The 183-day tax rule in Vietnam

Talk to a tax adviser who works with foreigners before a stay of several months. Tax rules change, differ by country and depend on your income, so we do not tell you what you owe.

Under Vietnam's personal income tax law, a foreign individual is a tax resident if either of these is true ^1,2:

1. Days. You are present in Vietnam for at least 183 days in a calendar year, or for at least 183 days in 12 consecutive months counted from the day you first arrive.
2. A habitual residence. You have a place of habitual residence in Vietnam. The law gives a registered permanent residence, or a house rented under a fixed-term lease, as examples ^1,2.

Someone who does not meet the test is a non-resident. In general, residents are taxed on income from inside and outside Vietnam, and non-residents on income earned in Vietnam ¹.

Two things trip people up:

• The 12-month window. It starts on your first arrival and can run across two calendar years. A person who stays 100 days late in one year and 100 days early in the next can reach 183 days inside 12 months without reaching it in either calendar year.
• The lease. A fixed-term rental can matter on its own, even with fewer than 183 days of presence. Earlier guidance describes a rented house under a lease of 183 days or more in the tax year ³. Check before you go: translations of this wording differ, and we could not confirm how the newer law applies it.

Earlier guidance says the day you arrive and the day you leave each count as a day, taken from the stamps in your passport, and a same-day entry and exit counts as one day ³. Check before you go: that guidance is from 2013 and we did not confirm it is unchanged.

Keep a simple log of your days, including arrival and departure days, plus your passport stamps, flight tickets and rental contracts. They help show where you were. A calendar note or a spreadsheet is enough.

A new Personal Income Tax Law (Law 109/2025/QH15) replaces the 2007 law, and sources say it takes effect on 1 July 2026, with employment and business income provisions for residents applying from the 2026 tax year ^1,2,4. The residence test described above is the same in the sources we read. Secondary guides report a progressive rate of 5 to 35 percent for residents and a flat 20 percent on employment income earned in Vietnam for non-residents ¹. Check before you go: we could not confirm the rates from the law's own text.

Your home country may have its own day-count or residence rules, and you can be treated as resident in two places. Some countries have tax treaties with Vietnam that decide which one wins. Check yours before a long stay.

• Would my days, a lease or both make me resident, and from what date?
• Does my income count as earned in Vietnam, or somewhere else?
• Which country's rules apply under a treaty, if any?
• What records do I need to keep, and what do I file, and when?
• What happens when I leave Vietnam? One guide describes a tax finalisation for foreigners who are leaving ⁵.

All pages were read or seen in search on Oct 20, 2026. This is general information about a changing law.

1. Vietnam Law Magazine, "Vietnam's new personal income tax regime: what foreign workers and investors need to know", Jul 13, 2026 (residence test, effective date, rates): vietnamlawmagazine.vn
2. Thu Vien Phap Luat, English text of Law 109/2025/QH15 on personal income tax (residence definition; seen in search): thuvienphapluat.vn
3. Luat Viet Nam, Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC guiding the personal income tax law (day counting, rented house; seen in search): english.luatvietnam.vn
4. KPMG, "GMS Flash Alert 2026-040: Vietnam" (new law replaces the 2007 law, effective 1 July 2026; seen in search): assets.kpmg.com
5. EIV, "Personal income tax finalization for foreigners leaving Vietnam" (seen in search): eiv.edu.vn