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Vietnam tax compliance checklist
The 60-point checklist we use with new clients. Covers every monthly, quarterly, and annual obligation — plus the FDI, transfer pricing, and payroll specifics that catch first-time entrants.
What's inside
Setup
- IRC and ERC on file and current
- Tax code registered
- Social insurance employer registration completed
- Bank account opened in the company's name
- Company seal registered
- Legal representative appointed (resident or non-resident)
Monthly
- Bank reconciliation completed within 10 working days of month-end
- All supplier invoices obtained in valid VAT format
- VAT return filed and VAT paid by the 20th of the following month
- PIT withholding and remittance completed by the 20th of the following month
- Social insurance monthly contribution file submitted by the 10th
- Foreign-contractor tax (FCT) declared and remitted on each payment
- Inter-company invoices raised and recorded
Quarterly
- Quarterly CIT provisional payment by the 30th of the following month
- Quarterly financial review with the advisor
- Reconciliation of management accounts to tax numbers
- FX gain/loss reviewed and recorded
Annual
- CIT finalisation return (Form 03/QTT-TNCN) filed by 31 March
- Annual financial statements (VAS) filed by 31 March
- Statutory audit completed and report filed by 31 March (where applicable)
- PIT finalisation for all employees by 31 March
- Transfer pricing Local File prepared by 31 March
- Master File prepared (where applicable) by 31 March
- Country-by-Country Report filed (where applicable)
- Dependent-allowance re-registration for PIT
- Social insurance contribution-base adjustment (1 Jan salary review)
- Work permits renewed 2–3 months before expiry
- TRC renewed within 30 days of expiry
Transfer Pricing
- Inter-company agreements in place and current
- Service-level benefit test documented
- Mark-up is arm's length (benchmarking study on file)
- Cost-sharing agreement in place (where applicable)
- Royalty agreement aligned with TP documentation
- CbCR notification filed (where applicable)
- Local File is contemporaneous (not year-end)
FDI-specific
- SBV capital contribution reported
- SBV loan drawdown and repayment reported (where applicable)
- IRC amendment filed for material changes
- Foreign-exchange transactions reported
Payroll
- Labour contracts in place and on file for all employees
- Work permits on file for all foreign employees
- Salary reviews documented
- Overtime within statutory caps
- PIT certificates issued to leavers within 30 days
- 13th-month and Tet bonuses included in the correct month
Primary sources cited in this checklist
- Law on CIT (Law 32/2013/QH13); Decree 218/2013/ND-CP; Circular 78/2014/TT-BTC
- Law on VAT (Law 13/2008/QH12); Decree 209/2013/ND-CP; Circular 219/2013/TT-BTC
- Law on PIT (Law 04/2007/QH12); Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC
- Law on Social Insurance 2014 (Law 58/2014/QH13) and 2024 amendment (Law 41/2024/QH15)
- Law on Tax Administration 2019 (Law 38/2019/QH14); Decree 126/2020/ND-CP
- Decree 132/2020/ND-CP (Transfer Pricing); Circular 40/2021/TT-BTC
- Circular 103/2014/TT-BTC (Foreign Contractor Tax)
- Law on Investment 2020 (Law 61/2020/QH14); Law on Enterprises 2020 (Law 59/2020/QH14)
- Decree 152/2020/ND-CP (Foreign Workers)
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Want us to run the checklist for you?
Our compliance health-check is the same exercise we use to onboard new clients. Book a free 30-minute consultation and we'll run it on your entity.