The Government has issued a decree to specify new expenses eligible for deductions from pre-tax salary under the amended Law on Personal Income Tax, which took effect on July 1.

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These include any medical and educational expenses of the taxpayer and their dependents, in addition to the existing deductions for personal circumstances and humanitarian contributions under the previous version of the law.

Specifically, according to Decree 253 dated June 30, expenses for medical examinations and treatment at domestic medical facilities will be covered by health insurance and eligible for a maximum deduction of 23 million VND (875 USD) per year, or 1.9 million VND per month.

Expenses for education and training at domestic educational institutions will be deducted up to 24 million VND (913 USD) per year, or 2 million VND per month.

The expenses must be supported by invoices and essential documents, such as a detailed breakdown of treatment costs at legal medical facilities, to qualify for the deductions.

Under the amended law, the personal taxable income threshold has been raised to 15.5 million VND per month. If the taxpayer has dependents, they are eligible for a deduction of 6.2 million VND per month per dependent.

This means that in total, a taxpayer without dependents can be eligible for deductions of up to 19.4 million VND per month, if medical and educational expenses are incurred. This figure goes up to 25.6 million VND per month for those with one dependent.

Factoring in mandatory social, health and unemployment insurance, which usually amounts to about 10.5% of salary, individuals without dependents will not be taxed unless they earn over 21.6 million VND per month or 28.6 million VND per month with a dependent.

While both the amended law and Decree 253 came into effect on July 1, they apply to personal income taxes declared and paid for the entire 2026 tax year, which started in January.

However, tax declarations submitted between January 1 and July 1 do not need to be resubmitted. Any differences in the amount of tax paid should be addressed in the personal income tax finalisation for 2026.

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