This is one of the most common sticking points when registering a dependant: a taxpayer’s father or mother has almost no income, the child is genuinely supporting them, yet the family-circumstance deduction registration still gets rejected.
Responding to a feedback/petition with reference code PAKN.20260827.0361 (received 28 August 2026), the Tax Department clarified how the rule applies in Official Letter No. 6846/CT-QLNT. The short version: having low income is a necessary condition, not a sufficient one.
Quick summary
| Parent’s status | Condition to qualify as a dependant |
|---|---|
| Past working age | Only needs: no income, or average monthly income from all sources during the year not exceeding VND 3 million |
| Still of working age | Must simultaneously satisfy two conditions: (1) unable to work — a work-capacity reduction rate of 81% or more; and (2) average monthly income not exceeding VND 3 million |
1. The situation and the tax authority’s conclusion
A taxpayer had a biological father whose income did not exceed VND 3 million/month, but who had not yet reached the end of working age and was still able to work. The taxpayer asked whether the father could be registered as a dependant for the family-circumstance deduction.
The Tax Department’s answer: in this case, the father cannot be counted as a dependant for the family-circumstance deduction.
The reason lies in how the conditions are structured. The official letter states that a taxpayer’s biological father qualifies as a dependant only once he has passed working age or is unable to work. If he is still of working age, he must simultaneously meet two conditions — being unable to work (work-capacity reduction of 81% or more) and having average monthly income from all sources not exceeding VND 3 million.
2. Three layers of legal basis
Layer one — the Law. Clause 4, Article 10 of Personal Income Tax Law No. 109/2025/QH15 defines a dependant as a person the taxpayer is responsible for supporting, including:
- Point a: minor children; children who have lost civil act capacity, are disabled, or are unable to work;
- Point b: individuals with no income, or with income not exceeding the threshold set by the Minister of Finance, including adult children studying at university, college, vocational secondary school or a vocational training institution; a spouse unable to work; parents who have passed working age or are unable to work; and other individuals with no one to rely on whom the taxpayer directly supports.
Note that the income condition sits at the start of point b and applies to every group listed after it. For parents, the income condition comes bundled with an additional status condition — having passed working age, or being unable to work.
Layer two — the Decree. Article 47 of Decree No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP dated 30 June 2026 spells this out further:
- Clause 2, point d identifies the group: the taxpayer’s spouse; biological father/mother, stepfather/stepmother, adoptive father/mother as prescribed by law; and the taxpayer’s father-in-law/mother-in-law (on either the wife’s or husband’s side).
- Clause 3 splits the conditions by age. A person of working age must simultaneously meet: being unable to work, and having no income or average monthly income from all sources during the year not exceeding the threshold set by the Minister of Finance. A person past working age only needs: no income, or average monthly income from all sources not exceeding that threshold.
- Clause 4 defines “unable to work” as a work-capacity reduction rate of 81% or more, determined under the law.
- Clause 5: the taxpayer self-registers the number of dependants together with lawful supporting documents and is personally responsible before the law for the accuracy of the registration and the dependant’s income.
- Clause 6: dependant-verification documentation follows the Minister of Finance’s regulations.
Layer three — the Circular. Article 3 of Circular No. 87/2026/TT-BTC dated 30 June 2026 sets the figure: a dependant’s average monthly income from all sources during the year must not exceed VND 3 million.
Clause 2, Article 3 also makes clear that the taxpayer is responsible for correctly and honestly determining and declaring the dependant’s income; if the tax authority finds an inaccurate declaration, it will be handled under the law.
3. The easiest mistake: “simultaneously,” not “or”
A common error is reading the VND 3 million threshold as the only condition. In reality, it is just one of two conditions, and it only stands alone once the dependant has passed working age.
For a parent still of working age, missing either half is not enough:
- Zero income but normal health → does not qualify.
- 85% work-capacity reduction but average income of VND 5 million/month → does not qualify.
- 85% work-capacity reduction and average income of VND 2 million/month → qualifies.
One more technical point that is easy to miss: the VND 3 million threshold is average monthly income during the year, from all sources — not the income of a single month, and not limited to salary income.
4. The 81% threshold and what it means in practice
Clause 4, Article 47 of Decree No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP sets a narrow definition of “unable to work”: a work-capacity reduction rate of 81% or more, determined under the law.
This is a high bar. In practice, most parents who are still of working age will not meet it, even where their health is genuinely poor or they cannot actually work. That explains why many dependant registrations get rejected despite the underlying support being real: tax law applies a quantitative test, not an assessment of actual circumstances.
5. Worked examples
Example 1 — Father still of working age, low income
Mr. A registers his biological father as a dependant. His father is still of working age, in normal health, with average income of VND 2 million/month.
→ Does not qualify as a dependant. The income condition is met but the work-capacity condition is not. This is precisely the situation the Tax Department addressed in Official Letter No. 6846/CT-QLNT.
Example 2 — Mother past working age
Ms. B registers her biological mother as a dependant. Her mother has passed working age under the law, with average income of VND 2.5 million/month from all sources.
→ Qualifies as a dependant. For a person past working age, Clause 3, Article 47 of Decree No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP only imposes the income condition, and VND 2.5 million does not exceed the VND 3 million threshold under Article 3 of Circular No. 87/2026/TT-BTC.
Example 3 — Father of working age but with a work-capacity reduction
Mr. C’s biological father is still of working age, has a certified work-capacity reduction of 85%, and has no income.
→ Qualifies as a dependant. Both conditions under Clause 3, Article 47 of Decree No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP are met simultaneously.
Example 4 — Mother-in-law
Ms. D registers her husband’s mother as a dependant.
→ A mother-in-law falls within the group at point d, Clause 2, Article 47 of Decree No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP, alongside biological, step- and adoptive parents and parents-in-law on either side. The same conditions apply as for biological parents: split by whether the person is of, or past, working age, as analysed above.
6. Declaration responsibility rests with the taxpayer
Both Clause 5, Article 47 of Decree No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP and Clause 2, Article 3 of Circular No. 87/2026/TT-BTC make the same point: the taxpayer self-registers and is personally responsible for the accuracy of the registration and of the dependant’s income.
This is a post-audit mechanism. Having a registration accepted at the time it is filed does not mean the tax authority has confirmed the conditions are met. If the tax authority later finds an inaccurate declaration during an inspection, the taxpayer will be handled under the law.
For businesses, this matters when finalising PIT on behalf of employees: HR should review the substantive conditions of a dependant, not just check that the paperwork is complete.
7. Review checklist for registering a parent as a dependant
- Determine whether the dependant is of or past working age under labour law — this is the first step and decides which set of conditions applies.
- If past working age: only check average monthly income during the year from all sources against the VND 3 million threshold.
- If of working age: documentation of a work-capacity reduction of 81% or more is required, and the income condition must also be checked. Missing either one is not enough.
- Calculate income as an average over the year and from all sources, not just salary, and not based on a single month’s figure.
- Apply the same set of conditions to biological parents, stepparents, adoptive parents, and parents-in-law on either side — all fall under point d, Clause 2, Article 47 of Decree No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP.
- Keep supporting documentation on file for post-audit purposes, as prescribed by the Minister of Finance under Clause 6, Article 47 of Decree No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP.
Disclaimer
This article is based on Official Letter No. 6846/CT-QLNT, issued by the Tax Department in response to a feedback/petition with reference code PAKN.20260827.0361 (received 28 August 2026), together with the provisions cited in that official letter:
- Clause 4, Article 10 of Personal Income Tax Law No. 109/2025/QH15;
- Article 47 of Decree No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP dated 30 June 2026 of the Government, detailing certain articles and measures to organise and guide implementation of the Personal Income Tax Law;
- Article 3 of Circular No. 87/2026/TT-BTC dated 30 June 2026 of the Ministry of Finance.
Four notes on scope:
- This article is based on the portion of content cited within the official letter, not on the full text of Law No. 109/2025/QH15, Decree No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP, or Circular No. 87/2026/TT-BTC. Other provisions of these three instruments have not been cross-checked.
- The family-circumstance deduction amount per dependant and the supporting documentation required to prove dependant status are not addressed in the official letter; businesses and individuals should consult the Ministry of Finance’s guiding documents directly.
- Working age is determined under labour law, which falls outside the scope of the tax instruments referenced above.
- The method for determining the work-capacity reduction rate follows specialised legal regulations.
A tax authority’s guidance letter is not a legal normative document; it provides guidance for the specific case raised and is issued on the basis of the laws in effect at the time of issuance. Identifying information about the petitioner has been removed from this article.
This article is for reference only, does not replace the original legal text, and does not constitute advice for any specific case. Businesses and individuals should check the regulations in effect at the time of application and consult a qualified advisor before making decisions.
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