In this article
Payroll in an FDI company has two audiences: employees and the authorities in Vietnam, and the group's finance function abroad. A good process must produce the right pay and the right tax, and also deliver an English-language report the group can understand immediately. Below is the bilingual checklist that the accounting services team at ACCA Consulting Vietnam uses as a framework for FDI clients.
1. The FDI payroll framework: 6 stages
Each month, the payroll cycle passes through six stages: timekeeping, pay calculation, insurance, personal income tax (PIT/TNCN), payment and reporting. Errors usually lie not in the formulas but at the handover points between departments: HR closes timesheets late, accounting receives incomplete data, and the director approves just before payday.
- Timesheet, leave and overtime cut-off (Chốt chấm công, nghỉ phép, làm thêm giờ)
- Headcount and salary changes: new hires, leavers, pay rises (Cập nhật biến động nhân sự: tuyển mới, nghỉ việc, tăng lương)
- Gross pay, allowances and bonus calculation (Tính lương gross, phụ cấp, thưởng)
- Statutory insurance – employer and employee shares (Tính bảo hiểm bắt buộc phần doanh nghiệp và người lao động)
- PIT withholding with family deductions (Tính thuế TNCN khấu trừ, áp dụng giảm trừ gia cảnh)
- Month-on-month variance review with explanations (Đối chiếu lương với tháng trước, giải thích chênh lệch)
- Payroll approval (Trình duyệt bảng lương)
- Bank payment file (Lập lệnh chuyển lương qua ngân hàng)
- Payslip distribution (Gửi phiếu lương cho nhân viên)
- Payroll journal entries for salary costs and payables (Hạch toán chi phí lương và các khoản phải trả)
- Group payroll report (Gửi báo cáo lương cho tập đoàn)
2. Roles: HR – accounting – director
| Task | HR | Accounting | Director | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close timesheets | R | C | ||
| Headcount changes, contracts | R | C | A | |
| Calculate pay, insurance and tax | C | R | ||
| Approve payroll | C | R | A | C |
| Pay via bank | R | A | ||
| File PIT and insurance declarations | C | R | ||
| Group reporting | R | C | A |
If the company outsources, the "Accounting" role can be performed by the service provider, but approval and payment authority should always remain with the company. This is an internal control principle that auditors will ask about.
3. Key dates in the month
- 25th–26th
HR closes the month's timesheets and headcount changes.
- 27th–28th
Accounting calculates pay, insurance and tax, and compares with the previous month.
- 1st–2nd of the following month
The director approves the payroll; a draft report is sent to the group if needed.
- 3rd–5th
Salaries are paid, payslips sent and costs booked.
- 20th of the following month
Deadline for the PIT withholding return if filing monthly; if filing quarterly, the deadline is the last day of the first month of the following quarter.
The PIT withholding return is filed for the same period as the value-added tax (VAT/GTGT) return (monthly or quarterly). No PIT return is required for a month or quarter with no tax withheld. Insurance contribution deadlines follow the payment method registered with the social insurance authority.
4. Example: calculating one payroll line
Suppose a Vietnamese employee has a gross salary of VND 30 million (≈ USD 1,180, approximate at VND 25,500/USD), the insurance contribution base equals the gross salary, and there is 1 dependant. The employee's 10.5% insurance contribution is VND 3.15 million. Assessable income = 30 − 3.15 − 15.5 (personal deduction) − 6.2 (one dependant) = VND 5.15 million. PIT is calculated on this amount using the current progressive tax schedule.
- Gross salary30,000,000 VND
- Employer social insurance (BHXH) 17.5%5,250,000 VND
- Employer health insurance (BHYT) 3%900,000 VND
- Employer unemployment insurance (BHTN) 1%300,000 VND
Illustrative example, assuming the insurance base equals the gross salary and is below the ceiling. Total cost is about VND 36.45 million/month, excluding other statutory items.
View as table
| Gross salary | 30,000,000 VND |
| Employer social insurance (BHXH) 17.5% | 5,250,000 VND |
| Employer health insurance (BHYT) 3% | 900,000 VND |
| Employer unemployment insurance (BHTN) 1% | 300,000 VND |
Five common payroll mistakes in FDI companies
- Closing timesheets after payroll is calculated: accounting has to recalculate several times and overtime adjustments are easily missed.
- Not updating dependants: an employee registers a new dependant but payroll still uses old data, so tax withheld is higher than it should be.
- One-off bonuses not accrued: the cost lands in a single month and the report to the group shows unusual swings.
- Using the same formula for expats and Vietnamese staff: wrong insurance rates or taxable benefits left out.
- Not reconciling total payroll with the returns: total income on the PIT return differs from salary costs in the books, making it hard to explain at finalization.
The simplest safeguard is to add a three-way reconciliation before submitting for approval: the payroll, the PIT return and the salary cost journal must produce the same total. This step takes about half an hour a month but heads off most of the auditors' year-end questions.
5. Payroll reporting to the group
- Payroll summary: total gross, insurance, tax and net by department or cost center.
- Headcount report: opening headcount, joiners, leavers and closing headcount, separating expats and Vietnamese employees.
- Variance analysis: explanation of differences against the previous month and the budget.
- Accrual: accrued items such as bonuses and the 13th-month salary, so that the figures match the reporting package sent to the parent company.
FAQ
How does FDI payroll differ from that of a domestic company?
The main differences are expats (work permits, insurance, tax residence), bilingual reporting and an approval process that may involve the group. Tax and insurance obligations for Vietnamese employees are the same as in a domestic company.
What are the family deductions for 2026?
From the 2026 tax period, the personal deduction is VND 15.5 million/month and the deduction for each dependant is VND 6.2 million/month. Dependants must be registered as required.
Should the service provider hold the authority to pay salaries?
No. The service provider prepares the payroll and the payment order, while approval and the actual transfer should be carried out by an authorized person at the company.
Standardize bilingual payroll for your FDI company
ACCA Consulting Vietnam sets up the calendar, roles and bilingual payroll report templates to meet your group's requirements.
Free consultationZaloWhatsApp
