PIT Treatment of Employer-Paid Flight Tickets and Housing Allowances for Domestically Reassigned Employees
RegHub explainer by New MarketerLast updated:
This explanation was generated by AI and checked by an automated AI review, not by a human expert. It is not legal, tax or accounting advice and may contain errors. Check the official document before you rely on it.
The Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department answered a company's query on how to determine taxable income for PIT purposes when the employer pays flight tickets and housing costs for Vietnamese employees reassigned to work in other provinces or cities within Vietnam. The tax authority's guidance: employer-paid flight tickets settled directly with agents on actual invoices for domestic reassignment assignments are not counted as the employee's taxable income, as they are actual business-travel costs rather than income. Employer-paid housing (where the employee pays and is reimbursed on actual invoices) is included in taxable income, but the amount included is capped at 15% of total taxable income (excluding the housing, utilities and related costs themselves). Applied to the example: salary income VND 65 million + housing VND 10 million (flight tickets VND 16.5 million are excluded). Whether the VND 10 million housing amount exceeds 15% of total taxable income must be calculated to determine the portion included in the taxable base.
PIT Guidance — Employer-Paid Flight Tickets and Housing for Domestic Reassignment
Question
A company reassigns Vietnamese employees to other provinces/cities domestically and pays:
- Flight tickets: settled directly with agents on actual invoices
- Housing costs: reimbursed to employees on actual invoices/receipts Both items are specified in the company's internal expenditure regulations. In January 2026: salary VND 65 million, flight tickets VND 16.5 million, housing VND 10 million.
Guidance on Flight Tickets
- Company payments made directly to agents on actual invoices: not included in taxable income
- These are genuine business-travel costs tied to the reassignment, not employee income
Guidance on Housing Allowance
- Employer-paid housing (or reimbursement): included in taxable income
- However, the amount included must not exceed 15% of total taxable income (excluding the housing, utilities and related service costs themselves)
- Legal basis: PIT Law and implementing guidance; Circular 109/2025/QH15 and current administrative regulations
Example Calculation (January 2026)
- Salary: VND 65,000,000
- Flight tickets (VND 16,500,000): excluded
- Housing: VND 10,000,000 — only the portion not exceeding 15% of total taxable income is included
- 15% of the taxable base (excluding housing) must be computed first to determine how much housing is added to taxable income
Practical Notes
- Both items must be specified in the company's internal expenditure regulations
- Valid invoices and receipts are required as supporting evidence
- The tax authority directs businesses to apply current Circulars to fulfil PIT obligations correctly