An expert support package usually includes VND 1.5 million of lunch money and cash-paid uniforms. Accounting asks whether both amounts join the expert taxable income. Under Decree 253/2026/ND-CP guiding Personal Income Tax Law 109/2025/QH15 (effective 1 July 2026): cash mid-shift meal money is taxable only on the part above VND 1,200,000 per person per month; cash uniform money is exempt up to VND 5,000,000 per person per year — the excess of both items is taxable income.
1. Applicable legal framework
- Decree 253/2026/ND-CP (point g, clause 2, Article 8) — mid-shift meals: meal money where the employer organises cooking, buys meal portions or issues meal vouchers is not counted in taxable income; where paid in cash to the worker, only the part exceeding VND 1,200,000 per person per month is taxable — the VND 730,000/month cap of the former guidance framework was replaced by this threshold from 1 July 2026.
- Uniforms: uniform spending in kind (supported by invoices and documents) is not counted in taxable income; where paid in cash, the non-taxable part is capped at VND 5,000,000 per person per year — this level is the deductible-cost ceiling at clause 8, Article 10 of Decree 320/2025/ND-CP, which point d, clause 2, Article 8 of Decree 253/2026/ND-CP adopts as the benchmark for uniform allowances at enterprises; companies providing combined uniforms (part kind, part cash) apply the cap to the cash part.
- Subjects and conditions: these caps apply to all workers including foreign experts, provided the spending is prescribed in the contract, collective agreement or internal spending rules of the company and supported by valid documents.
- Framework at the time of writing: Personal Income Tax Law 109/2025/QH15 has replaced Law 04/2007/QH12 and Decree 253/2026/ND-CP (issued 30 June 2026, replacing Decree 65/2013/ND-CP) took effect on 1 July 2026, so the caps in this article apply under the new framework from that date. The transitional basis is Article 70 of Decree 253/2026/ND-CP: tax periods of 2025 and earlier follow the personal income tax rules in force before the decree took effect; salary income of the 2026 tax period already declared between 1 January 2026 and before 1 July 2026 under the old rules does not require re-filing of monthly or quarterly returns, with adjustments made in the 2026 annual finalisation return.
2. Practical analysis
- Organised meals beat cash on tax cleanliness. Where the company runs a canteen or buys meal portions and vouchers for experts, the whole mid-shift meal escapes tax without the 1,200,000 cap; the cap appears only when the benefit is “monetised” — why many FDI firms moved to contractor meal models.
- An expert with VND 1.5 million meal money is taxed only on the excess. On cash meal support of VND 1,500,000/month, taxable income increases by VND 300,000 (the part over 1,200,000), not the whole 1.5 million — payroll taxing the full amount over-withholds from the expert.
- Expert uniforms often intertwine with protective equipment. Personal protective equipment under safety law is not uniform subject to the tax cap; companies must separate image uniforms (cap applies) from mandatory protective gear (a safety cost, not worker income).
- Documents are the condition of the exemption. Both exemptions rest on spending rules and actual-payment records; spending absent from financial rules or lacking documents may be denied exemption on tax finalisation, converting support into back-taxed income of the expert.
3. What the company should do
- Record both items in internal spending rules and expert contracts with concrete amounts; configure payroll to split automatically the exempt parts (VND 1,200,000 meal cap; VND 5 million/year cash uniform cap) from taxable excess.
- Evaluate switching meal cash to organised meals or vouchers for large-headcount plants, removing the 1,200,000 cap from the tax equation.
- Separate image-uniform and protective-equipment cost codes in accounting, ensuring protective gear is never misstated as expert income.
This article provides general information only and is not legal advice for a specific case. Regulations may change; please check the current texts before acting.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is expert lunch money subject to personal income tax?
It depends on form: employer-organised cooking, purchased meal portions or meal vouchers are not taxed. If paid in cash, the part up to VND 1,200,000 per person per month is exempt and only the excess joins taxable income under point g, clause 2, Article 8 of Decree 253/2026/ND-CP.
2. How much lunch money is tax-exempt?
For cash payments: exempt up to VND 1,200,000 per person per month. Example: meal money of VND 1.5 million a month leaves VND 1,200,000 exempt and the remaining VND 300,000 taxable for the expert that month.
3. Are company uniforms taxable?
Uniforms in kind are not taxed. Cash uniform money is exempt up to VND 5,000,000 per person per year; cash above that level joins the worker taxable income under the uniform-allowance mechanism at point d, clause 2, Article 8 of Decree 253/2026/ND-CP, tied to the VND 5,000,000 per person per year deductible-cost ceiling at clause 8, Article 10 of Decree 320/2025/ND-CP.
4. How are combined in-kind and cash uniforms treated?
The in-kind part is fully non-taxable. The cash part takes the VND 5,000,000 per person per year cap: within the cap exempt, above it taxable. Companies should state both parts in rules and documents for tax reconciliation.
5. How have the meal and 5 million uniform caps changed under the new tax law?
They changed on 1 July 2026, when Decree 253/2026/ND-CP guiding Personal Income Tax Law 109/2025/QH15 took effect: the cash meal cap rose from VND 730,000 to VND 1,200,000 per person per month (point g, clause 2, Article 8); the cash uniform cap stays at VND 5,000,000 per person per year but is now based on the corporate income tax deductible-cost mechanism (clause 8, Article 10 of Decree 320/2025/ND-CP). Filing during the transition follows Article 70 of Decree 253/2026/ND-CP.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council