Taxes and fees when buying property in Vietnam

Updated July 2026. Buying an apartment in Hanoi is refreshingly light on tax compared with most European markets — but the costs are structured differently, and a few of them surprise foreign buyers at completion. This guide sets out every levy you will meet, who pays it and when, using the fee percentages fixed in the Housing Law 2023 and Land Law 2024. Live prices are never quoted in the prose here; for current medians by district, consult our market data.

Is there a property tax in Vietnam?

No. Vietnam does not impose a recurring annual property tax on residential housing comparable to council tax, taxe foncière or Grundsteuer. Once you hold the Pink Book (sổ hồng), there is no yearly bill simply for owning your apartment. The only standing public charge is a very small non-agricultural land-use tax (thuế sử dụng đất phi nông nghiệp), calculated on land-use rights; for apartment owners it is negligible and usually settled at building level. Your real ongoing outlays are private — the management and service charges billed by the building.

What you pay to acquire the property

Three items make up the bulk of your acquisition cost. First, the registration fee (lệ phí trước bạ) of 0.5% of the declared value, paid by the buyer — this is what issues the Pink Book in your name. Second, on a new-build bought from a developer, a one-off maintenance (or sinking) fund of 2% of the value, collected at handover and held by the building's management board for common-area upkeep. Third, notary and administrative fees, which are modest and scale with the contract value.

New-build prices quoted by a developer generally already include VAT; resale purchases between private individuals do not attract VAT. Because the rate and its exceptions change periodically, we keep the current figure in a dedicated explainer — see how much VAT is in Vietnam. Altogether, expect roughly 2.5–4% of the price in transaction costs before you furnish, as the table below sets out with a worked example.

Who pays what — and what is negotiable

The registration fee and the maintenance fund are always the buyer's. The 2% transfer tax that applies when a property changes hands is, in law, the seller's personal income tax (thuế thu nhập cá nhân) on the sale — but in practice which side absorbs it is a point of negotiation, and off-plan contracts sometimes push it onto the buyer at future resale. Read the price clause closely and have the split confirmed in writing before you sign.

Tax when you rent the property out

If you let your Hanoi apartment, rental income above the annual threshold is taxed at 5% VAT plus 5% personal income tax — 10% in total on gross rent — declared and paid by the landlord. This applies equally to foreign and Vietnamese owners. Because your name appears on the filing, keeping clean lease and payment records from day one matters; a management company can handle the declarations for you.

Tax when you sell

On exit, the seller pays 2% personal income tax on the sale price, whether the property is sold at a gain or a loss — Vietnam taxes the transaction value, not the capital gain, and there is no separate foreigner surcharge. Remember that your ownership runs for a 50-year term, renewable once, and that funds you originally brought in through the banking system are what let you repatriate sale proceeds cleanly.

Foreigner-specific points

• Owning property grants no residency right — you still need a valid visa and a passport stamped on legal entry to complete a purchase.
• Foreign ownership is capped at 30% of the apartments in any one building; confirm the quota is still open before you commit.
• Bring your purchase funds in through the banking system and document them — this is what makes a later sale and repatriation straightforward. See our guide on transferring funds to Vietnam.
• Local mortgages are generally unavailable to non-resident foreigners, so most buyers pay from transferred capital or a developer instalment plan.

Costs that are easy to miss

Beyond the headline levies, budget for a certified translation and consular legalisation of your documents, an independent legal review of the title and contract (strongly recommended for any foreign buyer), agency fees where applicable, and the exchange-rate spread on transferring your funds. None of these is a tax, but together they can add a further percentage point or two to your all-in figure.

• Housing Law 2023 (Law No. 27/2023/QH15) — sets the legal framework for Pink Book issuance, ownership rights and the fee basis for foreign buyers.
• Land Law 2024 (Law No. 31/2024/QH15) — governs land-use rights and the registration fee (lệ phí trước bạ) basis.
• Decree 95/2024/ND-CP — implementing decree detailing Housing Law 2023 provisions on fees and charges (no verified official English URL at time of publication; cited here by reference only).