Land Use Fee Waivers & Reductions in Vietnam under the new Land Law

On August 19, 2025, the Government issued Decree No. 230/2025/ND-CP stipulating other cases eligible for waiver or reduction of land use fees and land rental fees in accordance with Clause 2, Article 157 of the Land Law 2024. The Decree took effect on the same day, August 19, 2025. Accordingly, Decree 230/2025/ND-CP consists of 09 articles regulating the other cases eligible for Land use fee waivers & reductions in Vietnam as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 157 of the Land Law 2024 (including provisions on land rental reduction in 2025). Below is an update from Viet An Law on the notable new regulations on other cases eligible for land use fee waivers & reductions in Vietnam under the new land law.

Regulations on land use fee waivers & reductions in Vietnam under the new land law

The waiver or reduction of land use fees and land rental fees shall be applied in the cases specified in Clause 1, Article 157 of the Land Law 2024, as supplemented by Clause 4, Article 71 of the 2025 Law on Science, Technology and Innovation, including:

• Land used for production or business purposes in investment incentive sectors or incentive geographical areas as prescribed by the law on investment and relevant laws, except for land used to build commercial housing or land used for commercial and service purposes;
• Land used for implementation of housing and land policies for persons with meritorious services to the revolution, wounded or sick soldiers unable to work, families of martyrs with no main labor force, or poor households;
• Ethnic minorities using land eligible for land use fee or land rental exemptions or reductions as prescribed by the Government;
• Land used for the construction of specialized railway infrastructure; land used for the construction of railway industrial works; land used for other auxiliary facilities directly serving train operations, passenger transport, or freight handling;
• Land used for implementation of public-private partnership projects;
• Land not designated as national defense or security land but used for defense and security purposes by military or police enterprises;…

In addition to the above cases, Clause 2, Article 157 of the Land Law 2024 stipulates:

“The Government shall stipulate other cases eligible for exemption or reduction of land use fees and land rental fees not covered under Clause 1 of this Article, upon approval by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.”

Accordingly, to guide the implementation of other cases eligible for exemption or reduction of land use fees and land rental fees under the Land Law 2024, the Government has issued Decree No. 230/2025/ND-CP providing regulations on such cases. At the same time, it repeals the provisions on incentives for land rental exemption or reduction applicable to production and business establishments employing persons with disabilities as stipulated in Point đ, Clause 1, Article 9 of Decree No. 28/2012/ND-CP.

The principles of exemption and reduction of land use fees and land rental fees shall be carried out in accordance with Article 157 of the Land Law 2024 and Decree No. 103/2024/ND-CP on land use fees and land rental fees. In addition, there are specific provisions applicable to the “other cases eligible for waiver or reduction of land use fees and land rental fees”.

Provisions on land use fee waiver and reduction for certain cases under Decree No. 230/2025/ND-CP

Article 4 of Decree No. 230/2025/ND-CP provides regulations on the waiver and reduction of land use fees for certain cases as follows:

Waiver of land use fees for residential land allocated within the allocation quotas

The land use fee waiver applies in the following cases:

• Allocation of resettlement residential land or allocation of land to households and individuals in residential clusters or lines located in flood-prone areas, under decisions of the Prime Minister on adjusting and supplementing eligible beneficiaries and loan mechanisms for housing construction under the program for developing residential clusters and housing in areas frequently affected by floods in the Mekong Delta.
• Allocation of residential land to fishing village households and people living on rivers, water bodies, and lagoons who are relocated to resettlement zones in accordance with the master plan, detailed plan, or project approved by competent authorities.

This policy reflects a humanitarian approach, aiming to support vulnerable groups in stabilizing long-term housing and ensuring social welfare.

30% annual land use fee reduction

A 30% reduction in annual land use fees applies to cases of land used for national defense purposes in combination with production, labor, and economic development activities, as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Land Law 2024 and Decree No. 102/2024/ND-CP, specifically:

• The Minister of National Defense is responsible for designating competent agencies to calculate the reduced land use fee and include it in the financial obligation notice issued by the Ministry of National Defense to units and state-owned enterprises under its management; and to assign agencies to guide the collection and payment of annual land use fees by such units and enterprises.
• In cases where, upon inspection, the competent authority finds that the land user has not used the land in accordance with the approved land use plan, the entity must repay the amount of land use fees previously reduced.

Thus, units and state-owned enterprises under the Ministry of National Defense are eligible for a 30% waiver of annual land use fees, but if the land is misused, the waived amount must be repaid.

Provisions on land rental fee waiver and reduction for certain cases under Decree No. 230/2025/ND-CP

Article 5 of Decree No. 230/2025/ND-CP provides for the waiver and reduction of land rental fees in specific cases as follows:

Waiver of land rental fees for the entire lease term

The following cases are eligible for a full waiver of land rental fees for the entire lease period:

• Land used for the construction of premises of the bank for social policies (including: head office, transaction centers, training centers, training facilities, IT centers, branches, transaction offices, and other affiliated units, if any).
• Land used for the construction of premises of the Vietnam Development Bank (including: head office, transaction centers, training centers, training facilities, IT centers, branches, transaction offices, and other affiliated units, if any).
• Land used for the construction of premises of off-budget state financial funds operating on a non-profit basis, established under decisions of the Government, the Prime Minister.
• Land used for the construction of communal posts and cultural centers.
• Land used for the construction of scientific research facilities of science and technology enterprises, provided that they meet the conditions under the law on science and technology.
• Land used by entities operating in the digital technology industry may also be eligible for full land rental fee waivers for the entire lease term.

This policy aims to support the development of public service infrastructure, social welfare, and scientific research for the benefit of the community.

Waiver and reduction of annual land rental fees for land leased from the State with annual payment

Waiver or reduction of land rental fees applies in cases where the land user leases land from the State and pays rent annually for use in agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, or salt production, and is affected by natural disasters or fires, as follows:

In the case where the land lessee is an organization subject to corporate income tax and has been operating in production/business for 3 years or more

The amount of the land rental fee to be waived or reduced is determined based on the percentage (%) of damage. This percentage is calculated based on the value of the loss in the affected year (recorded in the minutes of loss assessment under tax administration laws) and the average taxable revenue of the preceding three consecutive years. Specific provisions are as follows:

• If the percentage of damage is below 40%, a corresponding percentage reduction of the land rental fee will be granted for the year of loss.
• If the percentage of damage is 40% or more, a full waiver of land rental fees will be granted for the year of loss.
• Land users must submit an application for a rental fee reduction in accordance with tax administration laws. In cases eligible for waiver, land users are not required to submit a formal application for waiver but must provide information to the tax authority confirming their eligibility.
• Based on the land user’s request for land rent reduction or information provided by the land user, the tax authority, in collaboration with the competent land authority, investment registration authorities, finance authorities, and other relevant agencies (if necessary), shall inspect and determine the specific percentage of damage to serve as the basis for land rent exemption or reduction.

In cases where the land lessee is a household, individual, or organization with less than 3 years of production/business operation

In such cases, the amount of land rent reduction shall be determined based on the value of the damages after deducting the amounts supported by the State in accordance with legal regulations, and shall be implemented as follows:

• Land users suffering from natural disasters or fire shall be entitled to a reduction of land rent equivalent to the value of the damages after deducting the value of the support provided by the State as prescribed by law. The amount of land rent payable by the lessee in the year of damage shall be determined as follows:

The land rent payable for the year is reduced according to the provisions of this clause.

• The land user must submit a dossier for land rent reduction to the tax authority in accordance with the law on tax administration to be eligible for land rent reduction.
• Based on the damage value information recorded in the Minutes of Determination of Damage Level and Value, and the land rent reduction dossier submitted by the land user as prescribed by the law on tax administration, the tax authority shall issue a decision on land rent reduction in accordance with the regulations.

Land rent waiver and reduction for organizations employing ethnic minority employees

Land rent waiver and reduction for organizations employing ethnic minority employees who legally reside in provinces, centrally-governed cities, or areas within administrative boundaries, subject to support policies under the Prime Minister’s Decision on supporting organizations and units employing ethnic minority employees in mountainous and particularly difficult areas, shall be implemented as follows:

• A 50% reduction in land rent shall be applied to organizations and units employing ethnic minority employees where the proportion (%) of ethnic minority employees, as determined under Point c of this Clause, ranges from 30% to less than 50%.
• A land rent waiver shall be applied to organizations and units employing ethnic minority employees where the proportion (%) of ethnic minority employees, as determined under Point c of this Clause, is 50% or higher.
• The proportion (%) of ethnic minority employees serving as the basis for determining land rent waiver or reduction shall be calculated according to the following formula:

Waiver and reduction of land rent for organizations and units employing people with disabilities

The land rent waiver and reduction for organizations and units employing persons with disabilities, which are leased land by the State with annual land rent payment for production and business purposes, shall be implemented as follows:

• A 50% reduction of land rent for the year shall be granted to organizations and units where the proportion (%) of employees who are persons with disabilities, as determined under Point c of this Clause, ranges from 30% to less than 70%.
• A land rent waiver for the year shall be granted to organizations and units where the proportion (%) of employees who are persons with disabilities is 70% or more.
• The land rent waiver or reduction shall be based on the proportion (%) of employees who are persons with disabilities in the year immediately preceding the year in which the land rent is due.

30% land rent reduction in 2025 for annual land rent payers

With regard to land rent payable in 2025, Article 6 of Decree No. 230/2025/NĐ-CP stipulates a 30% reduction of land rent payable in 2025 for land users who are currently leasing land by the State under the form of annual land rent payment.

Specifically:

• The 2025 land rent reduction shall be calculated based on the land rent payable for 2025 as stated in the Land Rent Collection Notice (if any), or in accordance with relevant legal provisions on land rent in cases where such a notice has not yet been issued. The reduction shall not apply to any outstanding land rent from previous years or to any late payment interest (if any).
• In cases where the land user is already receiving a land rent reduction and/or deducting compensation and site clearance costs in accordance with land rent regulations, the 2025 land rent reduction shall be applied to the land rent amount payable (if any) after such reductions and/or deductions, in accordance with the law. This does not include the land rent amount already reduced for the year 2024 under Decree No. 87/2025/NĐ-CP dated April 11, 2025, on land rent reduction for 2024.
• Within 30 days from the effective date of the decision on the 2025 land rent reduction, investors who are leased land by the State with annual land rent payment for the purposes of constructing and operating industrial parks, industrial clusters, or export processing zones (hereinafter referred to as “investors”) must allocate the reduced land rent amount to the subleased land areas, in accordance with Clause 6 Article 202 of the Land Law 2024. The allocation must be done proportionally based on the land area subleased to relevant parties as prescribed.

The application dossier and procedures for the 2025 land rent reduction are specifically guided under Clause 4 and Clause 5, Article 6 of Decree No. 230/2025/NĐ-CP.

Accordingly, land users must submit 01 one Request for land rent reduction to the tax authority or other competent authority as prescribed under the land laws and tax administration laws, during the period from August 19, 2025, to November 30, 2025. Late submissions after November 30, 2025, shall not be eligible for the 2025 land rent reduction.

Thus, Decree No. 230/2025/NĐ-CP not only concretizes the Land Law 2024 but also expands the cases eligible for exemption and reduction of land use fees and land rent, thereby ensuring a balance between the interests of the State and the legitimate rights and interests of the people and businesses.

This is an important legal update regarding land use fee waivers & reductions in Vietnam under the new land law. If you have any related questions or require legal consultation on land law, please contact Viet An Law for timely and effective support!