Compare · Thailand vs Vietnam
Thailand vs Vietnam for Australians leaving home
The regimes are genuinely different: Thailand 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 Thailand's 50% (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 | ThailandThailand | VietnamVietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Tax | ||
| Regime | remittance, worldwide income not taxed | worldwide, taxes worldwide income |
| Income tax on salary | Progressive 0, 35% on Thai-source salary. A THB 2m (~A$87k) salary pays roughly 18% effective after standard allowances. | 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 | Gains on SET-listed Thai shares are exempt. Foreign share gains earned from 2024 are taxable at progressive rates in the year remitted. (15% 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 | Thai dividends: 10% final withholding. Foreign dividends: progressive rates when remitted, with a treaty credit for Australian tax already paid. | Flat 5% on dividends and bank interest, one of the lowest investment-income rates anywhere. |
| Interest | Taxed locally around 15% | Taxed locally around 5% |
| Crypto | Crypto gains are assessable income at progressive rates, with 15% withholding on some disposals. Trades on SEC-licensed Thai exchanges have enjoyed temporary exemptions. Foreign-exchange crypto gains follow the remittance rules, taxable when brought in. | 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 | Employees pay a capped social security contribution (max THB 750/month), negligible for planning. | 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 | 7/10 | 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) | $2,800/mo | $2,200/mo |
| Rent (couple, monthly) | $1,500/mo | $1,200/mo |
| International school (per child/yr) | $22,000 | $20,000 |
| Health cover (family/yr) | $5,500 | $4,500 |
| Cost of living vs Sydney | 50% of Sydney (ex-rent) | 40% of Sydney (ex-rent) |
| Relocation one-off | ~$15,000 | ~$12,000 |
| Flights home (return, pp) | $1,300 | $1,200 |
| Life | ||
| Timezone vs AEST | 3h behind | 3h behind |
| Flight from Sydney | ~9.5 hours | ~9 hours |
| English | 5/10 | 4/10 |
| Safety | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Healthcare | 8/10 | 5/10 |
| Schooling | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Climate | Tropical: hot season to 40°C, monsoon June, October, pleasant November, February. | 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?”
Thailand
- The 2024 remittance change turned Thailand from "de facto tax-free" into a real tax system overnight, and the rules are still settling, which is exactly the uncertainty you moved to avoid.
- Visa policy churns: rules on extensions, insurance and financial proof change frequently and vary by immigration office.
- Air quality in Bangkok and especially Chiang Mai (burning season, Feb, April) is a genuine health issue.
- You will never be more than a guest: property freehold is off-limits for land, and permanent residency/citizenship are rare in practice.
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 Bangkok: $14,200”, not a range.