Vietnam: crypto taxes when leaving Germany

• Legal framework: Since 1 January 2026, crypto assets are civil-law-protected property; use as a means of payment remains banned. The central tax rules only took effect between March and July 2026.
• Transfers (sales): From 1 July 2026, income tax of 0.1% on the gross value of each transaction, regardless of gain or loss (Circular 32/2026/TT-BTC, which provisionally treats crypto assets like securities). Individuals are captured regardless of residency once they transfer through a Vietnamese crypto service provider. No FIFO, LIFO, or average price; acquisition cost plays no role, and the tax applies even when selling at a loss.
• Mining, staking, liquidity mining, airdrops, hard-fork tokens: receipts with no counter-transaction don't trigger the 0.1%. Circular 32/2026/TT-BTC contains no crypto-specific special rule for current income from mining, staking, or airdrops; their classification therefore follows the general rules of Vietnamese income tax law. They count as other personal income under the general progressive schedule for resident individuals (five tiers since tax year 2026: 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 35%). If the tokens are sold later, 0.1% additionally applies.
• Collection, filing: licensed crypto service providers (VASPs) withhold the tax on every confirmed transaction; Circular 41/2026/TT-BTC of 6 April 2026 regulates declaration, withholding, payment, and annual settlement; requirements need to be checked in the individual case. As things currently stand, a separate declaration obligation mainly applies to people already required to file their own tax return, for instance when trading through unlicensed or foreign platforms, whose use remains regulatorily uncertain (a dedicated decree on administrative penalties since 2026).
• VAT, wealth, inheritance: transferring and trading are exempt from VAT; organizations established in Vietnam pay 20% corporate tax on income from crypto transfers. No general wealth tax. Inheritances and gifts: 10% income tax on the value above VND 20 million (from 1 July 2026); transfers between spouses, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, and biological siblings are exempt.

Year of departure

• German unlimited tax liability only ends once residence and habitual abode are actually given up. In Vietnam, tax residency arises for anyone staying at least 183 days in a calendar year or a continuous twelve-month period from arrival, who has registered a permanent residence, or who rents accommodation for at least 90 days within the tax year.
• If the German home is already given up at the time of a crypto sale, the gain isn't domestic income under § 49 EStG; if both homes still exist in parallel, the tie-breaker decides.
• Since 17 February 2026, Vietnam has been on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, because it doesn't meet OECD standards on exchange of information on request. Nothing applies automatically; Germany first has to adopt the list into the Tax Haven Defense Ordinance. If Vietnam remains listed at the review in October 2026, tightened controlled-foreign-company taxation, withholding-tax measures, increased cooperation obligations, and, in extreme cases, denial of benefits under the double tax treaty threaten from 1 January 2027. Anyone planning to emigrate to Vietnam, or already resident there, should keep an eye on how the list develops at least until the end of October 2026.

First year after leaving

• Licensed exchanges withhold the 0.1% automatically: on a sale worth €50,000, that's €50, regardless of gain or loss. For frequent traders, this can add up more than a gain-based tax.
• With an exchange not licensed in Vietnam, nobody automatically handles the withholding; administrative practice for this case isn't yet settled.

More than ten years

• Nothing changes for income tax purposes (current position).
• No separate German-Vietnamese inheritance tax treaty: for German nationals, extended unlimited inheritance tax liability applies if the deceased or donor was fully taxable in Germany within the last five years before the inheritance; after more than ten years, this window is closed.

Moving on to a third country

• No exit taxation of its own for privately held crypto assets. Before a larger onward move, confirmation by a Vietnamese tax advisor is advisable; administrative practice on a possible exit-taxation provision is likely still developing.

Returning to Germany

• No special tax on the Vietnamese side. Re-establishing a residence or habitual abode in Germany brings unlimited tax liability back into effect. The original acquisition date still counts: if a position has been held for longer than a year in total, a later sale is tax-free under § 23 EStG.