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Hiya
I have been trying to find some information on personal tax for expats but not finding a great deal online, can anyone suggest an online calculator or a good website? Trying to understand the tax breaks for having a dependant and wether or not you go straight into the stepped tax brackets instead of the flat 20%.
Cheers
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Tax for expats in Vietnam Advice on taxation for foreigners living in Vietnam
#2
Posted 08 December 2009 - 11:12 PM
vietnam-ustrade.org
Personal income tax
April 21, 2008, 23:36
Foreigners are deemed to be resident for tax purposes if they reside in Vietnam for an aggregate of 183 days or more within 12 consecutive months since their arrival in Vietnam, although this may be substantially changed by tax treaties.
Personal Income Tax
There are currently four categories of taxpayers in Vietnam: Vietnamese citizens residing in Vietnam, Vietnamese citizens working or on business trips outside of Vietnam, individuals who do not have Vietnamese citizenship but reside in Vietnam indefinitely, and foreigners working in Vietnam including those who do not live in Vietnam but have income which is sourced in Vietnam. Foreigners are deemed to be resident for tax purposes if they reside in Vietnam for an aggregate of 183 days or more within 12 consecutive months since their arrival in Vietnam, although this may be substantially changed by tax treaties. Resident foreigners are subject to progressive tax rates; those who are not resident are liable to a single 25% tax on income earned in Vietnam if they spend between 30 days and 182 days in Vietnam. Only foreigners who spend fewer than 30 days in Vietnam are exempt from income tax.
Taxable Income
Incomes which are subject to personal income tax include the following:
Regular income in the form of: salaries, wages, allowances and bonuses; income derived from scientific or technical services, technology transfer, licensing of rights to use inventions or trademarks, IT services, consultancy or training services or agency services; income from royalties; broking commissions; and other income not included in salaries or wages derived from business production or provision of services which is not subject to corporate income tax.
Irregular income derived from technology transfer and lottery winnings.
Non-Taxable Income
Non-taxable income includes:
Traveling allowances;
Allowances for toxicity and danger;
Allowances for positions, allowances for responsibility with respect to officials and State employees;
Regional allowances, incentive allowances and special allowances for work in offshore islands and border areas which have extremely harsh living conditions;
Allowances for seniority with respect to the armed forces, customs, and cipher;
Special allowances for certain industries and trades as stipulated by law;
Allowances for officials who carried out revolutionary activities prior to 1945;
Other allowances from the State Budget;
Allowances for business trips;
Fixed meal allowances for certain special industries and trades in accordance with regimes stipulated by the State;
Social benefits for those entitled to social security and other benefits from the State Budget;
Insurance compensation payments in respect of personal and property insurance policies;
Retrenchment payments in accordance with regimes stipulated by the State;
Allowances for relocation of production establishments, including one-off allowances for transferring to another region;
Monetary prizes for technical innovations and inventions, international awards, and national awards organized by the State of Vietnam;
Monetary prizes accompanying titles bestowed by the State, such as professor, people's teacher, workers' hero, and hero of the people's armed forces and other titles bestowed by the State; awards or other benefits from the State Budget;
Money paid into social insurance or health insurance from salaries and wages of workers;
Profits of the owner of a private business which is subject to corporate income tax.
Temporary Exemption
Interest income received from bank deposits and bank savings, profits from purchases of term bonds, ordinary bonds and Government bonds, income from investment in securities, and the difference on purchase and sale of securities are temporarily exempted from income tax.
Progressive Rates
Regular Income
For Vietnamese citizens and other individuals residing in Vietnam:
Level Average monthly per capita income (unit: 1,000 VND) Rate (%)
1 to 5,000 0
2 over 5,000 up to 15,000 10
3 over 15,000 up to 25,000 20
4 over 25,000 up to 40,000 30
5 over 40,000 40
For foreign residents in Vietnam and Vietnamese citizens working or on business trips overseas:
Level Average monthly per capita income (unit: 1,000 VND) Rate (%)
1 to 8,000 0
2 over 8,000 up to 20,000 10
3 over 20,000 up to 50,000 20
4 over 50,000 up to 80,000 30
5 over 80,000 40
For foreigners who are not residents of Vietnam, the flat tax rate is 25% of the total taxable income.
Irregular Income
In the case of fee income from technology transfer, the rate is a flat 5% on the full amount of each transaction.
Ten (10) per cent will be imposed on income from lottery winnings and promotional prizes.
Personal income tax
April 21, 2008, 23:36
Foreigners are deemed to be resident for tax purposes if they reside in Vietnam for an aggregate of 183 days or more within 12 consecutive months since their arrival in Vietnam, although this may be substantially changed by tax treaties.
Personal Income Tax
There are currently four categories of taxpayers in Vietnam: Vietnamese citizens residing in Vietnam, Vietnamese citizens working or on business trips outside of Vietnam, individuals who do not have Vietnamese citizenship but reside in Vietnam indefinitely, and foreigners working in Vietnam including those who do not live in Vietnam but have income which is sourced in Vietnam. Foreigners are deemed to be resident for tax purposes if they reside in Vietnam for an aggregate of 183 days or more within 12 consecutive months since their arrival in Vietnam, although this may be substantially changed by tax treaties. Resident foreigners are subject to progressive tax rates; those who are not resident are liable to a single 25% tax on income earned in Vietnam if they spend between 30 days and 182 days in Vietnam. Only foreigners who spend fewer than 30 days in Vietnam are exempt from income tax.
Taxable Income
Incomes which are subject to personal income tax include the following:
Regular income in the form of: salaries, wages, allowances and bonuses; income derived from scientific or technical services, technology transfer, licensing of rights to use inventions or trademarks, IT services, consultancy or training services or agency services; income from royalties; broking commissions; and other income not included in salaries or wages derived from business production or provision of services which is not subject to corporate income tax.
Irregular income derived from technology transfer and lottery winnings.
Non-Taxable Income
Non-taxable income includes:
Traveling allowances;
Allowances for toxicity and danger;
Allowances for positions, allowances for responsibility with respect to officials and State employees;
Regional allowances, incentive allowances and special allowances for work in offshore islands and border areas which have extremely harsh living conditions;
Allowances for seniority with respect to the armed forces, customs, and cipher;
Special allowances for certain industries and trades as stipulated by law;
Allowances for officials who carried out revolutionary activities prior to 1945;
Other allowances from the State Budget;
Allowances for business trips;
Fixed meal allowances for certain special industries and trades in accordance with regimes stipulated by the State;
Social benefits for those entitled to social security and other benefits from the State Budget;
Insurance compensation payments in respect of personal and property insurance policies;
Retrenchment payments in accordance with regimes stipulated by the State;
Allowances for relocation of production establishments, including one-off allowances for transferring to another region;
Monetary prizes for technical innovations and inventions, international awards, and national awards organized by the State of Vietnam;
Monetary prizes accompanying titles bestowed by the State, such as professor, people's teacher, workers' hero, and hero of the people's armed forces and other titles bestowed by the State; awards or other benefits from the State Budget;
Money paid into social insurance or health insurance from salaries and wages of workers;
Profits of the owner of a private business which is subject to corporate income tax.
Temporary Exemption
Interest income received from bank deposits and bank savings, profits from purchases of term bonds, ordinary bonds and Government bonds, income from investment in securities, and the difference on purchase and sale of securities are temporarily exempted from income tax.
Progressive Rates
Regular Income
For Vietnamese citizens and other individuals residing in Vietnam:
Level Average monthly per capita income (unit: 1,000 VND) Rate (%)
1 to 5,000 0
2 over 5,000 up to 15,000 10
3 over 15,000 up to 25,000 20
4 over 25,000 up to 40,000 30
5 over 40,000 40
For foreign residents in Vietnam and Vietnamese citizens working or on business trips overseas:
Level Average monthly per capita income (unit: 1,000 VND) Rate (%)
1 to 8,000 0
2 over 8,000 up to 20,000 10
3 over 20,000 up to 50,000 20
4 over 50,000 up to 80,000 30
5 over 80,000 40
For foreigners who are not residents of Vietnam, the flat tax rate is 25% of the total taxable income.
Irregular Income
In the case of fee income from technology transfer, the rate is a flat 5% on the full amount of each transaction.
Ten (10) per cent will be imposed on income from lottery winnings and promotional prizes.
#3
Posted 09 December 2009 - 06:38 PM
It changed a lot over the course of 2009 (Jan 2009 then postponed to May 2009; with some issues as the laws were not clear). I would not take the above as 100% accurate.
If you are residing in Vietnam, the maximum is about 25% and is reached for monthly gross salaries of about 5'500$. Before that it is a progressive rate. From 1st January (unless it is already in place?) foreigners are required to participate in the social scheme. The maximum amount may seem low (about 50$ per month - 3% of 20 times the minimum wage) but may raise sharply in the near future.
For the dependents, there are some incentives if they do not work. However, I am not able to say in which proportions.
You may find more information at these upcoming webcasts (the second one is probably less relevant to you though):
http://www.pwchk.com...it_dec2009.html
http://webcast.ey.co...6-8724218ab7f6}
If you are residing in Vietnam, the maximum is about 25% and is reached for monthly gross salaries of about 5'500$. Before that it is a progressive rate. From 1st January (unless it is already in place?) foreigners are required to participate in the social scheme. The maximum amount may seem low (about 50$ per month - 3% of 20 times the minimum wage) but may raise sharply in the near future.
For the dependents, there are some incentives if they do not work. However, I am not able to say in which proportions.
You may find more information at these upcoming webcasts (the second one is probably less relevant to you though):
http://www.pwchk.com...it_dec2009.html
http://webcast.ey.co...6-8724218ab7f6}
#5
Posted 16 January 2010 - 10:19 AM
When I lived in the country I struck a deal with the government which specified NO TAXES of any kind for 5 years. It was a renewable contract. While that was 10 years ago, I would bet that I could structure a similar deal. It all depends on what you bring to the table.
Governments are always happy to screw their own citizens the hardest. Always. They have a fairly captive constituency whether the people can't leave or are too ignorant to think that's an option. Case in point is when Mercedes was building in Georgia. I believe the deal called for no taxes for a period of time. US automakers? They get it up their rear end from the US government and the US unions. Which is why there will be no US auto business in time.
Don't get me started talking about government.
Governments are always happy to screw their own citizens the hardest. Always. They have a fairly captive constituency whether the people can't leave or are too ignorant to think that's an option. Case in point is when Mercedes was building in Georgia. I believe the deal called for no taxes for a period of time. US automakers? They get it up their rear end from the US government and the US unions. Which is why there will be no US auto business in time.
Don't get me started talking about government.
#6
Posted 19 January 2010 - 08:24 PM
Thanks everyone for your advice, we have a good understanding of how it works now, much appreciatted 
#7
Posted 19 January 2010 - 10:31 PM
The only thanks we require is that you come back and post again to help us grow this community. You'll undoubtedly have more questions about living in Vietnam.
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