Vietnam VAT on Digital Services for Spiritual Businesses 2026

If you sell astrology subscriptions, tarot courses, or numerology report PDFs to Vietnamese clients, the Vietnamese government now wants 10% of every transaction. That rate doubled - from 5% to 10% - on 1 July 2025. Then on 1 January 2026, Vietnam's new VAT Law formally locked foreign e-commerce and digital service providers into the tax framework without ambiguity.

This article covers the rules as they stand in mid-2026. It does not constitute legal or tax advice - verify details with a qualified Vietnamese tax professional or adviser before making compliance decisions. Some regulatory specifics are marked [VERIFY] where rules are recent and may be updated.

The Legal Basis and What Changed

Two separate developments hit in quick succession:

1 July 2025: The VAT rate on digital services supplied by non-resident foreign providers doubled from 5% to 10%. This applied immediately to all digital sales consumed in Vietnam, including subscriptions, online courses, digital downloads, and apps.

Source: Vietnam Briefing (2026); EY tax alert (2025)

1 January 2026: Vietnam's new VAT Law entered into force. It explicitly named foreign e-commerce platforms and foreign digital service providers as taxpayers - closing the interpretive grey area that existed under the previous rules.

Source: BDO Global (2026)

The combined effect: a foreign spiritual practitioner selling a $30/month astrology subscription to a Vietnamese subscriber owes $3.00 per transaction to the Vietnamese tax authority (General Department of Taxation, GDT).

Who Owes What

For non-resident foreign suppliers with no permanent establishment (PE) in Vietnam, the obligation works like this:

- B2C sales (to individual Vietnamese consumers): You collect and remit the VAT. No minimum threshold - the obligation starts from the first sale.
- B2B sales (to Vietnamese VAT-registered businesses): The Vietnamese buyer withholds and remits the VAT via reverse-charge. Your direct obligation in that transaction is lower, but you still need to understand which category your buyers fall into.

For solo practitioners selling courses, readings, and subscriptions directly to individuals, almost all sales are B2C.

Source: Anrok (Vietnam VAT page); InCorp Vietnam (2025)

The Registration Gap vs. the Threshold Clarification

A common point of confusion: the 2026 VAT Law introduced a registration threshold of VND 200 million per year (~USD 8,000) - but this applies to Vietnamese individual sellers and small domestic businesses, not to foreign non-resident providers.

For foreign non-resident providers in B2C digital sales: no registration threshold. Registration and collection obligations begin from the first transaction with a Vietnamese consumer.

[VERIFY] Confirm the current GDT guidance on this point with a Vietnamese tax adviser, as the distinction between domestic and foreign thresholds has been a source of confusion in published commentary since the 2026 VAT Law took effect.

Source: Anrok; InCorp Vietnam (2025)

What Services Are Covered

The rules capture all electronically supplied digital services consumed in Vietnam. For the spiritual practice niche:

- Astrology course subscriptions or one-time purchases
- Tarot reading packages delivered digitally
- Numerology report PDFs as digital downloads
- Meditation app or content memberships
- Recorded ritual or workshop content

The determining factor is where the service is consumed, not where you are located. A Vietnamese client accessing your course from Ho Chi Minh City triggers the VAT obligation regardless of whether you're based in Buenos Aires or Berlin.

E-Invoicing: A New Administrative Layer

From 1 June 2025, foreign digital taxpayers registered with the GDT can obtain Vietnamese e-invoices. From 1 July 2025, e-commerce platforms operating in Vietnam must withhold VAT at source for individual Vietnamese sellers on their platforms: 1% VAT on goods sales, 5% VAT on service sales through the platform.

For a solo foreign practitioner selling direct (not through a Vietnamese e-commerce platform), the e-invoice requirement means you issue compliant invoices to Vietnamese buyers in the format the GDT specifies.

Source: VATupdate (May 2026 - two separate articles covering e-invoicing expansion)

Platform Coverage and Payment Rail Considerations

No payment platform removes your VAT obligation automatically in Vietnam. How the relevant options work:

If you sell through a Merchant of Record that explicitly covers Vietnam VAT, the obligation shifts to them. Most practitioners selling direct bear this themselves.

Stripe, Paddle, and LemonSqueezy carry ban-risk for esoteric/spiritual services and for practitioners based in certain jurisdictions - separately from the Vietnam VAT question. See accept international payments for spiritual business for the payment rail comparison.

The Arithmetic: Three Scenarios

These examples use a round $1 = 25,000 VND exchange rate for simplicity.

`VAT owed = Vietnam revenue x 10%`

These numbers assume you add VAT on top of your price. If you absorb VAT into your listed price (tax-inclusive), your net revenue is your listed price divided by 1.10.

Registration and Filing (Overview)

1. Register on the GDT portal as a foreign non-resident digital service provider.
2. Obtain a tax identification number for Vietnam purposes.
3. File VAT returns on the GDT's schedule (typically quarterly [VERIFY] for foreign providers).
4. Remit collected VAT in Vietnamese Dong.

A Vietnamese tax adviser or accounting firm can handle registration and ongoing filings for an annual fixed fee. Given that the new 2026 VAT Law is recent, working with a local specialist is worth the cost.

Comparison with Neighboring Jurisdictions

Vietnam's framework now aligns with the rest of Southeast Asia. For context:

For the EU equivalent, see EU VAT OSS for non-EU spiritual businesses. For the broader non-US tax picture, see non-US tax on digital services for spiritual practitioners.

Frequently Asked Questions

I have maybe 5 Vietnamese buyers per month. Do I really need to register?

Legally, yes - there is no threshold for foreign non-resident B2C providers under the current rules. The practical enforcement risk at very small transaction volumes is lower, but that doesn't create a legal exemption. Consult a Vietnamese tax professional to assess your specific situation and exposure. [VERIFY the GDT's current enforcement posture on very small foreign providers.]

Does this apply if I sell through Teachable or Kajabi?

Neither Teachable nor Kajabi operates as a Merchant of Record in Vietnam, so the obligation stays with you. If a platform explicitly takes on MoR responsibility for Vietnamese VAT, check their published country list and confirm in writing before assuming coverage.

What happens if a buyer pays in crypto through NowPayments?

Crypto settlement doesn't change the taxable nature of the underlying service. A Vietnamese client paying in USDC for a natal chart reading owes VAT on that transaction, and so do you as the supplier. The payment method is separate from the VAT obligation.

Is the 10% rate on top of my price or taken out of it?

That's your pricing decision. Tax-inclusive pricing means you absorb VAT into your listed price: a $30 subscription nets you $27.27 after remitting 10% VAT ($2.73). Tax-exclusive means you add 10% at checkout for Vietnamese buyers: the buyer pays $33. Most global digital product sellers use tax-inclusive pricing for simplicity - one price shown globally.

Are there other payment processing options that handle Vietnam VAT for me?

Check NowPayments vs BTCPay vs Coinbase Commerce for spiritual business for the crypto payment rail options. For the international payment receiving side, see accept international payments for spiritual business.