Vientiane

Salary from a foreign employer or fees from foreign clients

Taxed0%–25% progressive monthly salary scale; 10% of gross fees for unregistered freelancers

Under Article 32 of Law No 88/NA, a foreigner working in Laos for a salary paid abroad is taxed in Laos once they stay more than 183 days in a year, so a remote employee who spends most of the year in Laos is in scope; for shorter stays the salary is not taxed. The monthly scale is 0% up to LAK 2,500,000 (about US$110), 5% to LAK 5,000,000, 10% to LAK 15,000,000, 15% to LAK 25,000,000, 20% to LAK 65,000,000 and 25% above (Article 38(1)); the bands move with the official minimum wage. Salary tax is normally withheld by the payer and declared by the 20th of the following month (Article 39), and individuals reconcile the year's income by 31 March (Article 50), but the law sets out no specific procedure for an employee of a foreign employer with no Lao presence. Unregistered independent professionals such as consultants are taxable on their total fees (Articles 33(2) and 37(2)), and consulting fees, commissions and other service fees bear 10% of the gross (Article 38(5.6)); how this applies to fees from foreign clients is not spelled out. A tax treaty can override these rules (Article 32), so check whether your home country has one with Laos. Social security contributions and work-permit rules were not checked here.

On the nomad visa

Laos has no digital nomad or remote-work visa. The official e-visa portal offers only a tourist visa, single entry, with a 30-day stay; extension rules were not verified here. The visa has no tax status of its own: under Article 32 of the Income Tax Law, a foreigner working in Laos for a salary paid abroad is taxed in Laos after more than 183 days in a year. This profile does not cover whether remote work for a foreign employer needs a Lao work permit.

Dividends, interest, gains, rent and pensions from abroad

Taxed10% on dividends, non-bank interest and rent; 2% on sales of shares and real estate

Income tax covers income earned in Laos or abroad (Law No 88/NA, Article 31), and residents who earn income abroad must pay tax in Laos unless a treaty provides otherwise (Article 32). The law taxes the gross amount at flat rates: 10% on dividends and other profit distributions, on interest from loans made outside banks and financial institutions, and on rent from land, houses, buildings, vehicles, machinery and other assets (Article 38(5)); 2% on the sale or transfer of shares and of land-use rights, houses and buildings (Article 38(3)); 5% on royalties (Article 38(4.3)). Interest on bank deposits, pensions, and the sale of shares and dividends of shares listed on the securities market are exempt (Article 34(3), (4) and (12)); the law does not say whether foreign banks, foreign pensions or foreign exchanges qualify. Most of this tax is withheld by a Lao payer (Articles 40–41), and while other income is to be declared to your local tax office within 15 days (Article 43), we found no official guidance on how foreign dividends, interest or gains are declared in practice, so how they are taxed is unclear. The Tax Department's site (tax.gov.la) did not resolve on 27 October 2026, so no implementing rules were checked.

Net wealth and inheritance

No wealth taxNo inheritance tax

Laos has no net wealth tax and no separate inheritance or gift tax, but both count as income under Law No 88/NA. Inheritances between close relatives of the deceased (spouse, parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, children, adopted children, siblings, grandchildren, nieces and nephews) are exempt (Article 34(19)); other inheritances are taxed at 2% of their value (Articles 33(14) and 38(3.3)). Gifts and prizes worth more than LAK 5,000,000 (about US$220) are taxed at 5% (Article 38(4.2)). Selling or transferring land-use rights, houses or buildings costs 2% of the sale or assessed price, or 1% for farmland transferred for farming (Article 38(2) and (3.2)). Annual land tax and registration fees were not checked here.

Tax resident after

184 days a year

Top income tax rate

25%

When you become tax resident

The Income Tax Law has no general day-count test. A resident is anyone who has a home, lives, earns a living or does business in Laos; a non-resident earns income or does business in Laos without living there or having a permanent home or place of business (Law No 88/NA, Article 3(11)–(12)). The day count that matters for remote workers is in Article 32: a foreigner who works in Laos but is paid a salary abroad owes Lao income tax if they live in Laos more than 183 days in a year, counted continuously or not, unless a tax treaty says otherwise. The law does not say whether "a year" means the calendar year or any 12 months. Because the resident definition rests on living in Laos rather than on days, someone who settles there may be treated as resident sooner; we found no official guidance on this.

Top income tax rate

Vientiane, as everywhere in Laos: 25% on monthly salary above LAK 65,000,000 (about US$2,900 at the Bank of the Lao PDR's rate of about LAK 22,429 per US dollar), or above LAK 780,000,000 a year on the annual reconciliation (Law No 88/NA, Articles 38(1) and 50). There is no provincial or municipal income tax, so the rate is the same nationwide. The bands are tied to the minimum wage and can be adjusted by the government.