Vietnam accounting & tax legal library (English guide)
Vietnamese accounting and tax obligations sit on a layered stack of instruments: laws passed by the National Assembly, decrees from the Government, circulars from the Ministry of Finance, plus resolutions and decisions that amend or extend them. A Chau tracks 128 of those documents for accounting, tax and enterprise management work — 21 laws, 50 decrees, 34 circulars, 6 resolutions, 14 decisions, 1 official letter and 2 other instruments.
The originals are in Vietnamese and are the only authoritative version. This page gives English names and plain descriptions so a foreign-invested company’s finance team can tell which instrument governs which question, then check the Vietnamese text or ask us before applying it.
The instruments that matter most to FDI companies
| Instrument | English name | What it governs |
|---|---|---|
| Luật Kế toán 2015 (88/2015/QH13) | Law on Accounting | Who must keep books, the chief accountant role, retention periods, the Vietnamese accounting regime. |
| Luật Quản lý thuế 2019 (38/2019/QH13) | Law on Tax Administration | Registration, declarations, payment, refunds, inspections and penalties for late filing or late payment. |
| Luật thuế TNDN sửa đổi 2013 | Law on Corporate Income Tax (amended) | The CIT base: taxable revenue, deductible expenses, incentives and the standard rate. |
| Luật thuế GTGT 2008 và các luật sửa đổi | Law on Value Added Tax (and amendments) | VAT scope, rates, credit method, refunds and non-deductible input VAT. |
| Luật thuế TNCN 2007 và luật sửa đổi | Law on Personal Income Tax (and amendments) | Employment income, expatriate tax, personal and dependent relief, withholding obligations. |
| Nghị định 174/2016/NĐ-CP | Decree guiding the Law on Accounting | Books, vouchers, accounts and financial statements in day-to-day practice. |
| Nghị định 126/2020/NĐ-CP, Nghị định 80/2021/NĐ-CP | Decrees guiding the Law on Tax Administration | Declaration forms and deadlines, and the rules for declaring tax at the investment location. |
| Nghị định 123/2020/NĐ-CP | Decree on invoices and documents | E-invoice content, issuing rules, cancellation and conversion of paper invoices. |
| Nghị định 125/2020/NĐ-CP | Decree on penalties for tax and invoice violations | The penalty and late-payment interest framework an inspection applies. |
| Nghị định 132/2020/NĐ-CP and Nghị định 255/2026/NĐ-CP | Related-party transactions | Transfer pricing documentation, the arm’s-length principle, the interest deductibility cap and reporting. Decree 255/2026/NĐ-CP replaces the earlier framework from 1 July 2026. |
| Thông tư 200/2014/TT-BTC | Circular on the enterprise accounting regime | Chart of accounts, account usage and how transactions are recorded under Vietnamese standards. |
| Nghị định 245/2026/NĐ-CP | 2026 extension of tax payment deadlines | Extra time to pay VAT, CIT, PIT and land rent for the 2026 year. |
Where a document above has been amended, the amendment is what applies. Instrument numbers on this page are the Vietnamese references; the English names are translations for reference, not official titles.
How the library is organised
| Document type | Count | Typical content |
|---|---|---|
| Laws (Luật) | 21 | Accounting, tax administration, CIT, VAT, PIT, excise, import-export duty, fees and charges |
| Decrees (Nghị định) | 50 | Guiding detail, deadlines, penalties, e-invoices, labour and payroll rules, land rent |
| Circulars (Thông tư) | 34 | Ministry of Finance guidance on accounting regimes, tax procedure services, audit standards |
| Resolutions (Nghị quyết) | 6 | Extensions and support policies issued by the Government and the Standing Committee |
| Decisions (Quyết định) | 14 | Administrative procedure lists and internal tax office regulations |
| Official letters (Công văn) | 1 | Tax office guidance on invoices and VAT for a given period |
| Other instruments | 2 | Reference material outside the categories above |
How to use it in practice
- Start from the obligation, not the document. Decide which obligation you are dealing with — bookkeeping, a monthly declaration, a year-end finalisation, a transfer pricing file, an inspection — and then read the instrument that governs it.
- Check the amendment chain. A 2015 law read together with a 2026 decree gives a different answer than the law alone.
- Confirm the effective date. Several instruments in this library take effect mid-year. Decree 255/2026/NĐ-CP, for example, applies from 1 July 2026, so transactions before and after that date can follow different rules.
- Keep the version you relied on. When a position is defended in an inspection, the file should show the text that was in force on the transaction date.
Where we can help
Reading an instrument is the easy part; deciding how it lands on your books, your invoices and your declaration is where companies lose time. A Chau advises foreign-invested and Vietnamese companies on exactly those points:
- Vietnam accounting and tax guides — English explanations of the rules that change most often.
- FDI and transfer pricing tax advisory — documentation, the interest cap and related-party reporting.
- Tax risk management advisory — how a rule is applied to your file before an inspection finds it.
- Full-service accounting — books and declarations maintained to the current text.
- Vietnam tax and accounting FAQ — short answers on deadlines, rates and documentation.
For the Vietnamese text of any instrument, the official sources are vbpl.vn (the Government’s legal database) and thuvienphapluat.vn. Both carry consolidated versions including amendments.
Need an instrument checked against your own situation? Call 0776 112 333 or send the question from the contact page.
Library size and document counts last verified October 2026. This page is a navigation aid, not legal advice, and does not replace the Vietnamese text.
