How Hanoi’s Corporate Education Allowances Compare Across AP and IB Schools (2026–27 Guide)

A corporate education allowance is the amount your employer pays each year towards your child’s schooling in Hanoi. It’s usually capped per child and often set in your home currency (KRW, JPY, INR, CNY or USD). Schools, meanwhile, invoice in VND.

Comparing allowances across AP and IB schools comes down to one question. Does the cap cover the school’s full Grade 9–12 cost, not just the headline tuition?

Among the schools reviewed in this guide, published 2026–27 tuition runs from about VND 420 million to around VND 1 billion a year, with UNIS’s top fee converted at an illustrative exchange rate. Enrolment fees, deposits, bus and exam fees come on top. One Hanoi school-fee guide advises budgeting 10–15% above headline tuition. And in the fees we reviewed, cost varied more from school to school than from curriculum to curriculum.

On tax, expatriates generally pay no Vietnamese personal income tax on tuition the employer pays directly to the school. Vietnamese employees shouldn’t assume the same applies to them.

Where to start: get your HR policy in writing, request each shortlisted school’s 2026–27 fee schedule, and map the all-in cost against your cap for every year your child will spend in Hanoi.

You’ll also find three things a quick summary can’t give you: a fill-in allowance-fit worksheet, a worked Grade 11–12 cost example and a ready-to-send email to HR.

How Do AP and IB Schools in Hanoi Compare on Cost in 2026–27?

Published tuition overlaps heavily between the AP and IB schools reviewed here, and at least one IB school charges less than an AP school at the same grade. Compare schools, not curriculum labels.

Each row shows one school’s published figures. None of them speaks for “AP” or “IB” as a whole.

What Does a Corporate Education Allowance in Hanoi Actually Cover?

Allowances usually cover tuition. Beyond that, it depends on the employer. The policy wording largely shapes which schools fit your budget, so read it before you open a single brochure.

Tuition-only vs all-in policies

Under a tuition-only policy, everything else is yours to pay: enrolment fees, capital levies, deposits, bus, meals and exam fees.

Those extras add up quickly. At Concordia, the one-off enrolment fee and deposit alone come to VND 75 million in Year 1, and the bus adds another VND 33 million every year.

[[EDITOR | BẰNG CHỨNG: Concordia’s 2026–27 fee schedule shows the gap between headline tuition and the Year 1 invoice at one AP school — doris.school, Concordia fees]]

How home-currency caps and VND invoices create FX exposure

A cap fixed in KRW, JPY or INR moves against the dong every month, and school fees can rise every year. Put the two together, and a cap that looked comfortable in Year 1 can quietly fall short by Year 3.

Per-child caps and sibling discounts

Every extra child brings its own capped allowance, and its own gap. Sibling discounts help: Concordia, for instance, takes 10% off tuition for a third child. But ask HR who keeps the saving, the company or you.

The “recognised international school” clause

Some policies only pay for “recognised” schools without saying what that means. Ask HR in writing whether an accredited American-curriculum AP school qualifies, and name the accreditation body, such as Cognia or ACS WASC.

What localisation does to education support

Localisation turns a full expatriate package into a local-plus package, and education support often shrinks along the way. JLL links the decline in school-fee allowances across Southeast Asia since 2008 partly to post-crisis cost-cutting and a pull-back by large oil firms. That’s a regional trend, though, not a forecast for your employer.

[[EDITOR | BẰNG CHỨNG: Expat school-fee allowances in Southeast Asia have largely faded since 2008, and around 80% of international-school students in Asia are local — JLL, citing ISC Research]]

ECA International’s 2025 benefits survey still finds primary and secondary education widely covered, and more employers now recognise special educational needs. So the benefit hasn’t disappeared. The real question is how far it stretches.

Is AP or IB Cheaper in Hanoi Once Exam and Enrolment Fees Are Added?

Neither curriculum is cheaper by default. The two exam systems are priced differently, but in the examples reviewed here, tuition and one-off fees make up most of the bill.

How AP and IB exam fees differ

AP is a set of independent one-year courses, each ending in its own College Board exam, and your child chooses how many exams to sit. For 2026–27, each AP exam taken at a school outside the US costs USD 129. Late orders cost more, so check your school’s internal deadline.

The IB Diploma is a two-year integrated programme, assessed across six subjects plus the core. Hanoi International School, for example, charges VND 4 million per DP subject in Grade 12.

[[EDITOR | BẰNG CHỨNG: Hanoi International School’s 2026/27 IB tuition and Grade 12 DP exam fees per subject — doris.school, Hanoi International School]]

Worked example: Grade 11–12 all-in cost against a VND 700 million cap

This example assumes a hypothetical cap of VND 700 million and uses published 2026–27 fees. USD amounts are converted at an illustrative VND 26,000 per US dollar.

This isn’t a like-for-like comparison. Concordia’s figure includes Year 1 one-off fees, while HIS’s bus and enrolment fees are missing. On tuition alone, though, Concordia’s VND 872.5 million still exceeds HIS’s top fee of VND 767 million. One counter-example is enough to sink the idea that “AP is the budget option”. It doesn’t prove the reverse, that IB schools are generally cheaper.

Run this worksheet for each school on your shortlist:

[[EDITOR | MODULE: Allowance-Fit Calculator — calculates the yearly gap between the allowance cap and the all-in cost, plus the gross salary needed to fund it (replaces the static worksheet if inserted).]]

Is Employer-Paid Tuition Tax-Free in Vietnam?

Yes for expatriates, as long as the employer pays the school directly. The exemption covers school fees for expatriates’ children studying in Vietnam, from kindergarten to high school.

[[EDITOR | BẰNG CHỨNG: The school-fee PIT exemption applies only to expatriates’ children studying K–12 in Vietnam, and only with direct employer-to-school payment — Grant Thornton, Expatriate tax Vietnam]]

What expatriates need to keep the exemption

Direct payment from employer to school is a condition of the exemption. If HR hands you cash to pay the school yourself, that money can become taxable income.

Does the exemption apply to Vietnamese employees’ children?

As the guidance is currently worded, the exemption is aimed at the children of expatriates and of Vietnamese working overseas. That means a Vietnamese professional in the same Hanoi office may be taxed on the same benefit. Implementing guidance under Law No. 109/2025/QH15 may refine this, so check your position with a tax adviser before you accept a package. This section isn’t tax advice.

How the 2026 PIT reform affects families who top up tuition

Any top-up you pay comes out of your after-tax income. Since January 2026, salary tax has run across five brackets, from 5% up to 35% on monthly taxable income above VND 100 million. The personal deduction rose to VND 15.5 million a month, and each registered dependant now qualifies for a deduction of VND 6.2 million a month. Resolution 110/2025/UBTVQH15 set the new deductions, and Personal Income Tax Law No. 109/2025/QH15 took effect on 1 July 2026.

[[EDITOR | BẰNG CHỨNG: Five tax brackets from January 2026 topping out at 35% above VND 100 million a month, with deductions of VND 15.5 million per taxpayer and VND 6.2 million per dependant — GvW]]

Apply that to the worked example. Covering a VND 91 million gap at a 30% marginal rate takes about VND 130 million of gross salary; at 35%, about VND 140 million. Treat these as rough figures: they assume the whole top-up is taxed at your marginal rate and ignore bracket boundaries and compulsory insurance.

Deduction levels may now be revised more often than in the past, so recheck them every tax year.

What Happens If Your Assignment Ends Halfway Through the IB Diploma?

Leaving mid-Diploma is a real risk. The IB Diploma runs as one two-year programme, so a move in Grade 11 can disrupt it. Some IB schools abroad will take mid-Diploma transfers when subject choices line up, but that’s down to the receiving school. AP courses wrap up each year, and the scores stay on the student’s record.

[[EDITOR | MODULE: Rotation Risk Quiz — four questions that suggest AP, IB or a national school, with a rotation risk level for each.]]

Can AP scores transfer to Korea, Japan, India, China or the US?

AP scores move with the student as College Board records. How universities treat AP and the IB Diploma, however, varies by institution and programme. Your target country affects which one serves your child better, so check each university’s admissions page directly.

[GỢI Ý ẢNH: Timeline overlaying a 2-year and a 3-year expat assignment on Grades 9–12, with the IB DP window highlighted | ALT TEXT: How a 2- or 3-year expat assignment in Hanoi overlaps with the two-year IB Diploma]

When Is Paying Above the Cap for IB the Right Call?

Putting the allowance first isn’t always the right call. Here are three cases where it isn’t.

For that last group, the AP vs IB question may not arise at all. Just run the national school’s fees against your cap the same way.

Which Path Fits Your Family? A Scenario Playbook

Find the row closest to your situation, then run the worksheet above.

How Should You Ask HR to Pay the School Directly?

In writing, and before you enrol. Put these six questions to HR.

Copy and adapt this email:

[[EDITOR | MODULE: HR Readiness Checklist + Email Generator — six tick boxes with a progress bar that auto-generate a copyable email to HR (replaces the static table and email if inserted).]]

Where Does True North International School Fit?

TRUE NORTH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL is a strong fit for families who want an American curriculum, a portable AP record and costs they can map cleanly against an allowance. It’s a weaker fit for families set on the full IB Diploma.

Because the school publishes its fees, mapping them against an allowance is straightforward:

TNIS’s first Grade 12 cohort received offers from more than 30 international universities, including Cornell, UCL, the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney, along with around USD 3 million in US scholarships and AUD 80,000 in Australia. International-track students scored 1550/1600 on the SAT in 2023 and 1570/1600 in 2024. These are one school’s results, shaped partly by the strengths and size of each cohort. Read them as context, not a promise.

The parent community includes Vietnamese, Korean, Indian and German families. One Korean parent, writing on the school website, says Vietnamese and Korean students play together easily and in a friendly way.

To make allowance mapping repeatable, TRUE NORTH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL’s admissions team uses what it calls the True North Cap-First Method:

[GỢI Ý ẢNH: Real photo of a TNIS high school AP class or the Mo Lao campus | ALT TEXT: High school students in an AP class at True North International School, Ha Dong, Hanoi]

Map Your Allowance Before You Choose a Curriculum

Cap first, all-in cost second, rotation third. Get those right, and the curriculum choice usually narrows itself down.

This guide was written by Kiều Trọng Tú [BỔ SUNG KINH NGHIỆM/BỐI CẢNH TÁC GIẢ] and reviewed by Nguyễn Bá Thuyên, using fee schedules and tax guidance current as of October 2026.

TRUE NORTH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL can help you run the numbers:

True North International School | TH-03, Mo Lao Urban Area, Ha Dong, Hanoi | (024) 7304 3768 | info@truenorth.edu.vn

Related Topics

• AP or IB in Hanoi: Choosing the Curriculum That Survives Your Next Posting
• International School Fees in Hanoi 2026–27: The Real All-in Cost by Grade
• Vietnam’s 2026 Personal Income Tax Reform: What Expat Parents Need to Know
• Is Employer-Paid Tuition Tax-Free in Vietnam? A Document Checklist for Expats
• Local-Plus vs Full Expat Package: What Happens to Your Child’s Schooling
• How Many AP Courses Should a Hanoi High School Student Take?
• AP Exam Fees and Deadlines for Students in Vietnam (2026–27)
• Korean Families in Hanoi: KISH, KGS or an English-Medium AP School?
• Japanese Families on 3-Year Rotations: Choosing a School in Hanoi
• US vs UK vs Australia: Which High School Pathway Fits Your University Target?
• Cognia and ACS WASC Accreditation Explained for Hanoi Parents
• Ha Dong International Schools: A Parent’s Guide for Expat Families

Contact us now on 02473043768 or 0388387899 for a free consultation!

Written by: Kiều Trọng Tú | Reviewed by: Nguyễn Bá Thuyên Last updated: 20 October 2026