Vietnam property players
Grant Thornton Vietnam review: services, fees, pros and cons
Is Grant Thornton Vietnam a good choice for foreign property buyers?
Grant Thornton Vietnam at a glance
Accounting & tax advisory- Vietnam presence
- Since 1993
- One of the first internationally networked audit firms licensed in Vietnam
- Global network
- Grant Thornton International Ltd — independently owned member firms across 150+ markets
- Offices in Vietnam
- Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
- Ownership
- Independent member firm — not publicly listed, as is standard for professional-services partnerships
- Core services
- Audit & assurance, tax advisory & compliance, business advisory
- Network tier
- Mid-tier international network, outside the Big Four (KPMG, PwC, Deloitte, EY)
- Client languages
- English and Vietnamese
Editorial rating
- Foreigner accessibility
- 4.0 / 5
- English support
- 4.0 / 5
- Track record
- 4.5 / 5
- Fees & transparency
- 4.0 / 5
- Documentation & process
- 3.5 / 5
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City offices with English-speaking teams, though intake generally runs through a general enquiry line rather than a dedicated private-client desk.
Full English-language engagement is standard for an internationally networked firm; documentation can typically be issued bilingually in English and Vietnamese.
One of the longest-established internationally networked audit practices in Vietnam, with a multi-decade regulatory track record since 1993.
Mid-tier pricing positioned below the Big Four; scope and fee are confirmed by written engagement letter before work starts, as with any licensed Vietnamese audit firm.
Competent on TIN registration and quarterly rental VAT/PIT filing, though the firm markets itself primarily to corporate and audit clients rather than individual landlords.
Who is Grant Thornton Vietnam?
Grant Thornton Vietnam is the local member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, a global network of independently owned and managed accounting, tax and advisory firms operating in more than 150 markets. The firm has been active in the Vietnamese market since 1993, making it one of the first internationally networked audit practices licensed to operate in the country — a track record that predates most of the mid-tier competition it is now compared against.
Like other members of international accounting networks, Grant Thornton Vietnam is not publicly listed; it operates as an independent partnership within the global network, licensed by Vietnam's Ministry of Finance to carry out statutory audit work. It sits in the mid-tier bracket of the market — below the Big Four (KPMG, PwC, Deloitte and EY) in global scale, but above boutique local practices in network backing and quality-assurance standards. For a foreign buyer, that positioning translates into a licensed, internationally audited firm at a fee level below Big Four rates.
Grant Thornton Vietnam for foreign property buyers in Hanoi
The relevant work for a foreign owner sits in tax compliance rather than conveyancing. Before filing anything, a foreign owner needs a Tax Identification Number from the tax authority, which Grant Thornton Vietnam and comparable firms can typically obtain as part of onboarding, alongside confirming the fee basis set out in our guide to Vietnam property taxes and fees.
Once a Hanoi apartment is let out, the owner owes 5% VAT plus 5% personal income tax on gross rent, filed on a quarterly cycle — as a worked example, on €1,500 (≈ 41,000,000 VND) of monthly gross rent, that combined 10% levy comes to roughly €150 (≈ 4,100,000 VND) a month. Vietnam levies no annual property tax, so this rental filing is usually the only recurring compliance item. At exit, the seller owes 2% personal income tax on the sale price when selling as a foreigner; on a hypothetical €500,000 sale, that is about €10,000 (≈ 275,000,000 VND) to file correctly before repatriating the proceeds. Buyers who purchased through a Vietnamese company structure can also route statutory audit, bookkeeping and corporate tax through the same firm rather than splitting the mandate.
+ Grant Thornton Vietnam: strengths and points to verify
- +Longest-standing internationally networked presence in Vietnam among the mid-tier firms, active since 1993
- +Mid-tier fee structure, generally more accessible than the Big Four for a single rental filing or one-off tax return
- +Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City offices, so a Hanoi buyer deals with a local team rather than a Ho Chi Minh City-only practice
- +Member of the Grant Thornton International network, giving continuity of audit and quality-assurance standards across the group
−
- −Client-facing marketing is built around corporate audit and business advisory, not individual landlord or expatriate tax filings — you will need to ask directly for this service
- −Narrower dedicated private-client/expat-tax practice than EY Vietnam or Deloitte Vietnam market
- −No published standard fee schedule for a simple rental income tax filing — get a written quote before engaging
✓ Who should choose Grant Thornton Vietnam
- ✓Foreign owners who want an internationally networked, licensed firm with a long Vietnam track record for a rental VAT/PIT filing
- ✓Buyers who also hold a Vietnamese company structure and want audit, tax and business advisory under one roof
- ✓Sellers preparing the 2% transfer PIT filing before repatriating sale proceeds
- ⚠Buyers wanting a boutique, English-first private-client desk built specifically for individual expatriates — EY Vietnam or Deloitte Vietnam market this more directly
- ⚠A one-off buyer with no rental income and no local entity, for whom a single consultation with any licensed tax adviser at completion may be enough
Other Hanoi accounting firms working with foreign buyers
Mazars Vietnam
★Audit & assurance, conseil financier, outsourcing (comptabilité & reporting, paie/RH, secrétariat corporate, IFRS), fiscalité, juridique, assistance à l'implantation ; international desks ; réseau d'origine française (au VN depuis 1994).
Ho Chi Minh City · EN, VN
EY Vietnam
★Assurance/audit, conseil, Strategy & Transactions (M&A, due diligence), fiscalité et juridique ; Big 4. Bureaux Hanoi (CornerStone Building) et HCMC (Bitexco Financial Tower).
Ho Chi Minh City · EN, VN
KPMG Vietnam
★Audit, fiscalité, juridique et conseil (advisory/consulting) ; réseau Big 4 ; ~2000 professionnels, clientèle multinationale et investisseurs étrangers.
Ho Chi Minh City · EN, VN
Deloitte Vietnam
★Audit & assurance, conseil, gestion des risques, fiscalité et services juridiques ; Big 4 (offre régionale Asie du Sud-Est).
Ho Chi Minh City · EN, VN
Frequently asked questions
Is Grant Thornton a prestigious firm?
Grant Thornton is one of the largest accounting and advisory networks in the world, though it is not one of the Big Four (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC). In Vietnam it is recognised as one of the longest-established internationally networked audit firms, present since 1993, without Big Four-level pricing.
Which is better, KPMG or Grant Thornton?
Neither is universally “better” — it depends on the mandate. KPMG Vietnam suits multinational or high-value engagements at Big Four pricing; Grant Thornton Vietnam suits landlords and individual buyers wanting a licensed, internationally networked firm at mid-tier fees for a rental filing or tax return.
Is Grant Thornton a mid-tier firm?
Yes. Grant Thornton is commonly classified as a mid-tier global network — below the Big Four in size, above boutique local practices in network backing. In Vietnam this generally means lower fees than KPMG, PwC, Deloitte or EY for comparable audit and tax work.
Is Grant Thornton Vietnam reliable for foreign property buyers?
Its multi-decade licensed presence in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and its membership of the Grant Thornton International network are verifiable track-record signals. As with any adviser, confirm the scope and fee of your specific engagement — rental tax filing, TIN registration or a resale return — in writing before you commit.
Does Grant Thornton Vietnam handle tax returns for foreign property owners?
Tax advisory and compliance are core services, so a tax return filing sits within its normal scope. It is not marketed as a dedicated private-client desk the way EY Vietnam is, so confirm directly that a single-property landlord filing fits its typical engagement size.
Where is Grant Thornton Vietnam based — Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City?
Both. Grant Thornton Vietnam maintains offices in Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City, so a foreign buyer purchasing in Hanoi can deal with a local team rather than a Ho Chi Minh City-only practice.
What is Grant Thornton Vietnam's tax code (mã số thuế)?
We do not publish third-party business identifiers on this site. A firm's Vietnamese tax code and business registration details are public record and can be verified directly on the National Business Registration Portal before you sign an engagement letter.
Our verdict
4.0 / 5Grant Thornton Vietnam earns a solid, if unglamorous, recommendation for foreign buyers with a straightforward accounting need. Its case for the job is track record, not marketing: a licensed, internationally networked practice in Hanoi since 1993, offices in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and mid-tier fees that undercut the Big Four for a rental VAT/PIT filing, a one-off tax return, or business advisory around a Vietnamese company structure. It is not the pick for buyers wanting a purpose-built expatriate private-client desk — EY Vietnam and Deloitte Vietnam push that positioning harder. But for a licensed firm that files correctly and explains the numbers in English, Grant Thornton Vietnam is a dependable, cost-conscious default outside the Big Four.
Sources
- General Department of Taxation — the Vietnamese authority administering personal income tax, VAT and tax identification numbers referenced on this page.
- Housing Law 2023 (Law No. 27/2023/QH15) — governs the foreign ownership framework underlying the transactions Grant Thornton Vietnam and peer firms support.
Talk to our Hanoi advisory desk before you engage a firm
Tell us whether you need a one-off tax return, ongoing rental compliance, or support ahead of a sale, and we will point you to the right tier of firm for your situation — no referral fee changes hands and no outbound link is involved.