Job offers in Vietnam are usually quoted gross — the salary in your contract before anything is taken off. What reaches your bank account, the net salary, is lower by two items: compulsory insurance and personal income tax. In 2026 both the tax brackets and the deductions changed, so older rules of thumb no longer work.
Gross vs net in one line
Net = gross − employee insurance (10.5%) − personal income tax
Some offers, especially for expats, are quoted net instead. Then the employer pays the tax and insurance on top, and you need the reverse calculation (see below).
Step 1: compulsory insurance (10.5%)
The employee pays:
- Social insurance (BHXH): 8%
- Health insurance (BHYT): 1.5%
- Unemployment insurance (BHTN): 1%
There are ceilings. Social and health insurance are charged on at most 20× the base salary — 50,600,000 ₫ since 1 July 2026, when the base salary rose to 2,530,000 ₫. Unemployment insurance is capped at 20× the regional minimum wage (106,200,000 ₫ in Region I). Above those levels the insurance stops growing.
Step 2: family deductions
From the 2026 tax year, before any tax is charged you deduct:
- 15,500,000 ₫ a month for yourself (up from 11M)
- 6,200,000 ₫ a month per registered dependant (up from 4.4M)
With no dependants, tax only starts once gross minus insurance passes 15.5M — a gross salary of about 17.3M ₫.
Step 3: the 2026 tax brackets
The old 7-bracket tariff became 5 brackets, applied to monthly taxable income:
- up to 10M: 5%
- 10M–30M: 10%
- 30M–60M: 20%
- 60M–100M: 30%
- above 100M: 35%
Worked example: 30,000,000 ₫ gross
No dependants, Region I, rules from 1 July 2026:
- Insurance: 2,400,000 + 450,000 + 300,000 = 3,150,000 ₫
- Income before tax: 30,000,000 − 3,150,000 = 26,850,000 ₫
- Taxable income: 26,850,000 − 15,500,000 = 11,350,000 ₫
- Tax: 10,000,000 × 5% + 1,350,000 × 10% = 635,000 ₫
- Net salary: 26,215,000 ₫
With one dependant the tax drops to 257,500 ₫ and the net rises to 26,592,500 ₫. Under the 2025 rules the same 30M gross paid 1,627,500 ₫ tax and a net of 25,222,500 ₫ — almost 1M ₫ a month less.
At a high salary the insurance ceiling matters: on 80,000,000 ₫ gross, insurance is only 5,607,000 ₫ (not 8.4M), tax is 8,278,600 ₫ and the net is 66,114,400 ₫.
Net to gross: what to ask for
If you know the take-home pay you need, work backwards. To net 30,000,000 ₫ with no dependants you need a gross of about 34,698,945 ₫; to net 20M, about 22,610,997 ₫. That's useful when an offer is quoted net and you want to compare it with a gross one.
How to calculate your own salary
- Open the Vietnam Salary Calculator.
- Choose Gross → Net or Net → Gross and enter the monthly amount.
- Enter your registered dependants and the region of your workplace.
- If your employer pays insurance on a lower contract salary, tick the box and enter it. Add tax-free allowances (such as lunch) if they are part of the gross.
- Read the breakdown, including tax per bracket and the employer's total cost (gross + 21.5% employer insurance).
FAQ
Does this apply to foreigners? Yes, for tax residents (183+ days a year in Vietnam). Foreign employees with a work permit generally pay social and health insurance but not unemployment insurance, so their real net can be about 1% higher. Non-residents pay a flat 20% with no deductions.
Why is my payslip different? Common reasons: insurance is paid on a lower contract salary, part of your pay is a tax-free allowance, or a dependant isn't registered yet.
What does my employer pay? Another 21.5% in insurance on top of gross. On 30M ₫ that is 6,450,000 ₫, so the total cost is 36,450,000 ₫.
Try it now
Check any offer with the free Vietnam Salary Calculator — figures are estimates and nothing leaves your browser. For the yearly tax return, use the Vietnam Income Tax Calculator.