SUMMARY OF KEY NEW POINTS AND EFFECTIVE DATES of DECREE No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP on Personal Income Tax (Effective from July 1, 2026)

The important new points from Decree No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP and the specific implementation timelines for each group of regulations to help you easily track and comply:

1. Summary Table of Key New Points and Effective Dates

No.	Regulation Group / Content	Key New Points to Note	Effective / Application Date
1	General Validity of the Decree	Replaces the entirety of Decree No. 65/2013/NĐ-CP and older amended documents regarding Personal Income Tax (PIT).	From July 1, 2026
2	Income from Salaries, Wages & Business of Resident Individuals	Comprehensively applies the new regulations, tax brackets, and calculation methods under this Decree.	Applied fully for the 2026 tax year. (The initial months of 2026 declared under the old law will be adjusted during the 2026 annual tax finalization).
3	Mid-shift / Lunch Meal Allowances	Raises the maximum amount excluded from taxable income to VND 1.2 million/person/month.	From July 1, 2026
4	Deductions for Medical and Education Expenses	Adds two completely new deductions to taxable income:   – In-country medical examination and treatment expenses (under the Health Insurance catalog): maximum VND 23 million/year.   – In-country education and training expenses (from kindergarten to university, vocational): maximum VND 24 million/year.	Calculated from the 2026 tax year (when performing annual tax finalization).
5	Voluntary, Supplementary Pension & Life Insurance	Deductible contribution limits when calculating tax are increased to a maximum of VND 3 million/month (including both the business’s contribution and the employee’s self-payment).	Contribution fees from January 1, 2026 are eligible for this deduction limit; insurance companies will withhold 10% at the time of maturity.
6	E-commerce & Digital Platform Business	E-commerce platform owners (with online ordering and payment functions) are responsible for withholding, declaring, and paying taxes on behalf of individual sellers on the platform.	From July 1, 2026
7	Addition of New Taxable Assets	Income from transferring: carbon credits, auctioned license plates (5% tax rate) for income exceeding VND 20 million per transfer, and digital assets/encrypted assets (0.1% tax rate).	From July 1, 2026
8	Incentives for Tech Personnel & Startups	– 5-year PIT exemption for salaries of high-tech and high-quality digital industry personnel (AI, semiconductors, chips, etc.).   – Tax exemption on capital investment income into startups/venture capital funds; tax exemption on salaries of experts supporting startups.	From July 1, 2026 (calculated continuously from the month the tax-exempt income arises).
9	Tax Exemption for Open-Ended Fund Certificates	PIT exemption when transferring open-ended fund certificates, provided the individual has held them for at least 2 consecutive years from the date of purchase.	Transfers executed from July 1, 2026 (applies to certificates purchased before July 1, 2026 as well).
10	Tax Reduction on Investment Fund Dividends	50% PIT reduction on dividends distributed from securities investment funds and real estate investment funds.	Within 5 years: From July 1, 2026, to the end of June 30, 2031.
11	Changes to Tax Thresholds (Prizes, Copyrights, etc.)	Raises the taxable income threshold to the portion exceeding VND 20 million per occurrence (previously VND 10 million) for prizes, copyrights, franchises, inheritances, and gifts.	From July 1, 2026

1. Three Major Timelines Requiring Special Attention

To avoid errors when performing tax obligations in 2026, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between the following 3 implementation milestones:

• Transition Period (From January 1, 2026, to before July 1, 2026):
  • Taxpayers declare and pay monthly/quarterly taxes according to old regulations.
  • There is no need to re-submit tax declaration files for these months/quarters; instead, corrections and offsets for discrepancies will be made directly when filing the 2026 annual tax finalization dossier.
• Application Period for New Regulations on Salaries, Wages, and Family Deductions (Full Year 2026):
  • Although the Decree officially takes effect in July, the tax calculation policies for income from salaries, wages, and business of resident individuals are applied to the entire 2026 tax year.
  • This ensures taxpayers benefit from the new deductions (medical, education) calculated against their income for the full year of 2026.
• Effective Milestone from July 1, 2026:
  • The new lunch/mid-shift meal allowance level (VND 1.2 million) applies immediately.
  • The new VND 20 million tax threshold applies immediately to irregular incomes arising from this date onward (prizes, inheritances, etc.).
  • The 5-year tax exemption period for high-tech personnel or the 50% tax reduction for investment funds begins counting from this date.