Tax & Legal Newsletter | January 2026
Vietnam Tax and Legal Updates for January 2026
JPA Vietnam highlights key tax and legal developments, including new laws approved under Resolution No. 265/2025/QH15, Corporate Income Tax guidance, Special Consumption Tax updates, accounting reforms under Circular No. 99/2025/TT-BTC and VAT guidance under Decree No. 359/2025/ND-CP.
This newsletter summarizes selected regulatory updates that may affect tax compliance, accounting policies, business operations and reporting obligations for companies operating in Vietnam from the 2026 tax period onward.
01
Resolution No. 265/2025/QH15
At the closing of the 10th Session of the 15th National Assembly in December 2025, the National Assembly officially ratified Resolution No. 265/2025/QH15 on the session’s outcomes. Notably, the Resolution approved the Law on Tax Administration, the Law on Personal Income Tax, and the Law amending and supplementing several articles of the Law on Value Added Tax.
Adoption of Law No. 109/2025/QH15 on Personal Income Tax
Progressive tariff reform
The progressive tax schedule for salary and wage income is consolidated from seven brackets to five brackets.
Revenue threshold for business households
The tax-exempt revenue threshold for business households and business individuals is increased from VND 200 million/year to VND 500 million/year.
New tax calculation methods
Tax rates similar to the new Corporate Income Tax rates are introduced, together with a method based on actual income for large-scale business households.
Family circumstance deductions
The personal deduction is increased to VND 15.5 million/month and the dependent deduction is increased to VND 6.2 million/month per dependent.
| Tax Bracket | Taxable Income | New Tax Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Up to VND 10 million/month | 5% |
| 2 | Over VND 10 million to VND 30 million/month | 10% |
| 3 | Over VND 30 million to VND 60 million/month | 20% |
| 4 | Over VND 60 million to VND 100 million/month | 30% |
| 5 | Over VND 100 million/month | 35% |
VAT amendments under Law No. 149/2025/QH15
- The VAT-exempt revenue threshold for business households and individuals is raised to VND 500 million/year, consistent with the Personal Income Tax Law.
- The condition that VAT refund must depend on verification of the seller’s tax declaration and payment compliance is removed.
- Enterprises and cooperatives purchasing unprocessed or preliminary-processed agricultural, livestock and aquatic products for resale to other enterprises or cooperatives are not required to declare and pay VAT, while input VAT remains deductible.
- By-products and scrap materials collected during production are subject to the VAT rate corresponding to the primary goods.
Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15
Article 13 and Article 26 introduce important changes for business households and business individuals, including self-determination of annual revenue, tax declaration by tax type, and mandatory e-invoices generated from POS systems connected to the tax authority.
Effective timeline: Article 13 and Article 26 of Law No. 108/2025/QH15 take effect from January 1, 2026. Law No. 38/2019/QH14 remains effective until June 30, 2026, except for Article 51, which is effective until December 31, 2025.
02
Decree No. 320/2025/ND-CP
Decree No. 320/2025/ND-CP, issued on December 15, 2025, provides detailed regulations and measures for the implementation of the 2025 Corporate Income Tax Law. It supersedes previous CIT guidance including Decrees No. 218/2013/ND-CP, No. 91/2014/ND-CP, No. 12/2015/ND-CP, No. 146/2017/ND-CP and No. 57/2021/ND-CP.
| Topic | Decree No. 320/2025/ND-CP | Previous Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| Effective date | Effective from December 15, 2025 and applicable to the 2025 tax period. Enterprises may flexibly choose the start date for new rules among three milestones. | Applied for tax periods from 2014 to December 14, 2025. |
| Taxpayers | Expands the concept of non-physical permanent establishment. Foreign enterprises doing business on e-commerce and digital platforms are explicitly treated as direct taxpayers. | Foreign enterprises paid tax based on Vietnam-sourced revenue. |
| Foreign income | Foreign income must be included in taxable income immediately upon being earned abroad, regardless of whether it is transferred back to Vietnam. | Declaration was allowed in the tax period when income was transferred to Vietnam for countries with double tax agreements. |
| SME tax rates | Progressive rates by revenue scale: under VND 3 billion: 15%; VND 3–50 billion: 17%; over VND 50 billion: 20%. | General CIT rate of 20% for most enterprises. |
| Deductible expenses | Invoices from VND 5 million and salary or wage payments from VND 5 million per payment must have non-cash payment vouchers to be deductible. | Non-cash payment vouchers were required for invoices from VND 20 million; cash salary payments were generally allowed if sufficiently documented. |
| R&D expenses | Enterprises may deduct up to 200% of actual R&D and innovation expenses from taxable income. | Enterprises were allowed to set aside an R&D Fund up to 10% of taxable income. |
Green finance incentives: Tax-exempt income includes income from the first-time transfer of carbon credits and income from interest and first-time transfer of green bonds after issuance.
03
Law on Special Consumption Tax No. 66/2025/QH15
Broadened taxable objects
- Sugar-sweetened beverages: beverages meeting national standards with sugar content exceeding 5g/100ml are added to the list of taxable objects. The 8% tax rate applies from January 1, 2027.
- Air conditioners: only units with capacity from over 24,000 BTU to 90,000 BTU are subject to Special Consumption Tax at 10%; units below 24,000 BTU are no longer within the scope.
Tax rate increase roadmap
During 2026, tax rates for alcohol, beer and tobacco products remain unchanged. From 2027, tax rates will increase by 5% annually until 2031. Beer and alcohol above 20 degrees are expected to reach 90% by 2031.
Tobacco products: From 2027, a hybrid tax calculation method will be implemented, combining a percentage-based rate with a specific absolute tax amount per pack or cigarette.
04
Circular No. 99/2025/TT-BTC
Circular No. 99/2025/TT-BTC takes effect from January 1, 2026 and fully replaces Circular No. 200/2014/TT-BTC and related regulations for accounting periods starting from 2026 onward, except for certain provisions applicable to micro-enterprises. The Circular also expands enterprises’ discretion in selecting accounting regimes for SMEs and requires greater consistency and transparency in financial statements.
| Comparison Criteria | Circular No. 200/2014/TT-BTC | Circular No. 99/2025/TT-BTC |
|---|---|---|
| Name of primary financial statement | Balance Sheet | Statement of Financial Position |
| Document and bookkeeping management | Mandatory use of accounting vouchers and books prescribed by the Ministry of Finance. | Enterprises may design their own vouchers and books in line with business characteristics and management software. |
| Chart of Accounts | Standardized chart of accounts prescribed and uniformly applied to all enterprises. | Enterprises may develop their own chart of accounts to better serve internal management. |
| Minimum Global Tax | No specific accounting guidance. | Introduction of Account 8212 to separately recognize corporate income tax subject to the 15% minimum global tax. |
| Dependent units | Separate financial statements required for submission to local tax authorities. | Separate financial statements may not be mandatory if dependent units do not have independent legal status, depending on the enterprise’s management model. |
| Approach | Combination of substance and form. | Closer alignment with IFRS, emphasizing the economic substance of transactions. |
| Accounting currency | Strict conditions for selecting foreign currency as the accounting currency. | Greater flexibility for FDI enterprises and enterprises with foreign-currency revenues and expenditures. |
05
Decree No. 359/2025/ND-CP
Decree No. 359/2025/ND-CP, issued on December 31, 2025, amends and supplements several articles of Decree No. 181/2025/ND-CP to ensure consistency with and provide implementation guidance for Law No. 149/2025/QH15 on amendments to the Law on Value Added Tax.
New tax mechanism for agricultural, forestry and fishery products
| Transaction Type | Applicable Subjects | VAT Rate | Deduction Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| B2B | Enterprises and cooperatives applying the deduction method | No declaration required | Input VAT deductible |
| B2C | Enterprises and cooperatives applying the deduction method | 5% | Input VAT deductible |
| Direct method | Business households and organizations applying the direct method | 1% of revenue | None |
VAT refund condition: Effective from the July 2025 tax period, businesses are no longer required to wait for the seller to declare and pay VAT to satisfy VAT refund conditions.
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