Under Vietnam’s 2026 tax laws — Law 149/2025/QH15 and Law 109/2025/QH15 — a Hanoi apartment earning less than VND 500 million a year in rent pays no rental income tax. Above that line, only the excess is taxed.
Ask the same question in an expat forum and the standard answer is still “10% of the rent.” That answer was correct for years, and it is repeated in guides all over the internet. It stopped being correct when two laws passed in December 2025 replaced the old regime.
Why the internet still says 10%
Under Circular 40/2021/TT-BTC, an individual landlord paid 5% value added tax plus 5% personal income tax on rental revenue once it passed VND 100 million a year. Those two rates together are the “10%” that forum answers repeat today.
The charge applied to the whole amount. A landlord collecting VND 101 million paid tax on all 101 million, not on the 1 million above the line. Guides written before 2026 describe that system accurately. The system itself is gone.
What changed, on two different dates
Two laws passed within a day of each other in December 2025, and they took effect six months apart:
- Law 149/2025/QH15, amending the Law on Value Added Tax, took effect on 1 January 2026. It raises the VAT threshold for households and individuals from VND 100 million to VND 500 million a year.
- Law 109/2025/QH15, a new Law on Personal Income Tax, took effect on 1 July 2026. It raises the personal income tax threshold to the same VND 500 million. For income from leasing real estate, the rate is 5%, charged on the portion of revenue above the threshold.
The gap between the dates is worth knowing when you read advice published in early 2026: for the first half of the year the two thresholds did not yet match. From 1 July 2026 they both sit at VND 500 million.
The 5% leasing rate covers residential leases. Short-stay accommodation run as a business is a separate category under Law 109/2025/QH15 with its own rules.
A cliff became an allowance
The old threshold under Circular 40/2021 worked like a cliff. Crossing VND 100 million made the entire year’s revenue taxable.
The new threshold under Law 109/2025/QH15 works like an allowance. Revenue up to VND 500 million sits outside the tax entirely, and the 5% rate applies to what is above it. Crossing the line by a little now costs a little. Under the old rules, crossing it by a little cost a full-year tax bill.
That mechanism change matters more than the bigger number. It removes the incentive to hold rent just under a line, and it makes the tax on a mid-range Hanoi apartment simple to estimate: for most, it is zero.
Where VND 500 million sits against Hanoi rents
VND 500 million a year is roughly USD 19,000, or about USD 1,600 a month at early-2026 exchange rates.
Most of the one and two-bedroom apartments we let in Hanoi sit below that line. Two-bedroom units in the five western-corridor buildings we manage ask $700–1,300 a month as of July 2026, listed building by building on our portfolio pages. At those rents, a single apartment does not reach the threshold in a full year of collection.
Larger stock can cross it. A four-bedroom unit at Starlake asking $3,000–3,300 a month clears VND 900 million a year at the same exchange rate, and that owner is firmly in declaration territory.
Three rent levels, worked through at the same early-2026 exchange rate:
| Monthly rent | Annual revenue | Position | Personal income tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| $800 | ≈ VND 250 million | below the threshold | none |
| $1,600 | ≈ VND 500 million | at the threshold | none — tax starts above it |
| $3,000 | ≈ VND 936 million | above | 5% of the ≈ VND 436 million excess under Law 109/2025/QH15 |
If your rent is above the line
Only the excess is assessed for personal income tax. A landlord collecting VND 936 million a year pays 5% on VND 436 million — about VND 21.8 million — rather than 5% of everything. Value added tax above the threshold applies separately under Law 149/2025/QH15, so the full bill needs both parts.
Crossing the threshold also brings obligations that the tax itself hides: a Vietnamese tax code, declarations on schedule, and records of what was actually collected. A monthly statement showing rent received and itemized expenses is the record that filing starts from, and producing it is part of what our property management service does for 4% of annual rent.
Confirm your own position with a licensed Vietnamese tax advisor before you rely on any threshold. Rates, exchange rates and personal circumstances all move. Our legal and financial support coordinates that work for owners who are not in Vietnam.
Vietnam taxes first. Home may tax second.
Rental income from a Hanoi apartment is taxed in Vietnam because the property sits in Vietnam. Whether Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei or Seoul taxes the same income again depends on your home rules and the double taxation agreement between the two countries. The usual pattern is a credit: tax paid in Vietnam reduces what the home side charges on the same income.
If you are still deciding whether to buy at all, the ownership rules sit alongside the tax rules: the 30% quota and eligibility conditions of the Law on Housing, and the 50-year leasehold from certificate issuance are in our guide to foreign ownership. The full yield arithmetic, with this tax section in context, is in the Hanoi ROI guide.
Sources for the legal changes above: Baker McKenzie’s January 2026 client alert and EY Vietnam’s tax alert on Law 109/2025/QH15.
Common questions
Do I pay Vietnamese tax if my Hanoi apartment rents for $1,200 a month?
No. $1,200 a month is roughly VND 374 million a year at early-2026 exchange rates, below the VND 500 million threshold set by Law 149/2025/QH15 and Law 109/2025/QH15.
When did the 10%-of-everything rule stop applying?
The VAT side changed on 1 January 2026 under Law 149/2025/QH15. The personal income tax side changed on 1 July 2026 under Law 109/2025/QH15. Before those dates, the Circular 40/2021 regime charged 5% VAT plus 5% personal income tax on the whole revenue once it passed VND 100 million a year.
What do I pay above VND 500 million a year?
Personal income tax at 5% on the portion above the threshold, plus value added tax above the same threshold under Law 149/2025/QH15. Have a licensed Vietnamese tax advisor run the combined figure for your case.
