How to determine where to file personal income tax
2023/04/24
- US CPA
- Masaya Sakai
Introduction
Monthly (or quarterly) personal income tax filing and annual final tax return are important issues that concern many Vietnamese stakeholders. This is especially important if you receive income from multiple sources or from a company outside Vietnam.
This article describes the monthly (or quarterly) personal income tax return and annual tax return based on Tax Administration Law No. 38/2019/QH14 and Decree No. 126/2020/ND-CP, which became effective from 2020. We will explain the tax authority to which you should file your tax return.
1. Regarding the tax authority to which you should file your monthly (or quarterly) tax return.
The tax authorities to which to file monthly (or quarterly) returns are as follows:
・If you receive salary or remuneration from a Vietnamese company
The Vietnamese company is responsible for withholding personal income tax and remitting it to the tax authorities. The address for reporting is as follows.
– Foreign-affiliated companies, branches of foreign-affiliated companies, representative offices, project offices, management bases, etc. of foreign-affiliated companies should be declared to the City Tax Bureau and the Ministry of Taxation Bureau, which are under the direct control of the Central Administration Bureau.
– For domestic companies with Vietnamese capital, declarations should be made to the city tax bureau and district tax office under the direct control of the provincial management bureau.
・If you receive salary or compensation from an overseas company or individual
Submit your tax return to the local tax office where your workplace is located. In rare cases, if you are residing in Vietnam but your actual work is not in Vietnam, you will file a tax return with the tax office having jurisdiction over your place of residence.
In addition, if an expatriate is appointed to work at a representative office in Vietnam under the instructions of the parent company and receives salary or remuneration directly from the representative office, the expatriate must notify the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department that the expatriate is an expatriate. It is necessary to declare the amount of income to the tax authority having jurisdiction over the office.
2. About the tax authority to which you should file your final tax return
When delegating tax returns to a company that pays salaries, remuneration, etc., the company submits final tax return documents to its own jurisdictional tax office.
On the other hand, if the authority is not delegated, the tax authority to which final tax return documents should be submitted will be determined based on the following cases:
[Table: Tax authority to which final tax return documents should be submitted]
・Common case
| Case | Where to report |
| (1) When an individual receives income such as salary or remuneration from only one place | The tax office of the company (or individual) that pays salaries, remuneration, etc. |
| (2) When an individual receives income such as salary or remuneration from two or more sources. | Jurisdictional tax office at the location where the largest amount of salary, remuneration, etc. is paid during the year |
| (3) Among (2) above, if it is not possible to determine the amount of salary, remuneration, etc. for each payment source. | Jurisdictional tax office of one of the payment sources (or individuals) |
・Other cases
| Case | Where to report |
| (1) When the dependent deduction is applied by the company (or individual) that is the payment source. | Jurisdictional tax authority of the company (or individual) making the payment |
| (2) In cases where you change jobs during the fiscal year and the company (or individual) you last changed jobs to takes deduction for dependents. | Jurisdictional tax authority of the company (or individual) you last changed jobs to |
| (3) In cases where you changed jobs during the fiscal year and the dependent deduction is not applied to the company (or individual) of your last job change. | Jurisdictional tax office in the target person’s area of residence |
| (4) Cases where you have side jobs at multiple companies and none of the companies applies the dependent deduction. | Jurisdictional tax office in the target person’s area of residence |
| (5) If you received income from one or more places during the year covered by your final tax return, but you do not belong to any company as of the end of the year. | Jurisdictional tax office in the target person’s area of residence |
| (6) If you have received 10% withholding tax due to receiving irregular income within the year covered by your final tax return.
*If an employee who does not have a labor contract or has a labor contract with a working period of less than 3 months earns an income of 2,000,000 VND or more, 10% of the income will be withheld. |
Jurisdictional tax office in the target person’s area of residence |
Conclusion
Above, we have explained the tax authorities to which to file monthly (or quarterly) tax returns and annual tax returns depending on the specific case. Companies and individuals need to be careful to apply the above principles accurately.
References
– Decree No. 126/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020 (effective from December 5, 2020): Detailed provisions of the Tax Administration Law
-Tax Administration Law No. 38/2019/QH14 dated June 13, 2019 (effective from July 1, 2020): Regulations for the management of various taxes and national budget and other receivables.
*This article was translated by Yarakuzen.
