Hanoi is where most foreign-invested groups operating in northern Vietnam place their head office, representative office or branch. Unlike the purely industrial provinces, the FDI mix in Hanoi leans towards services, technology, trading and regional management functions — which produces a very different set of tax issues from those facing manufacturers.
TrustlineAX Advisory is based in Hanoi and provides accounting, tax and compliance services to FDI companies, branches and representative offices of foreign traders in the city, working bilingually in English and Vietnamese directly with parent companies.
The FDI landscape in Hanoi
Published figures for the first seven months of 2026 show Hanoi attracting over USD 3.62 billion in registered capital, around 9.52% of the national total and third nationally behind Thai Nguyen and Ho Chi Minh City. That figure was down roughly 3.8% year on year — reflecting new manufacturing capital dispersing to neighbouring industrial provinces while Hanoi retains its role as a management, services and technology hub.
Foreign-invested activity in the city clusters into three distinct groups:
- Thang Long Industrial Park (Dong Anh) — concentrated Japanese and Singaporean investment in electronics, computers, automobiles, motorcycles and precision engineering.
- Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park — close to 1,600 hectares, oriented towards R&D, software, high technology, training and business incubation.
- The inner city — head offices, representative offices and branches of foreign groups, together with consulting, financial, trading, education and IT companies.
Note: the figures above are compiled from publicly published sources as at August 2026 and may change with each reporting period.
The 1 July 2025 administrative reorganisation — a commonly missed issue
Hanoi was not merged with any province, but it underwent one of the largest commune-level reorganisations in the country. From 1 July 2025, the city has just 126 commune-level administrative units (51 wards and 75 communes) — a reduction of 400 units.
The practical consequence is that the registered address on many companies’ Enterprise Registration Certificate, Investment Registration Certificate, e-invoice templates, employment contracts and social insurance records no longer matches any existing administrative unit. This is a frequent source of friction when filing documents, issuing invoices to large customers, or reconciling details with the authorities.
For tax administration, under Decision No. 1378/QD-CT dated 30 June 2025, Hanoi has been administered since 1 July 2025 by the Hanoi Tax Department together with 25 subordinate base-level tax units. Companies should confirm which unit now handles their file.
Accounting and tax issues specific to FDI companies in Hanoi
Because Hanoi is weighted towards head-office, service and technology functions, the recurring risk areas differ sharply from the manufacturing provinces — they cluster around cross-border transactions with the parent company and the obligations attaching to each form of commercial presence:
| Common operating profile in Hanoi | Accounting and tax issues to watch |
|---|---|
| Head office or subsidiary paying management fees, technical service fees, royalties or software fees to an offshore parent | Foreign contractor tax (FCT) covering both the VAT and CIT components; applying the correct rate for the type of service; distinguishing royalties from services; evidence that the service was actually rendered and benefited the Vietnamese entity |
| Representative offices of foreign traders — no revenue generated | Still required to withhold and finalise PIT for the chief representative and staff; periodic activity reporting to the Department of Industry and Trade; care over the scope of permitted activity to avoid creating a taxable presence |
| Expatriate executives based in Hanoi, often covering several countries in the region | Tax residency determination; worldwide income reporting for tax residents; application of double taxation agreements; treatment of salary paid offshore by the parent; work permits and temporary residence cards |
| Software, IT and R&D companies in Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park | Establishing and maintaining CIT incentives for software production and high technology; documentation evidencing the software production process; segregating incentivised from non-incentivised revenue |
| Subsidiaries of Japanese and Korean groups in Thang Long Industrial Park | Transfer pricing documentation under Decree 255/2026/ND-CP (applicable from the 2026 CIT period); the 30% EBITDA cap on deductible interest for parent company loans |
| Branches and business locations across several provinces managed from a Hanoi head office | Allocating VAT and CIT obligations between head office and dependent units; registering and filing in the correct locality; a consistent e-invoice set-up across the group |
| Reorganisation of 400 commune-level units from 1 July 2025 | Updating the address on the Enterprise Registration Certificate and Investment Registration Certificate, e-invoice templates, employment contracts and social insurance records; identifying the correct unit among the 25 base-level tax offices |
Further reading directly relevant to these issues:
- Overtime and night-shift pay in Vietnam: how far does the PIT exemption go?
- Accounting and tax services for FDI companies in Bac Ninh
Services we provide in Hanoi
1. Accounting and parent company reporting
- Bookkeeping under Vietnamese Accounting Standards (VAS) and annual financial statements for the statutory audit
- Monthly management reporting in English in your group’s format, ready for consolidation
- Reconciliation between VAS and IFRS or your parent company’s accounting framework where required
- Chart of accounts and document workflow set-up for newly established entities
2. Foreign contractor tax and intercompany transactions
- Reviewing service, royalty, software and loan agreements with offshore parties to determine FCT exposure
- FCT declaration and payment, whether per transaction or monthly
- Building the evidence file showing services were genuinely rendered — the decisive point when tax authorities examine payments to a parent company
- Applying double taxation agreements where the conditions are met
3. Representative offices and branches
- PIT declaration, withholding and finalisation for the chief representative and office staff
- Periodic activity reporting required of a foreign trader’s commercial presence
- Advice on the boundaries of permitted activity, to avoid being assessed as carrying on profit-generating operations
- Support with licence renewals, amendments and closure procedures
4. Expatriate personal income tax
- Determining tax residency and the scope of income reportable in Vietnam
- Handling salary paid offshore by the parent for duties performed in Vietnam
- Tax code and dependant registration, and year-end PIT finalisation
- Advice on work permits, temporary residence cards and related insurance obligations
5. Tax incentives and transfer pricing documentation
- Reviewing eligibility for CIT incentives for software production, high technology, and projects in industrial and hi-tech parks
- Segregating revenue and costs between incentivised and non-incentivised activity
- Preparing the related-party declaration appendices filed with the annual CIT finalisation, and assessing whether the company is exempt from the Local File and Master File
- Risk assessment and adjustment planning ahead of the annual finalisation
How we work with companies in Hanoi
Our office is in Hanoi, so for companies in the city a face-to-face meeting, handover of original documents or joint attendance at a tax inspection can usually be arranged the same day. A typical engagement runs as follows:
- Initial review — the Investment Registration Certificate, Enterprise Registration Certificate, current filing status, incentives claimed and agreements with the parent company
- Handover and data clean-up — taking over existing records, clearing backlogs, aligning the chart of accounts and reporting templates with the group
- Ongoing operation — bookkeeping and filing to statutory deadlines, with monthly reporting in both English and Vietnamese
- Pre-finalisation review — FCT exposure, transfer pricing documentation and incentive conditions checked before the year-end close
- Ad hoc support — liaison with the tax authorities and coordination with your independent auditor and group advisers
Frequently asked questions
Our registered address names a ward that no longer exists — do we need to amend our business registration?
A company’s tax code and legal status are unaffected by the administrative reorganisation. However, because Hanoi reduced its commune-level units by 400 from 1 July 2025, the ward or commune named in many companies’ records no longer exists. We recommend proactively updating the address on the Enterprise Registration Certificate, Investment Registration Certificate, e-invoice templates and social insurance records to avoid problems when issuing invoices or filing documents. We can review this and handle the procedure.
Do management fees paid to an offshore parent attract foreign contractor tax?
Yes. Management fees, technical service fees, royalties and software fees paid to a foreign organisation fall within the scope of foreign contractor tax, comprising both a VAT and a CIT component, at rates that vary with the nature of the transaction. The common difficulty is not the filing itself but the evidence: tax authorities may disallow the expense if the company cannot demonstrate that the service was actually provided and benefited its operations in Vietnam. That file should be built when the contract is signed, not when an audit begins.
A representative office has no revenue — does it still have filing obligations?
Yes. A representative office generates no revenue and so pays no CIT, but it must still register for tax, withhold and finalise PIT for the chief representative and all staff, and submit periodic activity reports. It is also important to observe the limits on permitted activity: if a representative office goes beyond liaison and promotion functions, it risks being treated as carrying on profit-generating activity in Vietnam.
How is an expatriate based in Hanoi but paid by the parent company taxed?
Income attributable to duties performed in Vietnam is reportable in Vietnam even where it is paid offshore. Where the individual is a Vietnamese tax resident, the reporting obligation extends to worldwide income. Determining residency correctly, apportioning income by workdays in Vietnam and applying the relevant double taxation agreement all require care — particularly for executives whose role spans several countries in the region.
How much do accounting services for an FDI company in Hanoi cost?
Fees depend on the form of presence (company, branch or representative office), monthly transaction volume, headcount, whether there are transactions with the parent company, whether tax incentives need to be maintained, and whether English-language reporting is required. We quote after reviewing your actual records rather than applying a fixed price list.
Speak with our specialists
If your company has its head office, branch or representative office in Hanoi and needs to review foreign contractor tax exposure, update records following the administrative reorganisation, or appoint an outsourced accounting team that works in English with your parent company, get in touch for a free 30-minute consultation.
Contact TrustlineAX Advisory →
This page is provided for general reference and does not replace specific advice on an individual company’s records or transactions.