Do I have to file at home while living in Vietnam?
It depends on residence, not on address — except for US citizens and green-card holders, for whom the answer is yes regardless of where they live. We settle the residence question first, because every other answer follows from it.
Is there a treaty between my country and Vietnam?
That is verified rather than assumed: we confirm which treaty text governs Vietnam and your home country for the year in question, because a protocol can move a rate or an article between years. If there is no treaty, unilateral credit rules are what prevent double taxation.
I own property in Vietnam. Where is the rent taxed?
Where the property is. That is close to universal, and it usually arrives as withholding on the gross rent rather than as a return on the profit — which is why the election onto a net basis, where Vietnam offers one, is normally the first thing to check. Your home country taxes the same rent and credits what was paid.
Can a housing lease in Vietnam make someone tax resident even without meeting the day-count threshold?
Yes — Vietnamese residency is determined on presence and on having a permanent place of residence, so a housing lease can independently establish residency even where the day count alone would not, which makes lease arrangements a genuine tax planning consideration rather than a purely practical housing decision.
Why does manufacturing or technology work in Vietnam raise residency questions more often than other roles might?
Because staff overseeing Vietnamese production or technology operations often maintain a settled local residence to support ongoing on-site presence, and that settled residence is exactly the kind of permanent-place-of-residence fact that can establish residency independent of the day count.
Does a company need to review its Vietnamese production arrangement for tax purposes separately from its individual staff?
Yes — the company's own permanent-establishment position from its Vietnamese production activity is a separate question from any individual employee's personal residency, and both need their own review since one does not determine the other.
Does the foreign earned income exclusion cover capital gains, dividends or a pension?
No. It covers earned income — pay for services performed abroad — and nothing else. Investment income, rental income, capital gains, pensions and social security all stay fully taxable, relieved if at all by the foreign tax credit or a treaty article. This is the single most common misreading of it: people exclude a salary, assume the rest followed, and discover the gap when the investment income is assessed. See exclusion against credit.
Can I take the foreign tax credit and the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion together?
On the same income, no — you cannot exclude income and then claim credit for foreign tax on the part you excluded. You can use both in one return on *different* income: exclude qualifying earned income, then claim credit for foreign tax on what remains, such as investment income or earnings above the cap. Which combination leaves you better off is an arithmetic question on your figures. Our FEIE vs foreign tax credit calculator works it through.
