Payroll in Vietnam 2026: PIT, social insurance and minimum wages

In Vietnam the employer withholds personal income tax (PIT) from salaries at progressive rates of 5% to 35% after family deductions, and deducts the employee's social, health and unemployment insurance, 10.5% of salary. On top of salary the employer pays 21.5% in insurance contributions, on salaries capped at 20 times the reference level.

Payroll in Vietnam at a glance

Social, health and unemployment insurance

The Social Insurance Law 2024 (Law 41/2024/QH15), in force since 1 July 2025, sets the social insurance rates; the amended Health Insurance Law (51/2024/QH15) took effect the same day.

The salary base. Social insurance is charged on the monthly salary used for contributions, at least the reference level and at most 20 times the reference level. Until the statutory base salary is abolished, the reference level equals the base salary. Unemployment insurance has its own cap of 20 times the regional minimum wage.

Health insurance is set by law at up to 6% of the monthly salary, two thirds paid by the employer and one third by the employee; at the employer's 3%, that is 1.5% for the employee.

Who is covered. Vietnamese employees with labour contracts of one month or more are covered by social and health insurance; foreign employees with a work permit and a contract of at least one year join social insurance, unless an exemption applies. Unemployment insurance applies to Vietnamese employees only.

Personal income tax on salaries

A new Personal Income Tax Law takes effect on 1 July 2026, but its provisions on salaries and business income apply earlier, from 1 January 2026. For residents, salary income is taxed at five progressive rates:

Taxable income is salary and taxable allowances minus:

• the employee's compulsory social, health and unemployment insurance contributions
• the personal deduction of VND 15.5 million a month, applied automatically to every tax resident
• VND 6.2 million a month for each dependant the employee has registered with the tax authority, with supporting documents
• contributions to local voluntary pension schemes (within a cap) and to approved charities

Regional minimum wages 2026

Decree 293/2025/ND-CP of 10 November 2025 sets the minimum wages for employees working under labour contracts from 1 January 2026, replacing Decree 74/2024/ND-CP:

The region depends on where the employer operates: a branch in another region applies that region's rate, and a business in an industrial zone, export processing zone or high-tech zone that spans several regions applies the highest one. The monthly minimum applies to employees paid by the month for full normal working time; the hourly minimum to those paid by the hour. Weekly, daily, piece-rate and lump-sum pay must not fall below these minimums once converted to a month or an hour.

Monthly payroll calendar and filings

1. 1Every pay day: deduct the employee's 10.5% insurance and the PIT withheld.
2. 2By the last day of the following month: pay the month's social, health and unemployment insurance for both sides (employers paying every three or six months pay by the last day of the month after the period).
3. 3Monthly or quarterly: declare and pay the PIT withheld; quarterly declarations and payments are due by the last day of the month following the quarter.
4. 4When a dependant is added: register them with the tax authority before applying the VND 6.2 million deduction.
5. 5By 31 March: file the employer's annual PIT finalisation for the previous year; employees who settle their own tax file by the last day of the fourth month (30 April).

Worked example: VND 20,000,000 a month in Region I

A single employee with no dependants and no allowances earns VND 20,000,000 a month in 2026 in Region I, well above the Region I minimum of VND 5,310,000.

The employee's insurance of VND 2,100,000 and the personal deduction are subtracted before tax, so only VND 2,400,000 is taxed, all of it in the 5% band. One registered dependant would add a VND 6.2 million deduction and bring the PIT to zero.

Common mistakes

1. 1Using the old tax schedule or the old family deductions for 2026 salaries.
2. 2Applying the dependant deduction before the dependant is registered with the tax authority.
3. 3Charging insurance on salary above the caps, or forgetting that unemployment insurance has its own regional cap.
4. 4Applying the wrong region for a branch or a site in an industrial zone.
5. 5Paying insurance late. The deadline is the last day of the following month.
6. 6Forgetting the 2026 minimum wage increase when checking pay scales and the contribution floor.

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly does not ship a built-in payroll profile for Vietnam. An administrator enters the rates once in the payroll tax settings: the income-tax bands, the personal allowance, the employee and employer contribution rates and the minimum wage for your region. Clientlly then calculates gross to net and the employer contributions and produces payslips. Dependant deductions differ for each employee, so check the PIT on the payslips of employees with registered dependants.

Around payroll, Clientlly handles leave requests and approvals with a shared leave calendar, attendance and overtime tracking with attendance and time tracking, and HR documents for each employee. See all human resources features, or compare plans on the pricing page.