How to get a Tax code (MST) in Vietnam on eTax

What the Tax code (MST) is

The Tax code (MST) is the number Tax Department (Cục Thuế), Ministry of Finance assigns to a taxpayer in Vietnam. It follows you across every tax you deal with: VAT, income tax and withholding. Businesses that pay you will ask for it before they release payment, because they report their suppliers to Tax Department (Cục Thuế), Ministry of Finance by this number.

Who needs one

Everyone with a Vietnamese tax obligation. Companies, cooperatives, dependent units and household businesses are registered for tax automatically as part of business registration, under the one-stop mechanism. Individuals with employment income, rental income or any other obligation to the state budget register separately, and so do foreign suppliers selling into Vietnam over an e-commerce or digital platform.

How to register, step by step

1. If you are setting up a company, a cooperative or a household business, file nothing extra: tax registration runs inside the business registration file and the tax code is issued with the registration certificate.
2. Everyone else registers directly with the tax office within 10 working days of starting to trade, or of the tax obligation first arising.
3. File electronically through the Tax Department's portal, the National Public Service Portal or a T-VAN provider, signing the declaration with a digital signature.
4. On paper, file at the Thuế cơ sở office covering your fixed place of business, or covering the property you let; if you trade without a fixed place, file where you live.
5. Employers may register staff and their dependants in bulk on form 05-ĐK-TH-TCT within 10 working days. The tax office answers a complete file within 3 working days, and tells you within 2 working days if it is incomplete.

How to find or check a Tax code (MST)

The Tax Department runs a public taxpayer lookup where a tax code, an enterprise code or a name returns the registered taxpayer and the code's current status. A code shown as status 03 or 06 means the tax office has recorded the taxpayer as not operating at its registered address, which blocks invoicing.