Currently, there are inconsistencies in the determination of taxable personal income ("PIT") from real estate transfers among various tax guidance documents, including the Personal Income Tax Law, Decree No. 12/2015/ND-CP, and Circular No. 92/2015/TT-BTC.
Specifically, Clause 1, Article 14 of PIT Law, as amended under Article 247 of Land Law 2024, stipulates: "Taxable income from real estate transfers is determined based on the transfer price of each transaction. In cases where land use rights are transferred without attached assets, taxable PIT is calculated based on the land price in the land price table."
However, Clause 11, Article 2 of Decree 12/2015/ND-CP states that the real estate transfer price is the price recorded in the transfer contract at the time of transfer. If the transferred real estate includes houses or constructions attached to the land, the value of these assets will be determined according to the price list for registration fees set by the Provincial People's Committee.
Meanwhile, Circular 92/2015/TT-BTC issued by the Ministry of Finance stipulates that the transfer price of land use rights with attached constructions (including future-formed constructions) is the price recorded in the contract at the time of transfer.
Thus, there is a conflict between these documents regarding the basis for determining the real estate transfer price.
To ensure consistency, the General Department of Taxation has recently issued Official Letter No. 299/TCT-CS, providing guidance on determining real estate transfer prices based on the Personal Income Tax Law—the highest legal authority among the mentioned documents. Specifically:
1. For households and individuals transferring land use rights without any attached assets, taxable PIT will be determined based on the land price in the local land price table.
2. For households and individuals transferring real estate (including land use rights and assets attached to the land), taxable PIT will be determined based on the transfer price of each transaction.
Official Letter 299/TCT-CS was issued on January 17, 2025, to guide provincial and municipal tax departments in ensuring uniform implementation.
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