Vietnam tax payment extension 2026: who qualifies and the 2 November cut-off

Decree 245/2026/NĐ-CP of 27 June 2026 lets eligible businesses pay certain 2026 taxes later. It does not move any filing deadline. Four items are covered: VAT for May to September 2026 (or Q2 and Q3 for quarterly filers), provisional corporate income tax (CIT) for Q2 (3 months later) and Q3 (2 months later), personal income tax (PIT) of household and individual businesses, and 50% of the land rent due for 2026. Small and micro enterprises qualify in any sector; other businesses qualify if they operate in the sectors listed in Appendix I. You must send one written request covering everything by 2 November 2026.

Two things trip people up. Your returns are still due on the normal dates. And PIT your company withholds from employees’ salaries is not extended.

The three-question check

Answer in order. If the answer to one is “no”, stop there.

1. Does your company qualify?

You qualify if either is true:

• You are a small or micro enterprise under the 2017 Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises and Decree 80/2021/NĐ-CP. In trade and services, a small enterprise has an annual average of no more than 50 employees on social insurance, and either annual revenue of no more than VND 100 billion or capital of no more than VND 50 billion. Almost every foreign-owned company under 20 staff that we keep books for falls inside this. Small and micro enterprises qualify whatever their sector.
• You operate in a sector listed in Appendix I: agriculture, forestry and fisheries; food processing; textiles, garments and footwear; wood, paper, rubber and plastics; engineering, electronics, vehicles, furniture; construction; transport and warehousing; accommodation and food service; education and health; real estate; employment services; tourism; arts, sports and film, among others. The appendix lists sector codes. Compare it with what your company actually does, not only with the codes on your registration certificate.

Summaries of the decree also say goods subject to special consumption tax are excluded. If you sell alcohol, beer, tobacco, cars or other such goods, ask us before applying.

2. Is the tax you want to defer on the list?

Not deferred:

• Import VAT.
• PIT withheld from employees’ salaries and wages.
• Anything not in the table, such as April VAT or Q4.

We are still confirming the exact per-period dates for household business PIT against the full decree. If that applies to you, work to the VAT dates for the same period to be safe, or ask your local tax office.

3. Have you sent the request?

No request, no extension, even if you qualify. What to know:

• Use the request form in Appendix II of Decree 245/2026.
• Send it once, covering every tax and period you want deferred. You do not resend it monthly.
• Submit through the e-tax portal, on paper at the tax office, or by post. It can go in together with a monthly or quarterly return.
• Cut-off: 2 November 2026. After that date there is no extension.
• Sending it after you have filed the related return is fine, as long as it is before the cut-off.

As with earlier extension rounds, do not wait for an approval letter before relaxing. You are responsible for whether you qualify. If the tax office later finds you did not, you pay the tax plus late-payment interest from the original due date.

Returns are still due on time

The decree moves payment dates only. Your Q3 2026 VAT return is still due 2 November 2026, and your September monthly return was still due 20 October 2026. File late and the late-filing penalty applies as usual; the extension does not cover it.

Here is how it looks for a small quarterly filer, a 15-person garment workshop in Tân Bình:

• 2 November 2026: file the Q3 VAT return, send the extension request, pay Q2 VAT and Q2 provisional CIT.
• 30 December 2026: pay Q3 VAT and Q3 provisional CIT.
• Every month as usual: pay the PIT withheld from workers’ wages.

Every date for the year is on our 2026 tax calendar. If you are unsure whether you file monthly or quarterly, read monthly or quarterly VAT filing.

Why salary PIT is not deferred

PIT on salaries belongs to your employees. The company only withholds it and pays it over. Decree 245 extends PIT for household and individual businesses, meaning tax on their own business income. What your company deducted from payslips is paid on the normal schedule, and paying it late attracts interest like any other month.

Should you apply?

Think of it as an interest-free loan for two to five months. If cash is tight, apply. If it is not, applying costs you one form.

The thing to plan for is the end of the year, when several payments land within a few weeks: 21 December 2026 for June to September monthly VAT, 30 December 2026 for Q3 VAT and Q3 provisional CIT, then early January with 13th-month salary and Tết bonuses, and the Q4 deadline on 1 February 2027. We build each client a cash plan through February 2027 before sending the request. To check whether your provisional CIT will reach the 80% threshold, see provisional CIT in 2026.

Where people usually slip

• Holding back the returns too. Reading “tax extension” as “everything is extended” leads to late-filing penalties, while the tax itself was legitimately deferred.
• Deferring salary PIT. An in-house accountant put everything under “extended” and planned one payment in December. The withheld PIT accrued interest day by day.
• Assuming it is automatic. There was a similar extension in 2025, and we met several companies that never sent the request and only found out when the portal showed tax owed.
• Calling yourself “small” without counting. The headcount test uses the annual average of employees on social insurance, not how many people are in the office today.
• Forgetting that 2 November is also a payment date. For Q2 VAT and Q2 provisional CIT, the extended payment deadline is 2 November 2026 itself. Sending the request and then waiting until December is late.

When to bring in an accountant

For a small company that files quarterly and only has VAT and provisional CIT, the request takes about half an hour: fill in the Appendix II form, submit it through e-tax, keep the acknowledgement.

If you have branches, land rent, or you are not sure your sector is in Appendix I, book a 30-minute call with Quân before 2 November. Bring your tax ID and latest return. Our monthly tax filing service is VND 1.5 million a month before 8% VAT; details are on the pricing page.

Sources and update

Based on Decree 245/2026/NĐ-CP of 27 June 2026 on extending payment deadlines for VAT, CIT, PIT and land rent in 2026 (in force until 30 December 2026), including Appendix I (sectors) and Appendix II (request form), the 2017 Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises and Decree 80/2021/NĐ-CP. Last checked 4 October 2026. The per-period dates for household business PIT and the scope of the special consumption tax exclusion come from summaries; we will update once we have checked the full text.