Invoice Requirements: Vietnam → United States
🇻🇳Vietnam freelancers billing🇺🇸United States clients — required fields, VAT treatment, and compliance rules.
Vietnamese freelancers invoicing US clients must provide Form W-8BEN before receiving payment. Vietnam and the US have no bilateral income tax treaty, so the default 30% US withholding rate applies to US-sourced income. Services performed entirely from Vietnam may be treated as foreign-source income, which could eliminate US withholding — confirm with the US client's tax counsel. Vietnamese freelancers exporting services must also comply with domestic invoicing requirements (hóa đơn), pay personal income tax (PIT) on foreign-source income, and follow State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) foreign exchange regulations.
Required
Provide Form W-8BEN to your US client before any payment to certify your non-US status — required even though no Vietnam-US income tax treaty exists.Required
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Without a W-8BEN on file, US payors are required to withhold 30% by default. There is no Vietnam-US treaty to reduce this rate, but submitting the form establishes your foreign status and may support a no-withholding position if the services are classified as foreign-source income.
Vietnam and the US have no income tax treaty; the default 30% US withholding rate applies to US-sourced income with no treaty reduction available.Required
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Income from services performed entirely in Vietnam with no US fixed base may be classified as foreign-source by the IRS, in which case US withholding would not apply. This determination is made by the US payor's tax adviser — do not assume exemption without written confirmation from the client.
Vietnamese freelancers must issue a service export invoice (hóa đơn xuất khẩu dịch vụ) for each transaction and declare foreign-source income for personal income tax (PIT) purposes under Circular 40/2021/TT-BTC.Required
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Under Circular 40/2021/TT-BTC and the Law on Personal Income Tax, Vietnamese residents are taxed on worldwide income. Freelance service income from foreign clients is subject to PIT at the flat rate of 5% for business income or graduated rates for employment-type income. Self-employed freelancers with annual revenue above VND 100 million must declare and pay tax quarterly via the GDT (General Department of Taxation) portal.
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Invoice in USD; State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) regulations require foreign currency receipts to be converted to VND through a licensed credit institution unless the freelancer holds an authorized foreign currency account.
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Under SBV Circular 32/2013/TT-NHNN (as amended), Vietnamese residents receiving foreign currency must sell it to an authorized credit institution or hold it in a licensed foreign currency account. Only certain categories of residents are permitted to hold foreign currency — confirm your eligibility with your bank before retaining USD balances.
State NET 30 payment terms on every invoice to align with the US standard and provide a clear reference date for SBV repatriation compliance.
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