Is it better to contract or be employed in Viet Nam?

At $100/hour against a salaried equivalent of $70/hour, 40 hours a week, contracting nets more than employment in Viet Nam: a contractor keeps about $142,800 against an employee's $116,480, a difference of $26,320. The break-even rate — where the two are equal — is about $82/hour. PIT + social; simplified rates for household/individual business.

What hourly rate do I need to charge in Viet Nam?

To take home $100,000 a year after tax, health cover and unpaid time, you need roughly $94/hour, or a day rate around $750. That assumes $134,933 of gross revenue across 1440 billable hours.

Why is the contractor tax rate in Viet Nam different from the employee rate?

A contractor usually pays both halves of social contributions where an employer would otherwise pay one, and often buys health cover privately. Here that works out at about 26% effective for a contractor against 20% for an employee. PIT + social; simplified rates for household/individual business.

How accurate are these Viet Nam figures?

These are single blended effective rates, not a bracket-by-bracket calculation, and Viet Nam is outside the OECD series this site cross-checks against. Real liability depends on your regime, deductions and region. Estimates for comparison, not tax advice.

Contracting · Viet Nam

Contractor or employee in 🇻🇳 Viet Nam?

At $100/hour, contracting nets more than employment — the break-even rate is about $82/hour.

Side by side at $100/hour

	Contractor	Employee
Gross	$192,000	$145,600
Tax	$48,000	$29,120
Health insurance	$1,200	—
Net	$142,800	$116,480
Effective rate	26%	20%

PIT + social; simplified rates for household/individual business. Run your own rate in the interactive calculator.

To take home $100,000 a year

You need to charge about $94/hour (day rate $750), billing 1440 hours across the year for $134,933 of gross revenue.

Change the target in the required-rate calculator.

Countries with a similar contracting premium

🇹🇭 Thailand — +16% for contracting
🇦🇺 Australia — +16% for contracting
🇲🇾 Malaysia — +16% for contracting
🇮🇪 Ireland — +18% for contracting

Questions

Is it better to contract or be employed in Viet Nam?: At $100/hour against a salaried equivalent of $70/hour, 40 hours a week, contracting nets more than employment in Viet Nam: a contractor keeps about $142,800 against an employee's $116,480, a difference of $26,320. The break-even rate — where the two are equal — is about $82/hour. PIT + social; simplified rates for household/individual business.
What hourly rate do I need to charge in Viet Nam?: To take home $100,000 a year after tax, health cover and unpaid time, you need roughly $94/hour, or a day rate around $750. That assumes $134,933 of gross revenue across 1440 billable hours.
Why is the contractor tax rate in Viet Nam different from the employee rate?: A contractor usually pays both halves of social contributions where an employer would otherwise pay one, and often buys health cover privately. Here that works out at about 26% effective for a contractor against 20% for an employee. PIT + social; simplified rates for household/individual business.
How accurate are these Viet Nam figures?: These are single blended effective rates, not a bracket-by-bracket calculation, and Viet Nam is outside the OECD series this site cross-checks against. Real liability depends on your regime, deductions and region. Estimates for comparison, not tax advice.

Estimates for comparison, not tax advice. Effective rates are blended, not bracket-by-bracket except where noted, and every country has regimes and deductions a single rate cannot express.