On December 10, the National Assembly passed the amended Law on Personal Income Tax, effective from July 1, 2026, with many changes related to real estate transfer and lease.
One of the most concerned contents is tax regulations for real estate trading activities. According to Article 14 of the new law, individuals residing in the area when transferring real estate will pay a tax of 2% on the transfer price.
Before the National Assembly voted, this issue caused controversy when the Ministry of Finance submitted two options, including the option of calculating a 20% tax on profit (selling price minus purchase price and cost). However, the majority of opinions said that determining "interest" and reasonable expenses is very complicated, takes time to verify and can easily lead to negativity. Therefore, the National Assembly has agreed to keep the current method of calculating 2% on selling price, to ensure simplicity, ease of implementation and avoid creating more burdens for people with procedures.
A notable new point, which is also good news for many homeowners, is the regulation to increase the taxable threshold for property rental income.
According to the new law, individuals leasing real estate (excluding accommodation businesses such as hotels, homestays, etc.) only have to pay personal income tax when their revenue exceeds VND500 million/year. The revenue exceeding this threshold will be taxed at a rate of 5%.
The new regulation is considered significantly more relaxed than before. The high threshold helps significantly reduce the number of individuals who have to fulfill their tax obligations, while aiming at the goal of simplifying procedures: renters with large revenues only need to pay contract tax in excess, without having to declare costs or conduct complicated tax settlements at the end of the year.
The revised Law on Personal Income Tax will be implemented from July 1, 2026, creating a new legal corridor for real estate transfer and lease activities, while reducing administrative pressure on people and tax authorities.
