Personal income tax on foreign experts, Vietnamese citizens at UN agency

Foreign experts working on aid projects for foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Vietnamese nationals employed by UN organisations in Vietnam will be exempted from personal income tax.

Foreign experts working on aid projects for foreign NGOs and Vietnamese nationals employed by UN organisations in Vietnam will be exempted from personal income tax. (Credit: VNA)
Foreign experts working on aid projects for foreign NGOs and Vietnamese nationals employed by UN organisations in Vietnam will be exempted from personal income tax. (Credit: VNA)

The exemptions, recently approved by the Prime Minister, will take effect on May 1.

Eligible foreign experts are those who directly engage in foreign NGO aid programmes and projects approved by Vietnam’s authorised agencies.

They must hold foreign passports and have contracts with foreign NGOs, the projects’ managerial agencies, or the providers of the NGO aid. Their contracts with foreign NGOs must be enclosed with confirmations of the NGOs’ aid providers.

Tax-exempt income is that which comes from directly implementing foreign NGO aid programmes and projects.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese citizens entitled to the exemption must be employed by Vietnam-based representative agencies of international organisations under the UN system.

The tax-exempt income is for salaries and wages paid by the representative agencies.

However, part-time employees do not qualify for the personal income tax exemption.