A ₫600,000,000 salary costs a Vietnamese employer about ₫791,000,000 a year with a one-month Tet bonus. Statutory contributions are ₫141,000,000, or 23.5% of salary: social insurance at 17.5%, health at 3%, unemployment at 1%, and a 2% trade union fee that has no equivalent in most other markets.
Two things decide whether your Vietnamese budget is right. The first is remembering the trade union fee at all. The second is knowing where the contribution ceiling sits, because it arrives early enough to change the economics of senior hiring completely.
Statutory add-on
23.5%
below the contribution ceiling
Contribution ceiling
₫50.6m/mo
20 times the reference level
Add-on at ₫1.2bn
11.9%
the ceiling does the work
Price a Vietnamese hire, with or without a Tet bonus.
Open the Vietnam employer-cost calculatorThe four employer lines
| Contribution | Employer | Employee | At ₫600m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social insurance (BHXH) | 17.5% | 8% | ₫105,000,000 |
| Health insurance (BHYT) | 3% | 1.5% | ₫18,000,000 |
| Unemployment insurance (BHTN) | 1% | 1% | ₫6,000,000 |
| Trade union fee, employer only | 2% | None | ₫12,000,000 |
The ceiling arrives early, and it changes senior hiring
Vietnam runs two ceilings, not one. Social insurance, health insurance and the trade union fee are calculated on a base capped at 20 times the statutory reference level, which rose to ₫2,530,000 on 1 July 2026 and puts that ceiling at ₫50,600,000 a month, or ₫607,200,000 a year. Unemployment insurance uses a different base entirely: 20 times the applicable regional minimum wage, which for Region I is ₫106,200,000 a month under Decree 293/2025/ND-CP.
So a salary at or below ₫607,200,000 carries the full 23.5%. Above it the three large contributions freeze while the 1% unemployment share keeps climbing, which is why a salary at double the ceiling still costs slightly more than the frozen figure alone would suggest.
| Salary | Contribution base | Employer contributions | As % of salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₫240,000,000 | ₫240,000,000 | ₫56,400,000 | 23.5% |
| ₫600,000,000 | ₫600,000,000 | ₫141,000,000 | 23.5% |
| ₫1,200,000,000 | ₫607,200,000 (capped) | ₫148,620,000 | 12.4% |
PayMetric's own modelled figures from the Vietnam employer-cost engine at 2026 rates, excluding any Tet bonus so the contribution effect is visible on its own.
The Tet bonus is expected, not required
Vietnam has no statutory 13th-month pay. What it has is a near-universal custom of a Lunar New Year bonus, typically one month of salary, paid before Tet. Treat it as a planning certainty and a legal option: put it in the offer in writing if you intend to pay it, because a candidate comparing two offers will assume it is there, and a missing Tet bonus is a common reason for a January resignation.
Model the full Vietnamese cost
Enter the salary, choose whether to include a Tet bonus and how many months, and see where the contribution ceiling starts working in your favour.
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Frequently asked questions
What does a ₫600,000,000 salary cost an employer in Vietnam?
About ₫791,000,000 a year if you include a one-month Tet bonus. The statutory employer contributions are ₫141,000,000, made up of ₫105,000,000 of social insurance at 17.5%, ₫18,000,000 of health insurance at 3%, ₫6,000,000 of unemployment insurance at 1% and ₫12,000,000 of trade union fee at 2%. The Tet bonus adds ₫50,000,000.
What is the 2% trade union fee, and is it optional?
It is a contribution to the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour at 2% of the social insurance salary fund, and it is payable by the employer whether or not your company has a union and whether or not employees join one. Foreign employers routinely miss it when modelling Vietnamese payroll because it has no equivalent in most other markets. It is genuinely employer-only, with a separate smaller employee union fee for members.
Where does the contribution cap bite?
There are two different ceilings, which is the part most cost models get wrong. Social insurance, health insurance and the trade union fee sit on a base capped at 20 times the statutory reference level, ₫2,530,000 from 1 July 2026, giving ₫50,600,000 a month or ₫607,200,000 a year. Unemployment insurance sits on 20 times the Region I minimum wage instead, ₫106,200,000 a month under Decree 293/2025/ND-CP, so it keeps accruing long after the others have frozen. Below both ceilings the employer pays 23.5% of the whole salary. A ₫1,200,000,000 salary carries an effective statutory load of about 12.4%.
Is a Tet bonus legally required?
No. Unlike the Philippine or Brazilian 13th month, a Lunar New Year bonus is customary rather than statutory in Vietnam. In practice it is close to universal in professional hiring, usually one month of salary, and candidates will expect it. Budget it as a near-certain cost while recognising it is contractual or discretionary rather than a legal minimum.
What does the employee pay on the same salary?
A total of 10.5%: 8% social insurance, 1.5% health insurance and 1% unemployment insurance, on the same capped base. Combined with the employer's 21.5% of insurance (the trade union fee sits outside the insurance bundle), the full contribution wedge is material at mid salaries and fades away at senior ones because of the shared ceiling.
How does Vietnam compare with other offshore markets?
On statutory employer contributions, Vietnam's 23.5% sits above the Philippines (6.2%) and Japan (15.7% at a mid salary), close to Mexico (24.8%) and below Sweden (31.4%) and Brazil (34.8%). Vietnam's early ceiling means it becomes markedly cheaper than most of those for senior hires, which is a genuine planning advantage for a team with a wide salary range.
What else belongs in a Vietnamese hiring budget?
Private medical cover, which is common for professional roles, plus the cost of the employing structure itself if you have no local entity, and severance provisioning. Note also that the new Personal Income Tax Law took effect on 1 July 2026 and changed the employee's tax position, not the employer's contribution rates, so an employee's take-home may have shifted even though your cost did not.
General information only. Rates are the 2026 figures used by PayMetric's Vietnam employer-cost engine, with the contribution ceiling set by the reference level in force from 1 July 2026. Check current official guidance and take professional advice before a decision affecting your payroll, tax or employment position.