Newsletter

Decree No. 252/2026/ND-CP of the Government dated 30 June 2026, detailing the implementation of the 2025 Law on Tax Administration; Circular No. 89/2026/TT-BTC guiding the Law on Tax Administration and Decree No. 252/2026/ND-CP.

Below is a summary of some of the key new provisions of these regulations:

Exit Suspension and Tax Debt Enforcement

• Specific tax debt thresholds for exit suspension:
  • Individuals and household businesses: Tax debt of VND 50 million or more that is overdue for 120 days or more.
  • Representatives of enterprises and cooperatives: Tax debt of VND 500 million or more that is overdue for 120 days or more.
  • Cases where the taxpayer has not been operating at the registered address for more than 120 days from the date the tax authority issues a notice, without completing procedures to restore the tax identification number (TIN) or terminate its validity.
• Minimum tax debt thresholds below which enforcement does not apply: Enforcement measures will not be applied where the total outstanding tax debt is less than VND 3 million for organizations and less than VND 1 million for individuals and household businesses.
• Automated process: Notices of exit suspension and cancellation of exit suspension will be transmitted and exchanged in real time between the tax authority and the immigration authority.

Tax Filing and Amended Filing Deadlines

• Deadline for amended filings: the taxpayer may submit a supplementary declaration within 05 years from the deadline for submission of the erroneous tax declaration dossier.
• Determination of the final deadline: In cases where the deadline for submission of tax declaration dossiers, tax payment deadline, deadline for the tax authority to process a tax dossier is a public holiday, the deadline shall be extended to the next working day.

Government Decree No. 253/2026/ND-CP, dated 30 June 2026, providing detailed regulations and guidance on the implementation of certain provisions of Law on Personal Income Tax No. 109/2025/QH15; Circular No. 87/2026/TT-BTC guiding the implementation of the Law on Personal Income Tax and Decree No. 253/2026/ND-CP.

Below is a summary of the key contents and notable new provisions of these regulations:

1.1. Scope and Applicable Subjects

• The Decree provides detailed regulations on taxpayers (residents and non-residents), taxable income, tax-exempt income, tax reductions, tax bases, tax periods, as well as procedures for personal income tax (PIT) withholding, filing and payment, finalization, and refunds.
• A resident individual is defined as a person who is present in Vietnam for at least 183 days in 01 Gregorian calendar (or for 12 consecutive months from the date of first arrival in Vietnam) or who has a registered permanent residence in Vietnam. Individuals who do not meet these conditions are considered non-resident individuals.

1.2. Taxable Income and Amounts Excluded from Taxable Income

• Mid-shift meals or lunch expenses: PIT-exempt if the expense does not exceed VND 1.2 million/person/month. If the employer provides meals directly (by cooking, purchasing, or issuing vouchers), such expenses shall not be included in the employees’ taxable income.
• Housing benefits: rents, expenses for electricity, water, and associated services (if any) paid by the employer on behalf of the employee are included in taxable income based on actual amounts , but must not exceed 15% of the total taxable income generated at the employing entity (exclusive of payments for housing, electricity, water, and associated services (if any)).
• Amounts excluded from taxable income: These include tuition fees for children of foreign employees (or Vietnamese employees working overseas) from preschool to high school; two-way air tickets for foreign employees or Vietnamese employees working abroad to take annual leave once a year; support for medical treatment of serious illnesses for the employee and their dependents; and expenses for professional training and skills enhancement.

1.3. Tax-Exempt Income

The Decree provides for a broad range of tax-exempt income, including:

• Transfer, inheritance, or gifts of real estate between family members (spouses, parents and children, siblings, etc.).
• Transfer of an individual’s sole residential house and residential land in Vietnam, provided that the individual has owned the residential house or residential land use right for at least 183 days by the date of transfer.
• Interest on deposits at credit institutions, interest on Government bonds, and proceeds/interest from life insurance contracts.
• Retirement pensions paid by the Social Insurance Fund or voluntary pension fund.
• Income from the transfer of open-ended fund certificates, provided that the holding period is at least 02 years.
• Tax incentives for high-quality human resources: Tax exemption for 05 years on income earned by high-quality human resources in the digital technology industry and high-tech human resources working on priority projects.

1.4. Deductions from Taxable Income

• Personal and dependent deductions: These include deductions for the taxpayer and their dependents, such as children, spouses, parents, and unsupported relatives who meet the applicable income and working-capacity conditions.
• Medical and education expense deductions: Resident individuals may claim additional deductions for actual expenses incurred for medical treatment (up to VND 23 million/year) and education and training (up to VND 24 million/year) for themselves and their dependents, provided that valid invoices and supporting documents are available.
• Other deductions: Deductions for charitable, humanitarian contributions, educational promotion contributions, as well as mandatory insurance contributions (social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, etc.).

1.5. Tax Withholding and Tax Finalization

• Income-paying organizations must withhold 10% PIT on payments of VND 5 million or more per payment made to individuals who do not enter into an employment contract or who enter into a contract of less than 03 months.
• The individual earns income from other sources and the average monthly income from these other sources in the year does not exceed 15 million VND and 10% PIT on which has been deducted by the income payers, or who have overpaid tax and do not wish to claim a refund or carry forward the overpayment, are not required to settle PIT.

1.6. Effective Date

The Decree applies to provisions relating to business income, salaries, and wages from the tax period of 2026. This Decree fully replaces Decree No. 65/2013/ND-CP and its previous amendments and supplements.

Government Decree No. 254/2026/ND-CP, dated 30 June 2026, providing detailed regulations on electronic invoices and electronic records under the 2025 Law on Tax Administration; and Circular No. 91/2026/TT-BTC, providing guidance on the Law on Tax Administration and Decree No. 254/2026/ND-CP.

Below is a summary of the key contents of the regulations:

1.1. Scope and Applicable Subjects

• Scope: Regulations on the types of electronic invoices and records, applicable users, required contents, issuance timing, registration for use, management, and retrieval of electronic invoice and record information.
• Applicable subjects: Includes organizations and individuals selling goods or providing services (enterprises, household businesses, individual businesses, and public service units); buyers; organizations providing electronic invoice services; and tax authorities.
• New point: The scope is expanded to include foreign suppliers conducting business through e-commerce platforms and digital platforms in Vietnam.

1.2. Main Types of Electronic Invoices

• Authenticated e-invoices: Invoices assigned a unique code by the tax authority before the seller sends them to the buyer.
• unauthenticated e- invoices: an electronic invoice that an organization selling goods or providing services sends to the buyer without a code of the tax authority.
• Electronic invoice generated by a POS system: the data transmitted to the tax authority in the standard data format.
• Other types: Value-added tax (VAT) invoices, sales invoices, electronic public-asset sales invoices, electronic national-reserve sales invoices, and stamps, tickets and electronic cards.

1.3. Principles for Issuance and Use

• Mandatory invoice issuance: When selling goods or providing services, the seller must issue an electronic invoice and provide it to the buyer, including cases involving promotional goods, advertising goods, samples, gifts, or goods exchanged/bartered.
• Registration for use: Before using electronic invoices, organizations and individuals must register with the tax authority.
• Lawful use of invoices: The Decree clearly defines illegal invoices (such as counterfeit invoices, invoices that have not yet become valid for use, or invoices issued by enterprises that have ceased operations) as well as illegal acts involving the use of invoices (such as issuing fictitious invoices, erasing or altering invoices, or using invoices to legitimize smuggled goods).

1.4. Invoice Contents and Issuance Timing

• Mandatory contents: Invoice type, invoice number, seller/buyer information (name, address, tax identification number), description of goods/services, unit price, amount, tax rate, total payment amount, digital signature, and invoice issuance date/time.
• Issuance timing:

• For sales of goods: At the time when ownership or the right to use the goods is transferred.
• For provision of services: At the time when the service provision is completed. Where the service provider collects money before or during the provision of the service, the timing of invoice issuance is the time of collection (excluding the collection of deposits under the Civil Code to secure the performance of a service provision contract).

• The Decree also specifies special invoice issuance timing for sectors such as electricity, water, telecommunications, construction, petroleum, real estate, and banking.

Decree No. 255/2026/ND-CP on Tax Administration for Related-Party Transactions, effective from 1 July 2026

On 9 July 2026, the Tax Department issued Official Letter No. 4697/CT-CS introducing several new provisions and providing guidance on the implementation of Decree No. 255/2026/ND-CP. Below are some of the key changes highlighted:

[1] Related-Party Relationships (Article 5)

– Expansion of related-party relationships through borrowing and lending under Point l, Clause 2, Article 5: “An enterprise with transactions involving the transfer or receipt of capital contributions of at least 25% of the owner’s contributed capital of the enterprise in the tax period; borrows, lends, borrows from, or lends to of at least 10% of the owner’s contributed capital at the time the transaction arises in the tax period, with individuals who manage or control the enterprise or with individuals with relationships as prescribed in point g of this clause”

Previously: There was no provision establishing a related-party relationship between an enterprise and an individual who manages or controls the enterprise, or an individual falling within the specified relationships, through borrowing or lending for use.

– Additional case where the related-party relationship does not apply under Point d.3, Clause 2, Article 5: “The creditor or guarantor is an organization wholly owned by the State with the function of purchasing, selling and handling debts, which does not directly or indirectly participate in the management, control, capital contribution or investment in the debtor enterprise or the guaranteed enterprise under points a and c of this clause.”

Previously: There was no such provision.

[2] Databases used in the declaration, determination, and administration of related-party transaction pricing (Article 17)

– Amendments and supplements to commercial databases, with reference to the provisions of Clause 15, Article 4 of the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15 and relevant legal regulations on tax administration.

– Addition of national databases to be used in the declaration, determination, and administration of related-party transaction pricing.

Previously: no such provision. This addition aims to expand the sources of reliable databases for taxpayers and competent authorities to access and use in the declaration, determination, and administration of related-party transaction pricing.

– Amendments and supplements to tax authority databases, with reference to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 35 of the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15 and relevant legal regulations on tax administration.

– Addition of provisions on the priority order for the use of databases as follows: (i) priority shall be given to publicly available databases; (ii) followed by commercial databases; and (iii) finally, tax authority databases. The application of the priority order for databases must ensure that the analysis and comparison of related-party transactions are conducted in accordance with the applicable regulations.

Previously: there was no prescribed order for the use of databases.

Decree No. 291/2026/ND-CP dated 21 July 2026 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP dated 19 October 2020 of the Government prescribing administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations, as amended and supplemented by Decree No. 102/2021/ND-CP dated 16 November 2021 of the Government and Decree No. 310/2025/ND-CP dated 2 December 2025 of the Government

Additional provisions on administrative penalties for violations relating to the provision of information for the purposes of tax and invoice information exchange, specifically:

• A fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for the act of providing information at the request of the tax authority for the purposes of information exchange in accordance with the laws of Vietnam, treaties, or international tax agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member or signatory, for a period of 5 days or more after the prescribed deadline.
• A fine ranging from VND 30,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for the act of providing inaccurate or incomplete information at the request of the tax authority for the purposes of information exchange in accordance with the laws of Vietnam, treaties, or international tax agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member or signatory.
• A fine ranging from VND 50,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

3.1. Failing to provide information within 15 days from the date on which the deadline for providing information expires, or from the date on which the extended deadline for providing information expires, at the request of the tax authority for the purposes of information exchange in accordance with the laws of Vietnam, treaties, or international tax agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member or signatory.

3.2. Colluding with or covering up for taxpayers in order to prevent the tax authority from collecting or verifying information for the purposes of information exchange in accordance with the laws of Vietnam, treaties, or international tax agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member or signatory.

The remedial measure of compulsory provision of complete and accurate information shall apply to the violations specified in item (2) and item 3.1.