Personal income tax calculator 2026

Applicable rules: From 01/01/2026 (Latest)

Under Personal Income Tax Law No. 109/2025/QH15, the new five-bracket schedule takes effect from 01 July 2026. The law also states that rules on income from business and from wages and salaries of resident individuals apply from the 2026 tax period, meaning the five-bracket method applies to wages and salaries of resident individuals from 1 January 2026.

Personal deduction

15.500.000 VND

Dependents

6.200.000 VND

VND

Salary used for insurance contributions

VND

Region

2026 Personal Income Tax Calculator: New 5-Bracket Tax Schedule

Use the most accurate 2026 personal income tax (PIT) calculator available. Get the latest 5-bracket progressive schedule and the 15.5 million VND family deduction to maximize your take-home pay!

From 1 January 2026, Vietnam's tax rules underwent a major overhaul: the progressive rate schedule was cut from seven brackets to five, and family deductions were raised significantly. That makes old back-of-the-envelope tax estimates outdated and error-prone.

At that point, an up-to-date personal income tax (PIT) calculator becomes a lifeline for office workers. Before you enter figures into any tool, it helps to know what basis the system uses to tax your income. This article walks you through the full 2026 PIT calculation logic in plain language.

What Is Personal Income Tax (PIT)?

Personal Income Tax (PIT) is the amount workers must withhold from salary (or other income) and remit to the state budget.

The purpose is to fund shared services such as social welfare, infrastructure, and healthcare. In principle, higher earners contribute more. When you enter Gross salary into a personal income tax calculator, the amount the system shows as withheld (if any) is this contribution.

Who Must Pay Personal Income Tax?

Many people assume that any salaried job means paying tax. That is not always true. You only owe PIT when your assessable income (income left after insurance and family deductions) is greater than zero.

Thanks to the 2026 reforms, many middle-income earners (below 15.5 million VND/month) are now fully outside the tax base.

In general, taxpayers fall into two groups:

  • Resident individuals: Present in Vietnam for 183 days or more in a year (typically Vietnamese citizens or long-term foreign employees). Tax is calculated on the progressive schedule.
  • Non-resident individuals: Foreign nationals on short assignments in Vietnam. Tax is applied at a flat percentage.

How to Calculate PIT

This is the part that confuses most people doing manual math. PIT calculators, however, are built on three basic steps:

1. PIT calculation formula

To see exactly how much you owe the state, the tool applies:

PIT payable = Assessable income × Tax rate

2. Taxable income vs. assessable income

These two concepts are defined in Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC, yet most employees confuse them. Here is the distinction so you know what the software is doing:

  • Taxable income: Your full Gross salary minus tax-exempt allowances (meal subsidies, business travel reimbursements, etc.).
  • Assessable income: The final figure multiplied by the tax rate. (Assessable income = Taxable income − Family deductions − Insurance contributions).

Example: 2026 calculation: > Your Gross salary is 25,000,000 VND. Your employer pays a 700,000 VND lunch allowance (tax-exempt).

  • Step 1: Taxable income = 25,000,000 − 700,000 = 24,300,000 VND.
  • Step 2: You pay 10.5% insurance on a 25 million salary (= 2,625,000 VND). The 2026 personal deduction is 15,500,000 VND.
  • Step 3: Assessable income = 24,300,000 − 15,500,000 (deduction) − 2,625,000 (insurance) = 6,175,000 VND. => So 6,175,000 VND is the amount subject to tax!

3. Progressive tax schedule (5 brackets) from 1 January 2026

The headline change in 2026 is Parliament's approval of a streamlined schedule: seven brackets were reduced to five, with wider bands between levels. Current personal income tax calculators use the table below:

Tax bracket Monthly assessable income Tax rate
1 Up to 10 million VND 5%
2 Over 10 million VND to 25 million VND 10%
3 Over 25 million VND to 50 million VND 20%
4 Over 50 million VND to 80 million VND 30%
5 Over 80 million VND 35%

Progressive principle: Income is taxed slice by slice at each bracket's rate, then summed—not by applying the top rate to your entire income. A good tax calculator splits your income across brackets automatically in seconds.

PIT for Special Categories of Taxpayers

If you do not have a long-term labor contract, PIT calculators will not use the 5-bracket schedule above. Instead, they follow Point i, Clause 1, Article 25 of Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC.

1. PIT for probationary employees

During probation (contracts under three months), if each payment is at least 2,000,000 VND, the employer withholds 10% PIT directly from salary.

PIT payable = Total income before expenses × 10%

Real-world example: > Ms. A signs a two-month probation contract at 10,000,000 VND/month. => PIT withheld each month: 10,000,000 × 10% = 1,000,000 VND. She receives 9,000,000 VND in hand.

Tip: If you expect your 2026 annual income to stay below the tax threshold (under 186 million VND/year—equivalent to 15.5 million × 12 months), you can submit a Form 08/CK-TNCN commitment to HR. With that form on file, the company pays the full 10,000,000 VND without withholding 10%.

2. PIT for freelancers and seasonal workers

Like probationary pay, any fee or remuneration of 2 million VND or more (from service contracts, design, writing, events, etc.) triggers a 10% withholding before payment.

PIT payable = Total payment (fee) × 10%

Real-world example: > Mr. B completes a freelance website project for 20,000,000 VND. => On payment, the client withholds: 20,000,000 × 10% = 2,000,000 VND. He receives 18,000,000 VND by transfer. At year-end he can request a PIT withholding certificate and file for a refund of the 2 million if his annual income did not exceed the taxable threshold.

3. PIT for non-resident individuals

Under Article 18 of Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC, foreign nationals who do not meet the 183-day residence rule (short assignments in Vietnam) are taxed simply. Progressive brackets and family deductions do not apply. PIT is charged at a flat 20%.

PIT payable = Total income before expenses × 20%

Real-world example: > Mr. John (a U.S. expert) works in Vietnam for two months at 80,000,000 VND/month. Regardless of dependents, monthly PIT in Vietnam is: 80,000,000 × 20% = 16,000,000 VND.

Deductions When Calculating PIT (2026 Update)

This is what employees care about most. Entering these items correctly in a personal income tax calculator can save you a meaningful amount.

1. Personal deduction

Under the latest resolution effective from 2026, the deduction for the taxpayer is 15,500,000 VND/month. That means 15.5 million VND of your salary each month is fully shielded from tax.

2. Dependent deduction

If you support children under 18, children in full-time university with no income, or elderly parents outside working age, you receive an additional 6,200,000 VND/month per dependent.

Additional note: You must register a tax code for each dependent and provide valid supporting documents to your employer.

3. Mandatory insurance contributions

The 10.5% of salary you pay for social, health, and unemployment insurance may be deducted from income before tax. Money set aside for health and retirement is not taxed again.

4. Charitable, humanitarian, and educational contributions

Donations to state-licensed charity or scholarship funds, with valid receipts, are also deductible when calculating tax.

Tax-Exempt and Non-Taxable Income

A final way to optimize take-home pay is to structure part of compensation as non-taxable allowances. Separate these items before using the calculator (per Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC and Circular 92/2015/TT-BTC):

  • Meal allowances: Not taxed if paid in cash up to 730,000 VND/month (fully exempt if the company provides on-site meals).
  • Uniform allowance: Exempt up to 5,000,000 VND/person/year (cash payment).
  • Phone, fuel, and travel allowances: Exempt when paid within limits set in the company's financial regulations.
  • Overtime and night-shift pay: The premium above regular hourly pay is not taxed. (Example: regular rate 100k/hour, night rate 150k/hour—the extra 50k is fully exempt.)

In short: 2026 tax policy offers real benefits for workers. Instead of struggling through the 5-bracket schedule by hand, use a reliable personal income tax calculator. A few seconds of input returns an accurate figure to the dong—so you can always defend your legal rights with confidence.