What taxes must be paid when buying or selling a house in Vietnam?

Upon signing the house purchase and sale contract in Vietnam (also known as a transfer contract), the parties may mutually agree on which party is responsible for paying personal income tax and other fees according to regulations. To be specific:

1. Personal Income Tax:

This is the amount that individuals with income must deduct from their various income sources and contribute to the state budget. According to Clause 1, Article 1 of the Law on Personal Income Tax amended in 2012, personal income tax to be paid is the income from the transfer of ownership or use rights of a residence (or income from real estate transfers).

For individuals who own only one residence, the personal income from real estate transfer is exempt from tax.

Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC stipulates that personal income tax on income from real estate transfer is calculated using the formula:

Personal Income Tax Payable = Transfer Price x Tax Rate of 2%

2. Registration Fee:

Decree 140/2016/ND-CP stipulates that organizations and individuals with assets such as houses or land must pay a registration fee when registering ownership or use rights with the competent state authority. The registration fee rate for houses and land is 0.5%.

Circular 301/2016/TT-BTC specifies the registration fee payable as follows:

3. Land Administration Fee:

Circular 250/2016/TT-BTC no longer stipulates land administration fees as Circular 02/2014/TT-BTC did, but only stipulates the fee for issuing certificates of land use rights, house ownership, and assets attached to land. Specifically:

- The fee for issuing certificates of land use rights, house ownership, and assets attached to land is a fee that organizations, households, and individuals must pay when the competent state authority issues them certificates of land use rights, house ownership, and assets attached to land.

- The fee for issuing certificates of land use rights, house ownership, and assets attached to land includes: issuance of certificates of land use rights, house ownership, and assets attached to land; registration of changes in land; extraction of cadastral maps, documents, cadastral record data.

Depending on the specific conditions of each area and the local socio-economic development policy, appropriate fee levels are set, ensuring the following principle: The fee level for households and individuals in districts of centrally-run cities, urban wards of provincial cities or district-level towns is higher than the fee level in other areas; the fee level for organizations is higher than for households and individuals.

4. Notarization Fee:

The notarization fee in this case is determined according to the notarization fee rate for contracts and transactions based on the value of the asset or the value of the contract, as stipulated in Circular 257/2016/TT-BTC. To be specific:

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