VI Will employees receive a Tet bonus if they quit before the 2026 Lunar New Year? How many days’ notice must employees give their employer before quitting? Is the Lunar New Year bonus subject to personal income tax? Let’s find out more with Pham Consult!
Will employees receive a Tet bonus if they quit before the 2026 Lunar New Year?
Based on the provisions of Article 104 of the 2019 Labor Code regarding employee bonuses, the following applies:
Bonuses
- A bonus is a sum of money, property, or other forms of reward given by the employer to the employee based on production and business results and the employee’s level of work completion.
- The bonus regulations are decided by the employer and publicly announced at the workplace after consulting with the employee representative organization at the workplace, if such an organization exists.
Accordingly, the employer will base the bonus decision on the employee’s performance and work completion.
The bonus regulations are decided by the employer and publicly announced at the workplace after consulting with the employee representative organization at the workplace, if such an organization exists.
Tet bonuses for employees are monetary rewards given to employees to acknowledge their contributions during the year and to encourage and motivate them for the coming year.
The decision regarding Tet bonuses is made by the company based on production and business results, employee performance, or according to the company’s bonus regulations if those regulations specifically stipulate Tet bonuses.
Therefore, whether an employee who resigns before the 2026 Lunar New Year will receive a Tet bonus depends on the company’s bonus regulations. If there are no Tet bonus regulations, the company will decide whether to give a Tet bonus to those who resign before Tet.
How many days’ notice must an employee give the company before resigning?
Based on Article 35 of the 2019 Labor Code regarding the right of employees to unilaterally terminate their employment contracts:
Accordingly, employees who resign must give notice to the enterprise within the following periods:
(1) At least 45 days if working under an indefinite-term employment contract;
(2) At least 30 days if working under a fixed-term employment contract with a term of 12 to 36 months;
(3) At least 3 working days if working under a fixed-term employment contract with a term of less than 12 months;
(4) For certain industries, occupations, and specific jobs, the notice period shall be implemented according to the regulations of the Government.
Note: Employees have the right to unilaterally terminate their employment contract without prior notice in the following cases:
– Not being assigned to the correct job, workplace, or not being provided with the agreed-upon working conditions, except as stipulated in Article 29 of the 2019 Labor Code;
– Not being paid their full salary or not being paid on time, except as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 97 of the 2019 Labor Code;
– Being mistreated, beaten, or subjected to insulting words or actions by the employer, or being subjected to forced labor;
– Being sexually harassed in the workplace;
– Female employees who are pregnant must take leave as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 138 of the 2019 Labor Code;
– Reaching the retirement age as stipulated in Article 169 of the 2019 Labor Code, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties;
– The employer provided false information as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 16 of the 2019 Labor Code, affecting the performance of the labor contract.
Is the Lunar New Year bonus subject to personal income tax?
Based on point e, clause 2, Article 2 of Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC, the regulations on taxable personal income from salaries and wages are as follows:
Taxable income items
- Income from salaries and wages
- e) Bonuses in cash or in kind in all forms, including bonuses in securities, except for the following bonuses:
e.1) Bonuses accompanying titles awarded by the State, including bonuses accompanying emulation titles and forms of commendation as prescribed by law on emulation and commendation, specifically:
e.1.1) Bonuses accompanying emulation titles such as National Emulation Soldier; Emulation Soldier at the Ministry, sector, central organization, province, city level; grassroots Emulation Soldier, Advanced Worker, Advanced Soldier.
e.1.2) Bonuses accompanying forms of commendation.
e.1.3) Bonuses accompanying titles awarded by the State.
e.1.4) Bonuses accompanying awards from associations and organizations under political organizations, socio-political organizations, social organizations, and professional social organizations at the central and local levels, in accordance with the organization’s charter and the provisions of the Law on Emulation and Commendation.
e.1.5) Bonuses accompanying the Ho Chi Minh Prize and State Prizes.
e.1.6) Bonuses accompanying commemorative medals and badges.
e.1.7) Bonuses accompanying certificates of merit and commendations.
The authority to issue commendation decisions, the amount of bonuses accompanying the above-mentioned emulation titles and forms of commendation must comply with the provisions of the Law on Emulation and Commendation.
e.2) Bonuses accompanying national and international awards recognized by the Vietnamese State.
e.3) Bonuses for technical improvements, inventions, and discoveries recognized by competent State agencies.
e.4) Bonuses for detecting and reporting violations of the law to competent State agencies.
According to the above regulations, the following bonuses are deductible when calculating personal income tax from salaries and wages:
– Bonuses accompanying titles awarded by the State
– Bonuses accompanying national and international awards recognized by the Vietnamese State
– Bonuses for technical improvements, inventions, and discoveries recognized by competent State agencies.
– Bonuses for detecting and reporting violations of the law to competent State agencies.
Therefore, the Lunar New Year bonus in 2026 is not among the bonuses deductible when determining taxable personal income.
Consequently, the Lunar New Year bonus is taxable personal income. However, employees only have to pay tax after deducting allowances and still reaching the personal income tax threshold.
