Compare · Malta vs Vietnam
Malta vs Vietnam for Australians leaving home
Malta:Remittance basisAU tax treatyVietnam:Worldwide taxAU tax treaty
The regimes are genuinely different: Malta is a remittance-basis tax system while Vietnam runs worldwide tax, which of your income streams each one actually touches matters more than any headline rate.
Both have a tax treaty with Australia, so either way you get a tie-breaker if the ATO contests your departure, and capped withholding (15%/10% vs 15%/10% on unfranked dividends/interest).
Vietnam is the cheaper place to live day to day, roughly 40% of Sydney's basket against Malta's 70% (indicative, ex-rent), which can outweigh a thinner tax saving over a full household budget.
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 | MaltaMalta | VietnamVietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Tax | ||
| Regime | remittance, worldwide income not taxed | worldwide, taxes worldwide income |
| Income tax on salary | Progressive 0, 35% on Malta-source and remitted employment income. Work physically done in Malta is Malta-source, the remittance basis does not shelter your laptop income. | 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 capital gains are outside the net for non-doms even when remitted, the standout feature. Malta-situated assets are taxable normally. (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: taxable only if remitted (progressive rates); keep them offshore and pay nothing beyond the €5k minimum tax. Australian franking credits are worthless here. | Flat 5% on dividends and bank interest, one of the lowest investment-income rates anywhere. |
| Interest | Taxed locally around 35% | Taxed locally around 5% |
| Crypto | Malta distinguishes "coins" (currency-like, trading gains may be exempt as currency) from tokens; long-term investment gains on financial tokens by non-doms arising offshore are foreign capital gains, not taxed even if remitted. Day-trading is income. Get the classification opined. | 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 | Yes, AU withholding capped at 15% dividends / 10% interest, tie-breaker available | Yes, AU withholding capped at 15% dividends / 10% interest, tie-breaker available |
| Social security | Class 1/Class 2 social security ~10% capped at modest levels; excluded from the calculation. | 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 | 6/10 | 4/10 |
| Family on visas | Dependants covered on main pathways | Dependants covered on main pathways |
| Fastest timeline | ~1 month on the quickest pathway | ~0 months on the quickest pathway |
| Money | ||
| Rent (family home, monthly) | $3,200/mo | $2,200/mo |
| Rent (couple, monthly) | $2,000/mo | $1,200/mo |
| International school (per child/yr) | $12,000 | $20,000 |
| Health cover (family/yr) | $3,500 | $4,500 |
| Cost of living vs Sydney | 70% of Sydney (ex-rent) | 40% of Sydney (ex-rent) |
| Relocation one-off | ~$20,000 | ~$12,000 |
| Flights home (return, pp) | $2,500 | $1,200 |
| Life | ||
| Timezone vs AEST | 9h behind | 3h behind |
| Flight from Sydney | ~23 hours | ~9 hours |
| English | 10/10 | 4/10 |
| Safety | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Healthcare | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Schooling | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Climate | Mediterranean, hot summers, mild winters, on a small, dense, windy island. | 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?”
Malta
- It is genuinely small, 27km end to end, construction everywhere, Europe's densest population; island fever is the number-one reason expats leave.
- The remittance basis needs discipline: separate offshore accounts, clean capital/income segregation, and records the Commissioner will accept, sloppy banking converts "not taxable" into "taxable".
- Reputation risk: Malta has spent years on and off financial-crime grey lists; banks are compliance-heavy and account opening is slow.
- Summer is hot, crowded and touristy; public infrastructure (roads, buses, power in heatwaves) strains visibly.
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 Sliema/St Julian's: $14,200”, not a range.