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Vietnam personal income tax finalization: employee checklist

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Vietnam personal income tax finalization is the yearly check that matches the tax you paid during the year with the tax you actually owe. Some employees must file a return. Many can hand the job to their employer. This checklist helps you see which group you are in, what to prepare and when to act.

Step 1: Check whether you must file

Start with your own situation. The General Department of Taxation set out the groups in Official Dispatch 636/TCT-DNNCN of 12 March 2021, which guided the 2020 tax year. Check with your tax office whether anything changed for tax year 2021.

You usually must file yourself in these cases:

  • You are a resident employee and you overpaid tax. You want a refund, or you want the extra amount carried forward to the next period.
  • You are a foreigner and your labor contract in Vietnam has ended. You file before you leave the country, or you can authorize the payer or another party.
  • You received a tax reduction because of a natural disaster, fire, accident or a serious illness. You file in person instead of authorizing your employer.

If you earned income from more than one payer, add up all the months of the year. The annual total is what counts for finalization.

Sources: General Department of Taxation, Official Dispatch 636/TCT-DNNCN of 12 March 2021 (Section I).

Step 2: See if your employer can file for you

Many employees never file. If you have a labor contract of at least three months and you still work for the payer when the return is due, you may authorize the payer to finalize for you. You do not need to have worked all twelve months.

Some people do not have to finalize at all. The dispatch lists these cases:

  • You owe extra tax of 50,000 VND or less after finalization.
  • The tax you owe is lower than the tax already paid, and you do not ask for a refund or a carry-forward.
  • You have a labor contract of three months or more at one employer. Your other irregular income averages no more than 10 million VND a month, has 10 percent tax already withheld, and you do not ask to include it.

If you moved between employers during the year, ask your old employer for the tax deduction documents. Your new employer collects them for the return.

Sources: General Department of Taxation, Official Dispatch 636/TCT-DNNCN of 12 March 2021 (Sections I and II).

Step 3: Know the deadlines

The Law on Tax Administration 38/2019/QH14 took effect on 1 July 2020. Article 44 gives individuals who file directly more time than before. Your return is due by the last day of the fourth month after the calendar year ends. Under the old 2006 law the limit was 90 days.

Employers and other income payers who file for their staff have one month less. Their deadline falls at the end of the third month once the calendar year has closed. If the date falls on a weekend or a public holiday, it moves to the next working day.

Write both dates in your calendar early in the year. If you plan to authorize your employer, tell the payroll team well before their date, since they must collect every authorization first.

Sources: Law on Tax Administration 38/2019/QH14, Article 44.2.b, as summarized by Vision & Associates (18 May 2020) and DFDL (10 September 2019); General Department of Taxation, Official Dispatch 636/TCT-DNNCN (Section V).

Step 4: Gather your documents

Before you file, collect the papers that prove your income and your deductions:

  • Tax withholding certificates from every payer you had during the year.
  • Your tax code, and the tax codes of your dependants.
  • Proof that each dependant was registered. For "other dependants" under Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC, the dispatch sets 31 December of the tax year as the last day to register.
  • Documents for any other deduction you claim.

The dispatch says the family deduction for each dependant is 4.4 million VND a month from tax year 2020, under Resolution 954/2020/UBTVQH14. Your provisional tax is recalculated at the new levels when you finalize. The file itself follows Circular 92/2015/TT-BTC until a newer rule replaces it.

Sources: General Department of Taxation, Official Dispatch 636/TCT-DNNCN (Sections III and IV).

Step 5: File in the right place and on the right form

You file with the tax office that manages you. If you had one salary source, that is the office where you filed during the year. If you had several, use the office for your largest source. You can also file online through the tax portal, canhan.gdt.gov.vn, which assigns the office from your tax record. Individuals who file directly use form 02/QTT-TNCN.

Watch one change. On 29 September 2021 the Ministry of Finance issued Circular 80/2021/TT-BTC, which guides the Law on Tax Administration and Decree 126/2020/ND-CP. The circular takes effect from the start of next year. Its forms will also be used for tax year 2021 finalization. It replaces Circular 156/2013/TT-BTC on tax administration, so check the new forms before you file.

Sources: General Department of Taxation, Official Dispatch 636/TCT-DNNCN (Sections IV and V); Crowe Vietnam, "Circular 80/2021/TT-BTC guiding implementation of a number of articles of the law on tax administration and Decree No. 126/2020/ND-CP" (22 October 2021).

A short summary checklist

Ask four questions. Did I overpay and want money back? Did I leave Vietnam or end my contract? Did I get a tax reduction? Do I have more than one payer? If the answer is yes to any of them, plan to file yourself. If not, check whether your employer can finalize for you, and send your authorization on time. Keep copies of every certificate and form you submit.

This page gives general information only and is not tax advice. Rules can change, so confirm details with the tax office or a qualified adviser.