Which day does the 2025 Tet Holiday begin for Vietnamese officials, public employees, and employees? Are lucky money taxable?

Which day does the 2025 Tet Holiday begin for Vietnamese officials, public employees, and employees?

Recently, according to Official Dispatch 8726/VPCP-KGVX of 2024 from the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam, opinions have been provided regarding Lunar New Year holidays, National Day, and other holidays in 2025 sent to the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs.

Official Dispatch 8726/VPCP-KGVX of 2024...

To be specific, the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam provided the following opinions:

(1) For officials and public employees

There is consensus on the policy that officials and public employees will have a 9-day Lunar New Year holiday in 2025, from January 25, 2025 (corresponding to December 26, Lunar Year of the Dragon) to February 2, 2025 (corresponding to the fifth day of January, Lunar Year of the Snake).

The official Tet Holiday schedule is from Monday, January 27, 2025 (corresponding to December 28, Lunar Year of the Dragon) through December 29 and the first three days of 2025 Tet holiday (ending on Friday, January 31, 2025).

Agencies and units must arrange and manage standby divisions and work appropriately to continuously address tasks, ensuring good service to organizations and the public. They must designate officials to handle unexpected and urgent tasks that may arise during the holiday periods according to regulations.

Ministries, agencies, and localities should have specific, appropriate plans and measures to encourage units, enterprises, organizations, and individuals to actively implement production, business, economic, and social activities. This should ensure the stability of the supply and demand of goods, services, prices, and markets, contributing to economic growth and achieving the goals and tasks of the 2025 plan, which marks a year of acceleration in the 2021-2025 5-year plan, creating a solid foundation for sustainable future development.

(2) For employees:

- employees are granted a continuous 9-day Lunar New Year holiday in 2025, beginning from Saturday, January 25, 2025, and ending on Sunday, February 2, 2025 (corresponding to the fifth day of January, Lunar Year of the Snake).

The Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs also encourages enterprises to allow employees to follow the aforementioned holiday schedule.

- For enterprises not covered by the above

The Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs requires employers to select one of the following three specific Lunar New Year holiday options:

+ First option: 1 day off at the end of the Lunar Year of the Dragon and 4 days at the beginning of the Lunar Year of the Snake.

+ Second option: 2 days off at the end of the Lunar Year of the Dragon and 3 days at the beginning of the Lunar Year of the Snake. Third option: 3 days off at the end of the Lunar Year of the Dragon and 2 days at the beginning of the Lunar Year of the Snake.

+ Employers must inform employees of the chosen Lunar New Year holiday plan 30 days in advance.

Note: Employers must inform employees of the chosen Lunar New Year holiday plan 30 days in advance.

Which day does the 2025 Tet Holiday begin for Vietnamese officials, public employees, and employees? (Image from the Internet)

Are lucky money receiving from relatives subject to PIT in Vietnam?

Based on the provisions of clause 10, Article 2 of Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC, which stipulates individual income tax on gift income as follows:

Taxable Income Types

...

10. Income from receiving gifts

Income from receiving gifts is the income of individuals received from organizations or individuals both inside and outside the country. To be specific:

a) For receiving gifts as securities, including: shares, rights to buy shares, bonds, treasury bills, fund certificates, and other securities as per the Securities Law; shares of individuals in joint stock companies as per the Enterprise Law.

b) For receiving gifts as capital in economic organizations or business establishments, including: capital in limited liability companies, cooperatives, partnerships, business cooperation contracts, capital in private enterprises, and individuals' business establishments, capital in permitted associations or funds under the law, or the entire business establishment if it is a private company or individual's business establishment.

c) For receiving gifts as real estate, including: land use rights; land use rights with assets attached to land; ownership rights over houses, including future-formed houses; infrastructure and construction attached to land, including future-formed construction; land lease rights; water surface lease rights; other income from inheritance as real estate in any form; except for income from gifts as real estate as guided at point d, clause 1, Article 3 of this Circular.

d) For receiving gifts as other assets required to be registered for ownership or use with the state management agency such as: automobiles; motorcycles, mopeds; watercraft, including barges, canoes, towing vessels, push boats; boats, including yachts; aircraft; hunting rifles, sports guns.

Thus, the above regulation does not stipulate that individual income from cash gifts must be subject to personal income tax.

Therefore, your income from cash gifts received as Lunar New Year gifts from relatives is not subject to personal income tax.

Is working overtime during the 2025 Tet holiday subject to personal income tax in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 98 of the Labor Code 2019 regarding overtime wages as follows:

Overtime, Night Work Wages

1. Laborers working overtime shall be paid salaries calculated as follows according to the wage unit price or actual wage as per the current job:

a) On regular days, at least 150%;

b) On weekly rest days, at least 200%;

c) On public holidays, New Year, paid holidays, at least 300% not including salaries for public holidays, New Year, paid holidays for laborers being paid by days.

2. Laborers working at night shall be paid an additional amount of at least 30% of the salary calculated according to the wage unit price or actual wage for normal working days.

3. Laborers working overtime at night shall, apart from the salary paid according to clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, be paid an additional 20% of the salary calculated according to the wage unit price or the salary of day work done on normal working days or weekly rest days or public holidays, New Year.

4. the Government of Vietnam shall detail this Article.

Additionally, pursuant to clause 9 Article 4 of the Law on Personal Income Tax 2007, the following is prescribed:

Exempt Income Types

...

7. Income from interest on deposits at credit institutions, interest from life insurance contracts.

8. Income from remittances.

9. Extra wage for night work, overtime paid higher than the regular wage for day work within legally regulated additional wage brackets.

10. Pension paid by Social Insurance.

11. Income from scholarships, including:

a) Scholarships received from the state budget;

b) Scholarships from domestic and foreign organizations under the educational promotion support programs of such organizations.

12. Income from compensation of life insurance, non-life insurance contracts, compensation for work accidents, state compensation, and other compensations according to the law.

...

As such, employees working overtime during the Lunar New Year will receive a salary higher than the normal daily wage rate (in addition to the paid New Year's wage).

Therefore, employees are exempt from personal income tax for the part of the salary that is higher than the regular workday wage.