The Tax Refund Conundrum: Why is it Still a Challenge?

Red Tape

Tax finalization for Personal Income Tax in 2024 has been a cumbersome process for many individuals due to discrepancies in the amount of tax owed. Mr. N.N.C from Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi, shared that he had two sources of income in 2024 and filed his taxes independently. With a total income of 596.2 million VND, after personal deductions, Mr. C had to pay 49 million VND in taxes.

When entering his income data for tax finalization on the software, Mr. C received a tax declaration with a withholding tax of 35 million VND, leaving him with an additional 14 million VND to pay. However, with the same income, the Etax Mobile app showed that Mr. C owed 20 million VND. Meanwhile, after receiving the declaration, the tax authority requested Mr. C to pay an additional 29 million VND.

“When declaring Personal Income Tax for 2024, I reviewed and did not find any related tax amounts such as land tax. With the same income, there is a discrepancy between the tax declaration on the website, the tax amount on eTax Mobile, and the notification from the tax authority. I would like the tax authority to explain the reason for this discrepancy. Which tax amount should I base my finalization on and pay the remaining tax?” Mr. C asked.

After Tien Phong newspaper reported the issue, a Tax Department official looked into the matter and discovered that Mr. C had mistakenly declared over 14 million VND in tax from the tax amount already withheld by the paying organization. The tax authority instructed Mr. C to file a supplementary declaration to adjust this tax amount.

According to Tien Phong’s investigation, there are cases where the tax amount on the declaration is lower than the amount on eTax Mobile. This occurs when the taxpayer was eligible for a refund in previous years, and the tax authority automatically cross-references, deducts, and reduces the tax amount owed.

“If there is a discrepancy in Personal Income Tax between the web declaration and eTax Mobile, taxpayers should review their declarations and ensure that all items are correctly declared. If there are any mistakes, taxpayers should contact their managing tax officials to find the cause and make the necessary adjustments,” the Tax Department official recommended.

It’s not just the amount of tax owed that is causing confusion; many taxpayers also encounter issues with suspended tax payments. Ms. N.K.N from Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi, shared that in 2025, she was eligible for a tax refund. However, when finalizing her taxes on eTax Mobile, Ms. N was shown a land tax debt of over 3 million VND, even though she had already paid this amount in full.

“I still have the tax receipts, but if I finalize online, I will be charged for this tax amount again, resulting in double payment. When I reported this issue, the managing tax official attributed it to a system glitch. I am confused and don’t know what to do. If I don’t finalize, I will be late in filing, but if I do, I will end up paying some taxes twice,” Ms. N said.

Currently, in cases where taxes have been paid but not updated, taxpayers need to go to the one-door division of the tax authority to update their information. However, many taxpayers have suggested that after receiving such feedback, the managing tax officials should proactively update the information instead of asking taxpayers to go to the one-door division, which requires additional time and administrative procedures.

The eTax Mobile app has simplified administrative procedures, such as filing complaints when tax declarations are incorrect. However, many taxpayers have had “tears and laughter” moments due to accidental clicks on the app. Ms. Nguyen Q from Ho Chi Minh City shared that she had multiple sources of income in 2024, including a 10 million VND income from a unit in Hanoi, which she accidentally clicked to dispute, claiming that she did not receive this income. After this accidental click, Ms. Q found no way to retract it.

“I accidentally clicked to dispute the income from the Hanoi unit and sent a request to the tax authority to retract it. However, to do so, I have to go to the one-door division to submit the paperwork, which takes a lot of time. I hope the tax authority can add a retraction function on the app to support us,” Ms. Q suggested.

“The email notification from the tax authority is automatic and does not allow for a reply. I asked the managing tax official, and they instructed me to go to the tax authority to write an explanatory letter. This will take a lot of time and travel expenses. I hope the tax authority can develop a function on eTax Mobile so that we can handle it automatically.”

Ms. Nguyen Thu, an accountant at a Hanoi-based organization

It’s not just the taxpayers who are facing challenges; those receiving the notifications are also “perplexed.” Ms. Nguyen Thu, an accountant at a Hanoi-based organization, received an email notification about incorrect income declaration, requesting a review, verification, and supplementary declaration (if there were any errors). After checking, Ms. Thu found that an individual had accidentally disputed the income, but she couldn’t respond online to the tax authority.

What to Do to Get a Tax Refund?

For the first time, the tax authority has implemented an automatic Personal Income Tax refund during the tax finalization period (for 2024 Personal Income Tax). This has significantly benefited taxpayers and freed up resources for the tax authority when reviewing refund applications. To obtain an automatic tax refund, taxpayers need to access the eTax Mobile app, confirm the information on the suggested Personal Income Tax finalization declaration, and fill in the refund information. After the taxpayer confirms the information, the system automatically reviews the refund. If the information is valid, the system automatically generates a decision, creates an order, and transfers the information to the State Treasury for the refund.

After nearly two months of implementation, the tax sector’s automatic database system has generated orders for 256,797 refund applications and sent them electronically to the State Treasury for processing. The total amount of automatic Personal Income Tax refunds exceeded 1,169 billion VND.

A representative of the State Treasury shared that they have been working closely with the tax authority to handle tax refund documents. In Hanoi, the State Treasury Area I has processed over 94,000 tax refund transactions. According to Mr. Nguyen Manh Duc, Deputy Director of the State Treasury Area I, since March 15, the number of tax refund orders has surged, with an average of 6,000 orders per day. On peak days, the number of orders reached 14,500. The State Treasury Area I has allocated additional personnel to ensure that all orders are processed by 4:30 PM (the time to transfer data to the bank) and that any orders received after this time are handled the next day.

During the review of Personal Income Tax refunds, the tax authority also sent warnings to 39,800 organizations that had withheld taxes but had not yet paid them into the state budget. After the warning, the tax authority will enforce debt collection and publicly disclose information about these delinquent organizations.