Ten categories of income subject to personal income tax from 1 July 2026.

The 15th National Assembly passed the Law on Personal Income Tax No. 109/2025/QH15 on 10 December 2025. The Law takes effect on 1 July 2026 and replaces the 2007 Law on Personal Income Tax and the laws that amended it. With 4 chapters and 29 articles, it is the most comprehensive revision of personal income tax in nearly two decades.

The new Law sets out ten categories of taxable income. The first nine largely carry over the former rules but with a wider scope. The tenth category, "other income", is entirely new: it taxes types of assets that earlier legislation did not foresee.

The new Law sets out ten categories of taxable income

Category 1: income from business extended to the digital economy

Income from business now covers income from four groups of activities: producing and trading goods and services; independent practice by individuals with a practising licence or certificate; agency and brokerage; and e-commerce and business on digital platforms.

The last group is the most notable addition. Online sellers, live-stream sellers, content creators paid by platforms, and KOLs and KOCs paid for advertising were already taxable under the general principles. In practice, however, people often disagreed on how to classify their income and how to collect the tax. By naming this group of activities directly, the Law removes that uncertainty and gives the tax authorities a clearer legal basis to work with e-commerce marketplaces and digital platforms that withhold and declare tax on behalf of individuals.

Some rules apply to the whole of 2026. The provisions on business income and on salary and wage income of resident individuals apply from the 2026 tax period. They therefore cover the whole of 2026 and are settled at the finalisation in early 2027, rather than applying only from 1 July 2026.

Category 10, "other income": five classes of assets taxed for the first time

The "other income" category is the newest and most closely watched part of Law No. 109/2025/QH15. It makes the following five types of income taxable:

a) Transfer of Vietnamese national internet domain names ".vn"

Buying and selling ".vn" domain names has been a market for many years, with some high-value deals, but the former tax law did not cover these transactions. Under Decree No. 253/2026/ND-CP, income from this activity is taxed at 5% on the portion above VND 20 million.

b) Transfer of greenhouse gas emission reduction results and carbon credits

As Vietnam builds its carbon market, income from trading carbon credits is taxed at 5% on the portion above VND 20 million. This rule should be read together with the exemption: the first transfer by the individual whose emission reductions are recognised, or to whom the credits are issued, is tax-exempt. The tax therefore targets resale for profit, not the person who generates the credit.

c) Transfer of vehicle registration plates won at auction

Now that vehicle plates are auctioned and may be transferred, the winning bidder's gain on a transfer is taxed at 5% on the portion above VND 20 million.

d) Transfer of digital assets

Digital assets include virtual assets and crypto assets. Under Decree No. 253/2026/ND-CP, the rate is 0.1% of the transfer price. As with securities, the tax is calculated on the transaction value, not on the gain. This lets the tax authorities collect tax at the time of the transaction without having to establish the cost base, which is very hard to do for crypto assets.

đ) Transfer of gold bullion

Law No. 109/2025/QH15 makes gold bullion taxable but does not set a tax rate. Decree No. 253/2026/ND-CP also says nothing about transfers of gold bullion.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the Government has not yet set the taxable threshold, the start date or the collection mechanism for this income. The Ministry is drafting a separate decree on tax policy for gold trading.

For now, therefore, the tax authorities do not collect personal income tax on transfers of gold bullion. The 0.1% rate quoted in some sources currently has no legal basis. Enterprises and individuals should watch for the guiding instruments.

The taxable threshold rises from VND 10 million to VND 20 million

One change with broad impact but little attention is the higher taxable threshold for income from winnings, royalties, commercial franchising, inheritances and gifts. It rises from VND 10 million to VND 20 million per receipt. For royalties and commercial franchising, the threshold applies per contract, which matters when a royalty contract is paid in several instalments.

The VND 20 million threshold also applies to three of the new categories: domain names, carbon credits and vehicle plates. Digital assets, however, have no tax-free threshold; the 0.1% tax applies from the first dong of the transfer price.

Each category of income other than salaries and wages has its own rate

What has not changed: real estate transfer tax remains at 2%

During drafting, lawmakers discussed taxing real estate transfers by holding period (the shorter the holding period, the higher the rate) to curb speculation. That option was not adopted. Resident and non-resident individuals still pay tax at 2% of the transfer price.

Key dates that determine when the new Law applies

What enterprises and individuals should prepare

• Review welfare policies and payments to employees to re-check which items are taxable and which are exempt under the new lists.
• Update payroll and withholding software for the five-bracket schedule and the new family deductions, for the whole 2026 tax period.
• Enterprises operating on digital platforms should re-check their obligations to withhold and declare tax on behalf of individuals under business cooperation arrangements.
• Individuals holding digital assets, carbon credits or domain names should start keeping records of their cost base and acquisition date now.
• Do not collect tax on transfers of gold bullion until an official guiding decree is issued.