Compare · Georgia vs Vietnam
Georgia vs Vietnam for Australians leaving home
Georgia:Territorial taxNo AU treatyVietnam:Worldwide taxAU tax treaty
The regimes are genuinely different: Georgia is a territorial tax system while Vietnam runs worldwide tax, which of your income streams each one actually touches matters more than any headline rate.
The treaty position splits them: Vietnam has a full Australian tax treaty (tie-breaker plus withholding capped at 15% on unfranked dividends), while Georgia has none, no safety net if both countries claim you.
On day-to-day costs there is little between them, roughly 40% and 40% of Sydney's basket (indicative, ex-rent), so the money question is decided by tax and rent, not groceries.
Personalise this, enter your numbers once and every figure below becomes yours: “your estimated income tax: $14,200”, not “0, 22%”. Open the Country Comparison tool →
| 2 destinations | GeorgiaGeorgia | VietnamVietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Tax | ||
| Regime | territorial, worldwide income not taxed | worldwide, taxes worldwide income |
| Income tax on salary | Flat 20% on Georgian-source income, which includes remote work physically done in Georgia. Register for Small Business Status and qualifying service turnover is taxed at 1% instead. | Progressive 5, 35% on worldwide employment income; the 35% band starts around A$58k/year equivalent, high earners hit the top rate fast. |
| Capital gains | Foreign share gains are exempt as foreign-source. Georgian property held 2+ years sells tax-free; under 2 years, 20% on the gain. (0% typical) | Securities: 0.1% of gross sale proceeds (final), cheap if you win, painful if you sell at a loss. Private company stakes: 20% on the gain. Property: 2% of proceeds. (0% typical) |
| Dividends | Foreign dividends and interest: exempt. Georgian-source: 5% final withholding. | Flat 5% on dividends and bank interest, one of the lowest investment-income rates anywhere. |
| Interest | Generally untaxed locally | Taxed locally around 5% |
| Crypto | The tax authority has ruled that individuals' gains from selling crypto are exempt (treated as foreign-source). Mining and business-like activity can be taxable. A written advance ruling is cheap and worth getting. | Crypto sits in a legal grey zone: not recognised as an asset or payment means, with a regulatory framework legislated to take effect from 2026 (pilot exchanges, expected transaction taxes). Today, taxation of personal crypto gains is untested in practice. |
| Australia tax treaty | No, full 30% / 10% withholding, no tie-breaker | Yes, AU withholding capped at 15% dividends / 10% interest, tie-breaker available |
| Social security | A 2%+2% pension contribution applies to Georgian citizens and permanent residents on local employment; most foreign remote workers are outside it. | Compulsory social insurance applies to employees on Vietnamese labour contracts (foreigners included, ~10.5% employee side, capped); remote workers for foreign employers are outside it. |
| Visa | ||
| Best pathways |
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|
| Visa ease | 10/10 | 4/10 |
| Family on visas | Dependants covered on main pathways | Dependants covered on main pathways |
| Fastest timeline | ~0 months on the quickest pathway | ~0 months on the quickest pathway |
| Money | ||
| Rent (family home, monthly) | $1,800/mo | $2,200/mo |
| Rent (couple, monthly) | $1,100/mo | $1,200/mo |
| International school (per child/yr) | $12,000 | $20,000 |
| Health cover (family/yr) | $3,000 | $4,500 |
| Cost of living vs Sydney | 40% of Sydney (ex-rent) | 40% of Sydney (ex-rent) |
| Relocation one-off | ~$10,000 | ~$12,000 |
| Flights home (return, pp) | $2,400 | $1,200 |
| Life | ||
| Timezone vs AEST | 6h behind | 3h behind |
| Flight from Sydney | ~20 hours | ~9 hours |
| English | 4/10 | 4/10 |
| Safety | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Healthcare | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Schooling | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Climate | Continental: hot dry Tbilisi summers, snowy winters; wine-country autumns are the payoff. | HCMC: hot year-round with a May, November wet season; Hanoi adds a genuinely cold, damp winter. |
Costs, rates and visa figures are country-module data marked indicative until individually verified; FX and rental markets move constantly.
Honest downsides, side by side
Every destination hub on this site carries its downsides in the open. Here are both lists together, because the right question is rarely “which is better?” and usually “which set of problems would you rather live with?”
Georgia
- No Australia treaty: if the ATO decides you never ceased residency, Georgia's 1% receipts do not save you. There is no tie-breaker, and you will owe full Australian tax with tiny credits.
- Political volatility is real, mass protests, EU-accession whiplash and Russia next door; the risk premium is not theoretical.
- Healthcare and international schooling are the weakest on this list; families with medical needs should look elsewhere.
- English penetration is low outside the expat bubble; Georgian is a language you will not learn quickly, and bureaucracy runs in it.
- Banking access has become jumpier, enhanced compliance checks on foreigners' accounts can freeze your setup at the worst moment.
Vietnam
- No digital nomad visa and no retirement visa: unless you have a job, a company or a Vietnamese spouse, there is no compliant way to live here long-term.
- The 35% top band arrives at a low threshold, a good Australian salary earned as a Vietnamese resident is taxed harder than in Australia.
- Banking and moving money is bureaucratic: the dong is not freely convertible and repatriating funds requires documentation.
- Healthcare below international-clinic level is poor; anything serious means Bangkok or Singapore.
- Air quality in Hanoi ranks among the world's worst several months a year.
Make this comparison yours
The table above shows the general figures. Enter your income and family once and the tax rows become your numbers, “your estimated income tax in Tbilisi: $14,200”, not a range.