VI What are the 27 types of income excluded from personal income tax on salaries and wages as stipulated in Article 8 of Decree 253/2026/NĐ-CP? Let’s find out more with Pham Consult!
1. Article 8 of Decree 253/2026/ND-CP outlines the income from salaries and wages subject to Personal Income Tax (PIT). According to this Article, the following 27 types of income are excluded from taxable income derived from salaries and wages:
(1) 13 types of allowances, subsidies, and other income excluded from taxable income derived from salaries and wages:
– Monthly preferential allowances/subsidies and lump-sum allowances as prescribed by law regarding preferential treatment for persons with meritorious services;
– Monthly subsidies and lump-sum allowances for individuals who participated in resistance wars, national defense, international missions, or the Youth Volunteer Force and have completed their duties;
– National defense and security allowances/subsidies; allowances/subsidies for armed forces personnel;
– Allowances for toxic or hazardous conditions and compensation in kind for industries, trades, or jobs involving toxic or hazardous elements at the workplace;
– Attraction allowances and regional allowances; – Allowances, subsidies, and living expenses paid by Vietnamese representative missions abroad to their members, as well as to the spouses and children accompanying them, in accordance with the Law on Representative Missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Abroad, Decree No. 08/2019/ND-CP (stipulating certain regimes for members of Vietnamese representative missions abroad), and any amending, supplementing, or replacing documents;
– Allowances for occupational accidents or diseases; lump-sum allowances for childbirth or adoption; allowances for reduced working capacity; lump-sum retirement allowances; monthly survivor allowances; and other allowances prescribed by social insurance laws;
– Allowances for unexpected hardship, unemployment, severance, and job loss, as prescribed by law.
Where an organization or enterprise stipulates—in its financial regulations, internal regulations, labor contracts, or collective labor severance or job loss allowance rates higher than those prescribed by law, the actual payment exceeding the statutory rate shall not be included in the employee’s taxable income;
– Allowances for social protection beneficiaries, as prescribed by laws on social protection;
– Service allowances for high-ranking officials;
– Lump-sum allowances for individuals transferring to areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions; lump-sum support for cadres and civil servants working on maritime sovereignty issues, as prescribed by law. Lump-sum relocation allowances for foreigners coming to reside in Vietnam, Vietnamese citizens going to work abroad, and Vietnamese citizens residing long-term abroad who return to Vietnam for work. – Specifically, the one-time relocation allowance for foreigners coming to reside in Vietnam, Vietnamese nationals going abroad for work, or Vietnamese nationals residing long-term abroad who return to Vietnam for work, shall be paid at the rates specified in the decision or document regarding secondment, rotation, financial regulations, internal regulations, labor contracts, or collective labor agreements;
– Allowances for village-level health workers;
– Industry- or profession-specific allowances.
Note: Allowances and subsidies excluded from taxable income under this clause must be prescribed by competent state agencies in accordance with laws regarding incentives for persons with meritorious services, national defense, security, diplomacy, labor, social insurance, healthcare, education and training, and other relevant laws. If the allowance or subsidy received exceeds the prescribed rate, the excess amount must be included in the individual’s personal taxable income, except as provided in Point h, Clause 3, Article 8 of Decree 253/2026/NĐ-CP.
(Clause 3, Article 8 of Decree 253/2026/NĐ-CP)
(2) 14 types of income not in the nature of wages or salaries that are excluded from personal taxable income:
– Bonuses accompanying titles conferred by the State; bonuses accompanying emulation titles and forms of commendation as prescribed by laws on emulation and commendation; bonuses accompanying national or international awards recognized by the State of Vietnam; bonuses for technical improvements, innovations, or inventions recognized by competent state agencies; bonuses for detecting and reporting law violations to competent state agencies;
– Financial support provided by the employer for the medical examination and treatment of critical illnesses affecting the employee or their relatives—including biological children, adopted children, stepchildren (children of the spouse from a previous relationship), spouses, biological parents, parents-in-law, stepparents, and adoptive parents.
The support amount excluded from taxable income is the actual amount provided by the employer as evidenced by invoices and vouchers, but it shall not exceed the hospital fees paid by the employee or their relatives after deducting any payments made by insurance organizations (if applicable).
Critical illnesses are defined in accordance with regulations issued by the Minister of Health;
– Amounts received under policies regarding the use of means of transport within state agencies, public service delivery units, Party organizations, and socio-political organizations; or means of transport provided to shuttle employees between their residences and workplaces in accordance with the unit’s regulations;
– Amounts received under official housing policies in accordance with the law;
– Amounts received—in addition to salaries and wages—for participating in or supporting the activities of the Party, the Youth Union, or the National Assembly; or for drafting, providing comments on, appraising, or reviewing legal documents, resolutions, and political reports; participating in inspection and supervision delegations; meeting with constituents or receiving citizens; and allowances for uniforms and other tasks directly supporting the operations of the National Assembly Office, the Council for Ethnic Affairs and Committees of the National Assembly, National Assembly Delegations, the Central Office and Commissions of the Party, and the Offices and Commissions of City or Provincial Party Committees; – Airfare paid (or reimbursed) by the employer for foreign employees, or for Vietnamese employees working abroad returning home on annual leave, covering travel between Vietnam and the employee’s country of citizenship or the country where their family resides (for foreigners), or between the country of employment and Vietnam (for Vietnamese employees);
– Tuition fees paid (or reimbursed) by the employer for the children of foreign employees studying in Vietnam, or for the children of Vietnamese employees working abroad studying overseas (at levels ranging from preschool to high school);
– Payments made by the employer for non-mandatory insurance products that do not involve the accumulation of premiums—including health insurance and term life insurance (excluding term life insurance with a premium refund feature)—where the insured does not receive any accumulated premium amount from participation, aside from the insurance payout or indemnity paid by the insurance company as stipulated in the insurance contract.
This provision also applies to non-mandatory, non-accumulating insurance products purchased from insurance companies that are not established or operating under Vietnamese law but are licensed to sell insurance in Vietnam;
– Expenses paid by the employer for training to enhance the qualifications and skills of employees, provided such training aligns with the employees’ professional duties or the employer’s training plan; – Payments made by employers to suppliers or employees to cover expenses related to employee reassignment, rotation, or business travel—as stipulated in reassignment/rotation/travel decisions or documents, financial or internal regulations, labor contracts, or collective labor agreements—provided there are valid invoices and supporting documents as prescribed by law;
– Income received by individuals from associations or sponsoring organizations—where the individual is a member—for creating literary or artistic works to fulfill State political tasks or to carry out activity programs consistent with the association’s or organization’s charter, provided the funding is sourced from the state budget or managed in accordance with State regulations;
– Payments received from employers for funeral or wedding expenses concerning the employee and their family, in accordance with the income-paying entity’s financial or internal regulations, labor contracts, or collective labor agreements, and consistent with the deductible limits for corporate income tax purposes under the law on corporate income tax;
– Money and benefits received from trade union funds that do not constitute wages or remuneration, as prescribed by the Law on Trade Unions;
– Allowances for nutritional regimes and special health and physiological care for women, as prescribed in Articles 5 and 8 of Decree No. 349/2025/NĐ-CP regarding regimes and policies for sports team members participating in centralized training and competitions.
(Clause 4, Article 8 of Decree No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP)
2. How are family circumstance-based deductions for income from wages and remuneration regulated?
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 10 of the 2025 Law on Personal Income Tax, the family circumstance-based deduction is the amount subtracted from taxable income before calculating the tax payable on income from salaries and wages earned by resident taxpayers.
Family circumstance-based deductions include:
– The deduction amount for the taxpayer is 15.5 million VND/month (186 million VND/year);
– The deduction amount for each dependent is 6.2 million VND/month.
3. When is the taxable income from salaries and wages determined?
Based on Clause 3, Article 46 of Decree 253/2026/ND-CP, the regulations are as follows:
Personal income tax on income from salaries and wages
- The time for determining taxable income from salaries and wages is the time when the employer pays salaries and wages to the taxpayer or the time when the taxpayer receives the income—including monetary or non-monetary benefits, subsidies, allowances, and other income specified in Article 8 of this Decree—within the tax period.
Thus, the time for determining taxable income from salaries and wages is the time when the employer pays salaries and wages to the taxpayer or the time when the taxpayer receives the income, including monetary or non-monetary benefits, subsidies, allowances, and other income.
