Vietnamese personal income tax is withheld during the year and settled once a year in a finalisation. The employer finalises for the employees it paid, and for those who authorise it; individuals who cannot or do not authorise the employer file their own. Under the Law on Tax Administration, the employer's finalisation is due by the last day of the third month after the calendar year ends, and an individual filing directly has until the last day of the fourth month.
Who files matters because the finalisation is where monthly withholding is trued up against the year's real income: bonuses paid late, dependants registered mid-year, income from a second job, income from abroad. It is also where refunds are claimed. For expatriates the timing can differ, because an assignment that ends mid-year usually has to be finalised before the individual leaves.
The documents and the deadlines
Deadlines follow the Law on Tax Administration (Law 38/2019/QH14) and its implementing documents, including Circular 80/2021/TT-BTC and, from 1 July 2026, Decree 252/2026/ND-CP and Circular 89/2026/TT-BTC. What is taxable is set by the Law on Personal Income Tax, guided by Decree 253/2026/ND-CP and Circular 87/2026/TT-BTC. Check the 2026 texts for any change to the procedure before the next season.
| Who | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Employer finalising for employees (and those who authorise it) | Last day of the third month after year end — 31 March for a calendar year |
| Individual finalising directly | Last day of the fourth month after year end — 30 April for a calendar year |
When a deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday, the general rule moves it to the next working day. Late payment of any balance attracts late-payment interest calculated daily — long set at 0.03% per day; check the rate in force.
When the employer can finalise for you
An employee can authorise the employer to finalise on his or her behalf when the conditions in the rules are met. In outline: the employee has employment income from that one employer under a labour contract of three months or more, is working there at the time of authorisation, and has at most small amounts of other income within the limits the rules allow. An employee who joined after a transfer within the same group, or after a restructuring, may also qualify under specific rules.
Authorisation is simple — a form or an equivalent confirmation to the employer — but it has to be collected. Build it into the year-end cycle: send the authorisation request in January, together with a reminder to update dependant information, and record who did not authorise so that they know they must file themselves.
When you must file yourself
- Income from more than one source that falls outside the authorisation conditions — two employers, a second job, consulting income on top of a salary.
- Additional tax to pay after withholding, unless a specific exemption from finalisation applies.
- Refund of overpaid tax, if the employer is not finalising for you.
- Income from abroad for a resident: worldwide income has to be brought into the finalisation, with credit for foreign tax paid under the rules and any applicable treaty.
- Income paid by a foreign employer or parent that did not pass through the Vietnamese payroll.
The rules also exempt some individuals from finalising — for example where the additional tax payable is small or where tax withheld on certain income is final. The thresholds are set in the rules and have changed before; check them for the year in question rather than relying on a colleague's experience from a previous year.
Refunds and carry-forward
Where tax withheld during the year exceeds the final liability — typically because dependants were registered late, income fell in the second half or there were months without work — the individual can claim a refund or offset the overpayment against later tax. When the employer finalises for authorised employees, it handles overpayments within its finalisation under the rules. An individual filing directly claims in his or her own finalisation.
Refunds to individuals are paid to a bank account in the individual's name. Make sure the account details in the return are correct, and for expatriates, that the account will still be open when the refund is processed.
Expatriates leaving Vietnam
An expatriate whose assignment ends is generally required to finalise before leaving Vietnam, and the employer often does it on his or her behalf. The practical difficulty is timing: the final salary, accrued leave, a year-end bonus paid later, benefits in kind until the last day and, where relevant, share awards vesting after departure all belong in the calculation.
- Agree the last working day and the payments still to come.
- Recalculate residence for the final year — an expatriate leaving early in a year may be non-resident for that year.
- Estimate items that will be paid later and decide how they will be declared.
- File the finalisation and settle any balance before departure.
- Issue the PIT withholding document to the individual, electronically under the current rules on electronic documents.
If a payment arrives after the finalisation — a bonus from the parent in the following spring, for example — it may require a supplementary declaration. Plan for it in the exit letter rather than discovering it later.
A year-end calendar for HR and payroll
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| November–December | Confirm bonus timing, benefits in kind still outside payroll, and any share awards vesting before year end. Remind staff to register or update dependants. |
| January | Close December payroll. Send authorisation requests with a clear explanation of who must file themselves. Collect foreign income information from resident expatriates who want help. |
| February | Reconcile the year: payroll register, monthly or quarterly withholding returns and payments. Resolve differences before preparing the finalisation. |
| March | File the employer finalisation by the last day of the month, including authorised employees. Issue withholding documents to those who need them for their own filing. |
| April | Answer questions from employees filing directly, whose deadline is the last day of the month. |
For a group with a non-calendar financial year, remember that PIT runs on the calendar year for individuals; the employer's PIT finalisation follows the calendar-year cycle even if the company's CIT year does not.
A short internal note to staff in January saves most of the individual queries later: who is covered by the company's finalisation, who is not, what they need to do, and where they can see their own data. Include a line for expatriates on worldwide income, which is the item most often missed.
Filing online and what the system already knows
Individuals file finalisation returns through the tax authority's online portal or the mobile tax app. The system shows income and withholding reported by employers under the individual's identifier — for Vietnamese citizens, the personal identification number, which has replaced the separate personal tax code since 1 July 2025; for foreigners, the tax code assigned to them. Before filing, compare what the system shows with your own payslips and withholding documents. A missing employer or a wrong figure is easier to fix before submission than after.
Employers file their finalisation through the company's e-tax account. The employee-level data they report is what individuals see, so errors on the employer's side show up on the employees' screens. A short reconciliation of payroll totals, withholding returns and the finalisation before filing prevents most of the queries HR receives in April.
Frequently asked questions
What is the deadline for filing my own PIT finalisation?
Under the Law on Tax Administration, an individual finalising directly has until the last day of the fourth month after the year ends — 30 April for a calendar year. Check the 2026 guidance for any procedural change.
Can my employer finalise for me if I changed jobs during the year?
Usually only if the conditions for authorisation are met, such as income from one employer under a contract of three months or more. Special rules can apply to transfers within a group; otherwise you file yourself.
I am owed a refund. How do I get it?
If your employer finalises for you, it handles the overpayment under the rules. If you file yourself, claim the refund in your finalisation and give a bank account in your name.
Do I need to finalise before leaving Vietnam at the end of my assignment?
Generally yes, and your employer can often do it for you. Include all final payments and plan how any payment made after departure will be declared.
I have rental income at home. Does it go into my Vietnamese finalisation?
If you are a Vietnamese tax resident, generally yes: residents are taxed on worldwide income, with credit for foreign tax paid under the rules and any applicable treaty.
What if the mobile tax app shows income I did not receive?
Contact the employer or payer that reported it and ask them to correct their return before you file. Do not simply omit it; keep your own records to support the correction.
