Sell or keep renting out your apartment — a comparison in numbers

Legal basis: Law on Personal Income Tax No. 109/2025/QH15 (dated 10/12/2025, effective 01/07/2026) — Article 4 (tax exemption on deposit interest), Article 14 (2% transfer tax); Decree 141/2026/NĐ-CP (rental revenue threshold of 1 billion VND/year); Circular 257/2016/TT-BTC (notary fees); 12-month deposit rates published on 01/10/2026 · Updated 20/10/2026.

The question "sell or keep" can be answered with one comparison: net annual income from renting against the interest you would earn by selling and depositing the proceeds. The difference is the price growth the apartment needs for keeping it to come out level. HPR does not forecast whether prices will rise or fall — this article helps you work it out yourself with your own unit's figures.

Step 1: work out the net rental yield

Net yield = (annual rent − the owner's costs) ÷ the price the unit would sell for today. Use today's achievable sale price, not the original purchase price, because that is the amount you currently have "tied up" in the unit.

Reference example — assumptions: the apartment would sell for 3 billion VND; let at 12 million VND/month; vacant 1 month/year; the owner pays the management fee of 70 m² × 15,000 VND/m²/month; furniture worth 150 million VND used for 7 years; this is the owner's only rental unit.

Item	Per year
Rent for 11 months	132 million VND
Management fee (paid by the owner)	− 12.6 million VND
Maintenance and repairs (assumed)	− 6 million VND
Tenant-finding fee (assumed at half a month's rent)	− 6 million VND
Furniture depreciation (150 million ÷ 7 years)	− 21 million VND
Rental tax (revenue under 1 billion VND/year)	0 VND
Net income	about 86 million VND ≈ 2.9%/year

Rental revenue of 1 billion VND/year or less is not subject to value added tax or personal income tax, but the revenue must still be reported — see renting out an apartment: the landlord's papers and taxes. Depreciation is often forgotten: furniture and appliances wear out, and as the unit ages it becomes hard to hold the old rent without refreshing it.

Step 2: work out what you actually receive from a sale

Selling a 3 billion VND unit (with a pink book, not eligible for tax exemption), you pay 2% personal income tax of 60 million VND, and a notary fee of 2.2 million VND if the seller bears it. A brokerage service fee of 1% (30 million VND) is assumed for illustration only — HPR's consignment fee is negotiated for each property and written into the contract. The amount received is about 2.91 billion VND. Each item in detail: costs when selling a home.

Step 3: compare with the opportunity cost

In early October 2026, 12-month savings rates at Vietcombank, BIDV and VietinBank were 5.9%/year; a survey of 35 banks showed 12-month rates from 3.7% to 7.8%/year. Interest earned by individuals on deposits at credit institutions is exempt from personal income tax.

Comparison (reference example)	Per year
Keep the unit and continue renting: net income	about 86 million VND
Sell, deposit 2.91 billion VND at 5.9%/year	about 172 million VND
Difference	about 85 million VND
Price growth needed for keeping to come out level	about 2.8%/year (85 million ÷ 3 billion)

This is a break-even point, not a forecast. If you believe the unit's price will rise faster than this over the period you plan to hold it, keeping it is better; if prices stay flat or fall, the savings deposit is better. Note: if you keep it and sell later, you still pay the 2% tax and selling costs at that time.

Factors that change the comparison

• The unit still has a bank loan: when the loan rate is higher than the savings rate, selling to repay the debt saves loan interest — compare against the loan rate, not the savings rate. See home loan rates above 10%/year.
• You have plans for the money: upgrading to another home, a business, children's education — money tied up in an apartment takes time to release.
• Tax exemption applies (sole home, owned for 183 days or more): selling saves the 2%, tilting the comparison further towards selling.
• A lease is still running: you can still sell, and the tenant stays until the term ends — see selling a tenanted apartment.
• Rental revenue above 1 billion VND/year (several units): rental tax reduces net income.
• Vacancy and tenants in arrears: each vacant month cuts the yield by about 0.4 percentage points in the example above (12 million ÷ 3 billion).

Enter your own unit's figures in the rental income calculator to get the net yield, then compare it with bank interest rates at the time you decide.

This article is for reference only and does not replace legal or financial advice for your specific case. HPR does not recommend selling or keeping and makes no commitment on rental yield or sale price.

1. Ask what the unit would sell for today — the asking prices of similar units in the same project, not the original purchase price.
2. Add up the rent actually received over the year — excluding vacant months and months at a discount.
3. Deduct the owner's costs — management fee (if the owner pays it), maintenance, tenant-finding fee, furniture depreciation, rental tax (if revenue exceeds 1 billion VND/year).
4. Divide by today's sale price to get the net yield — or use the rental income calculator.
5. Work out what you would receive from a sale — after the 2% tax, notary fee, brokerage fee and loan repayment (if any).
6. Multiply the proceeds by the savings rate (or the loan rate you are paying, if you still owe money) at the time of deciding.
7. Divide the difference by the sale price — that is the annual price growth needed for keeping to come out level.

Sources in Vietnamese; titles kept in the original, with a short English translation in brackets.

• Thi truong Tai chinh Tien te — Lãi suất đầu tháng 10/2026: Tiết kiệm giữ nhịp ổn định, chứng chỉ tiền gửi hút khách (Interest rates in early October 2026: savings steady, certificates of deposit draw customers), 1 October 2026 (Vietcombank, BIDV, VietinBank 12-month term 5.9%/year; 35 banks 3.7–7.8%/year).
• Thu vien Nha dat — Luật Thuế thu nhập cá nhân 2025 (Law on Personal Income Tax 2025), Law No. 109/2025/QH15 dated 10 December 2025 (Article 4, clause 6 — tax exemption on interest from deposits at credit institutions), read 20 October 2026.
• Government Portal — Quy định thuế thu nhập cá nhân đối với thu nhập từ chuyển nhượng bất động sản (Personal income tax rules on income from real estate transfers), 27 March 2026 (Article 14 — 2% tax).
• Government News — Trường hợp nào được miễn thuế thu nhập cá nhân khi chuyển nhượng bất động sản? (Which real estate transfers are exempt from personal income tax?), 2 July 2026 (Decree 253/2026/NĐ-CP).
• Vietnam Financial Times — Doanh thu cho thuê bất động sản dưới 1 tỷ đồng/năm, cá nhân không phải nộp thuế (Individuals with property rental revenue under 1 billion VND/year pay no tax), 12 June 2026 (Decree 141/2026/NĐ-CP).
• Caselaw — Thông tư 257/2016/TT-BTC quy định mức thu phí công chứng (Circular 257/2016/TT-BTC on notary fees), dated 11 November 2016 (Article 4), read 20 October 2026.