Scenario: Ms. Thao does affiliate marketing for a marketplace: embedding product links in review videos, earning 10% commission per successful order, VND 80 million a month. The platform pays commissions without withholding tax or signing a clear contract. Year-end, the tax authority asks her to explain the income. What should she do?
Affiliate marketing is regulated as advertising
The E-Commerce Law 122/2025/QH15 (effective 1 July 2026) for the first time directly regulates affiliate marketing: affiliates owe transparency and consumer-protection duties similar to sellers within their scope. Meanwhile, Law 75/2025/QH15 amending the Advertising Law (effective 1 January 2026) treats affiliates as “advertisement conveyors”: content containing affiliate links (earning commissions) is sponsored content requiring the “advertisement” label. “Objective” reviews hiding commission links breach transparency duties and may count as disguised misleading advertising.
What a commission contract should cover
The platform/brand–affiliate relationship is a marketing service contract (2015 Civil Code). Contracts should clarify: commission computation (rates, qualifying orders — paid, non-returned — cookie/attribution windows); reconciliation and payment timelines; the affiliate’s transparency duties (ad labelling, no exaggerated claims); the platform’s right to refuse commissions on fraudulent orders (self-orders through one’s own link, order boosting); termination and breach handling (false advertising, link spam); and each party’s tax responsibilities — who withholds, who declares. Many affiliate disputes stem from vague commission terms (“successful order” undefined) — the point most worth negotiating.
Tax on affiliate commission income
Affiliate commissions are taxable personal income under PIT Law 109/2025/QH15 (effective 1 July 2026). Where platforms or brands pay non-employee individuals, the payer must withhold PIT before payment (withholding rates for commission and service income per regulations — in practice 10% on payments from VND 3 million per time under the new framework). Where the payer fails to withhold (as in Thao’s case), the individual must self-declare and pay; tax authorities cross-check platform data and bank flows. Regular affiliates with substantial income should register as household businesses to file appropriately and deduct legitimate costs (filming equipment, channel advertising).
Frequently asked questions
Must affiliate income from foreign platforms be taxed in Vietnam?
Yes, for Vietnamese tax residents. Commission income — however paid from abroad — is PIT-taxable in Vietnam. The foreign platform’s non-withholding does not waive your self-declaration duty.
Is ordering through your own affiliate link a violation?
Most affiliate programmes prohibit self-referral in their terms and may refuse commissions or close accounts. At fraudulent scale, the conduct may attract fraud liability.
Are affiliates liable if promoted products are counterfeit?
Potentially, within their fault. Affiliates owe a basic duty to verify promoted products; promoting counterfeits or banned goods knowingly (or where they should have known) can create joint liability. Only affiliate for vetted brands and products.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council.