Is land used for cemeteries subject to non-agricultural land use tax in Vietnam?

Vietnam: What category does land used for cemeteries belong to?

Based on the provisions in Clause 3, Article 9 of the Land Law 2024, non-agricultural land category includes the following types:

Land Classification

...

3. Non-agricultural land category includes the following types of land:

a) Residential land, including homestead land in rural areas and homestead land in urban areas;

b) Land for building office headquarters;

c) Land used for defense and security purposes (hereinafter referred to as defense and security land);

d) Land for constructing public service works, including: land for constructing cultural, social, health, education and training, sports, science and technology, environment, meteorology and hydrology, diplomacy, and other public service works, or land for constructing headquarters of other public service providers;

dd) Non-agricultural production and business land, including: land for industrial parks, industrial clusters; commercial land; non-agricultural production establishment land; land used for mineral activities;

e) Land used for public purposes, including: land for traffic works; land for irrigation works; land for water supply, drainage works; land for disaster prevention works; land with historical-cultural relics, scenic spots, and natural heritage; land for waste treatment works; land for energy and public lighting works; land for postal, telecommunication, and information technology infrastructure works; land for local and wholesale markets; land for public playgrounds, entertainment, and community activities;

g) Land used for religious activities (hereinafter referred to as religious land); land used for belief activities (hereinafter referred to as belief land);

h) land used for cemeteries, funeral homes, cremation facilities; land for keeping ashes;

i) Land with special-use water surfaces;

k) Other non-agricultural land.

...

Thus, land used for cemeteries is classified as non-agricultural land.

Is land used for cemeteries subject to non-agricultural land use tax in Vietnam?

The subjects subject to non-agricultural land use tax, as specified in Article 2 of the Non-Agricultural Land Use Tax Law 2010, are as follows:

Tax Subjects

1. Residential land in rural areas and homestead land in urban areas.

2. Non-agricultural production and business land including: land for constructing industrial zones; land for building production and business establishments; land for mineral extraction and processing; land for the production of construction materials and ceramics.

3. Non-agricultural land specified in Article 3 of this Law used for business purposes.

The subjects not subject to non-agricultural land use tax, as stated in Article 3 of the Non-Agricultural Land Use Tax Law 2010, are as follows:

Non-Tax Subjects

Non-agricultural land not used for business purposes includes:

1. Land used for public purposes, including: transportation and irrigation land; land for constructing cultural, health, educational and training, athletic sport works for public benefit; land with historical-cultural relics, scenic spots; land for constructing other public works as stipulated by the Government of Vietnam;

2. Land used by religious establishments;

3. Land for cemeteries and graveyards;

4. Land with rivers, canals, ditches, streams, and specialized water surfaces;

5. Land with structures such as communal houses, temples, shrines, hermitages, family worship houses, and ancestral temples;

6. Land for building office headquarters, constructing public service facilities, land used for national defense, security;

7. Other non-agricultural land as prescribed by law.

Thus, land used for cemeteries is not subject to non-agricultural land use tax.

Is land used for cemeteries subject to non-agricultural land use tax in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Who is the taxpayer for non-agricultural land use in Vietnam?

According to the provisions in Article 3 of Circular 153/2011/TT-BTC, taxpayers for non-agricultural land use include:

- Taxpayers are organizations, households, and individuals with land use rights subject to tax as specified in Article 1 of Circular 153/2011/TT-BTC.

- In cases where organizations, households, or individuals have not been granted a Certificate of land use rights, ownership of houses and other assets associated with the land (hereinafter collectively referred to as the Certificate), the current land user is the taxpayer.

- The taxpayer in certain specific cases are defined as follows:

+ In cases where the State allocates land or leases land for investment projects, the person who is allocated land or leased land by the state is the taxpayer;

+ In cases where a land user leases land according to an agreement, the taxpayer is determined according to the agreement in the contract. If the contract does not specify the taxpayer, then the person with land use rights is the taxpayer;

+ In cases where land has been granted a Certificate but is under dispute, before the dispute is resolved, the current land user is the taxpayer. Tax payment is not a basis for resolving land use rights disputes;

+ In cases where multiple people jointly have land use rights over a parcel, the taxpayer is the legal representative of those who jointly have rights over that parcel;

+ In cases where a person contributes capital in business with land use rights leading to the formation of a new legal entity with land use rights subject to tax as specified in Article 1 of Circular 153/2011/TT-BTC, the new legal entity is the taxpayer.

+ In cases of renting State-owned housing, the taxpayer is the landlord (entity tasked with signing the lease contract with the tenant).

+ In cases where the state allocates or leases land for housing projects for sale or lease, the taxpayer is the entity allocated or leased land by the state. If transferring land use rights to other organizations or individuals, the taxpayer is the transferee.