companies, real estate, and assets that must be registered, such as cars, motorbikes and boats (Law 109/2025, Articles 3(9) and 18; Decree 253, Articles 15 and 61). Cash is not on the list. Real estate passing between spouses, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, or siblings is exempt (Law, Article 4(1)). The yearly tax on residential land is 0.03%–0.15% of the land value, rising with area above the provincial limit; apartments pay 0.03% (Law 48/2010/QH12, Article 7). Selling property costs 2% of the price, but selling your only home and residential land in Vietnam is exempt (Law 109/2025, Articles 4(2) and 14).

Tax resident after

183 days a year

Top income tax rate

35%

When you become tax resident

You are resident if you are present in Vietnam for 183 days or more in a calendar year, or in the 12 consecutive months from your first day in Vietnam; the arrival day and the departure day each count (Personal Income Tax Law 109/2025/QH15, Article 2(2); Decree 253/2026/ND-CP, Article 4(1)). You are also resident if you have a habitual residence: for a foreigner, the address on a permanent or temporary residence card, or rented housing whose leases add up to 183 days or more in the tax year, even across several places. Hotels, guesthouses and rooms count as rented housing (Decree 253, Article 4(2)). Someone with such a residence who spends under 183 days in Vietnam stays resident unless they prove residence elsewhere with a certificate of residence (Article 4(3)). So a long stay in rented flats or hotels can make you resident even if you travel a lot. If the 183 days fall across two calendar years, your first tax period is the 12 months from arrival (Article 66).

Top income tax rate

35% on taxable salary above VND 100 million a month (VND 1.2 billion a year), after allowances; the five rates are 5%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 35% (Law 109/2025, Article 9), in force for the 2026 tax year.