Tax Consulting Services in Vietnam

A Chau advises foreign-invested and Vietnamese companies that need a tax position defended, a filing calendar that never slips, and an inspection file that holds up. We work on retainer or on a fixed-scope engagement, in English or in Vietnamese.

What the engagement covers

• Estimating tax liabilities and the cash-flow effect of each filing date
• Tax risk reviews, and remediation before an inspection rather than after it
• Second opinions on specific transactions, contracts and cross-border payments
• Tax health checks of the general ledger and the supporting documents behind each balance
• Assessment of incentives, exemptions and refunds you are entitled to claim
• Preparation and review of returns, including the annual CIT and PIT finalisation
• Written explanations to the tax authority, and attendance at working sessions
• Tax debt, late-payment interest and VAT refund claims
• Day-to-day questions from your finance team, answered with the citation behind the answer

Why companies keep A Chau on retainer

• Advisers who have handled inspections at the tax authority, not only monthly filings.
• Scope and fee agreed in writing before work starts — no hourly surprises.
• One lead adviser accountable for your file, with an independent reviewer behind them.
• Working papers in English for FDI clients; statutory filings in Vietnamese as the law requires.
• Every recommendation tied to the article and decree in force, with the citation recorded in the file.

What a Tax Consultant in Vietnam Actually Does

Short answer: a tax consultant in Vietnam keeps your company compliant with the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15 and its guiding decrees, files your periodic declarations on time, defends your positions during a tax inspection, and finds the incentives and refunds you are legally entitled to. For a foreign-invested company, the consultant is also the bridge between your head office reporting and the Vietnamese tax authority.

Tax Compliance Calendar for a Company in Vietnam

Most penalties we see are not caused by complicated tax positions. They are caused by missed dates. The table below is the baseline calendar for a company with a fiscal year ending 31 December.

If your fiscal year does not end on 31 December, every date above shifts with it. Confirm your own calendar before relying on the calendar dates.

Tax Services in Vietnam by Company Type

Foreign-invested enterprise (FDI)

The compliance load is heaviest here: foreign contractor tax on cross-border payments, transfer pricing documentation under Decree 255/2026/ND-CP, expatriate personal income tax including tax-residency determination, mandatory statutory audit, and VAT refund claims on capital-stage input VAT. These are the areas where a corporate tax advisor in Vietnam pays for itself.

Vietnamese SME

The priority is different: keeping the books audit-ready, applying deductible-expense rules correctly so that CIT is not adjusted upward on inspection, and using the incentives that apply to the business line and location.

Representative office and dormant company

Even with no revenue, declarations still fall due. A company that stops filing does not stop accruing exposure — it accumulates administrative penalties and, eventually, an enforced closure of its tax code.

How a Tax Consulting Engagement Works

1. Position review. We read the last two years of declarations, the general ledger and the supporting documents, and list the positions that would not survive an inspection.
2. Risk ranking. Each finding is ranked by exposure and by the effort needed to correct it, so you fix the expensive items first.
3. Correction and filing. Amended declarations where they help, supporting files rebuilt where they are missing.
4. Ongoing compliance. The periodic declarations in the calendar above, filed on the statutory dates.
5. Inspection support. We prepare the explanation file and attend the working sessions with the tax authority.

When to Bring In a Corporate Tax Advisor

• You have received an inspection decision or a request for explanation from the tax authority.
• You are making cross-border payments — royalties, services, interest, software — and have not assessed foreign contractor tax.
• Related-party transactions exist and no transfer pricing file has been prepared.
• Input VAT has accumulated during the investment stage and has not been claimed.
• Prior-year books were kept by someone who has left, and nobody can explain the balances.
• You are preparing for due diligence, a loan application, or a change of ownership.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a tax consultant if I already have an accountant?

They solve different problems. An accountant records what happened; a tax consultant decides how a transaction should be treated before it is recorded, and defends that treatment later. Most disputes we see arise from transactions that were recorded correctly but structured without tax advice.

What happens if a declaration is filed late?

Administrative penalties apply on a sliding scale by the number of days late, under Article 13 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP as amended. Late payment interest accrues separately from the penalty. Both are avoidable and neither is negotiable once assessed.

Can tax services in Vietnam be delivered in English?

Yes. Our FDI engagements run in English, including the working papers and the explanation files, while the statutory filings themselves are submitted in Vietnamese as required by law.

Can you take over mid-year?

Yes, and it is common. The first step is a review of the declarations already filed for the year so that the annual finalisation reconciles to them.

Is a tax consultant the same as an auditor?

No. An independent auditor gives an opinion on your financial statements and must remain independent of you. A tax consultant works for you. For FDI companies both are needed, and they are two different engagements.

Legal basis

• Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15 — in force from 1 July 2026, replacing Law No. 38/2019/QH14.
• Law on Corporate Income Tax No. 67/2025/QH15, Law on Value-Added Tax No. 48/2024/QH15 and Law on Personal Income Tax No. 109/2025/QH15.
• Decree 255/2026/ND-CP on related-party transactions, replacing Decree 132/2020/ND-CP and Decree 20/2025/ND-CP.
• Decree 254/2026/ND-CP and Circular 91/2026/TT-BTC on e-invoices, replacing Circular 78/2021/TT-BTC.
• Decree 125/2020/ND-CP on administrative penalties in tax and invoicing, as amended.
• Law on Accounting No. 88/2015/QH13 and Decree 17/2012/ND-CP — accounting records and statutory audit.

Related Services and Guides

• Full-service accounting in Vietnam — outsourced bookkeeping and statutory reporting
• Foreign contractor tax in Vietnam: 2026 guide
• Corporate income tax (CIT) in Vietnam: 2026 FDI guide
• Personal income tax for expatriates in Vietnam
• Transfer pricing compliance under Decree 255/2026
• VAT refund process in Vietnam
• Company formation services in Vietnam — incorporation, investment certificate and post-licence set-up

Talk to our tax team: 0776 112 333.

Related reading: Six key changes under Decree 255/2026 · The 30% EBITDA interest cap · Transfer pricing documentation service

Talk to the tax team

A Chau Financial & Accounting Services Company Limited
343 Pham Ngu Lao Street, Ben Thanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Hotline: 0776 112 333 · Email: info@dichvuketoanachau.com · dichvuketoanachau.com
Working hours: Monday – Friday, 08:00 – 17:30 (GMT+7). English-speaking adviser on request.

Request a quote based on your actual records

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