FOREWORD
Business households and individuals always play an essential role, creating a driving force for the dynamic and diverse development of the economy. Along with the operation process, mastering and complying with the regulations on tax obligations not only helps people prevent legal risks but also ensures their legitimate interests.
From January 1, 2026, the tax policy for business households in Vietnam will enter a landmark transition period. The familiar flat tax mechanism for many years has been officially abolished, replaced by a self-declaration – self-payment mechanism based on the actual revenue generated. Along with that, the taxable revenue threshold has been raised from VND 500 million to VND 1 billion per year according to Decree 141/2026/ND-CP, opening up many advantages but also setting new requirements for transparency and discipline in financial management.
This change directly impacts more than five million business households across the country. If in the past tax obligations were mostly "fixed", now each business household must actively record books, store invoices and documents and take responsibility for the data they declare. Notably, even households that are exempt from tax do not mean that they are exempt from the obligation to declare - a point that many people still misunderstand.
The transformation of tax policies and the regulatory system related to tax declaration and payment methods, or the use of e-invoices still often bring many concerns to taxpayers in reality. In the context of continuous issuance and adjustment of guiding documents, correct understanding and doing the right thing from the beginning has become a vital factor for business households to avoid errors, limit legal risks and develop with peace of mind.
In order to help customers and business households quickly update, correctly understand and accurately apply the latest legal regulations, HM&P is pleased to launch the publication "Q&A ON TAX OBLIGATIONS APPLICABLE TO BUSINESS HOUSEHOLDS AND INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS OPERATORS". Through an intuitive, concise Q&A format that follows practical situations, the publication will solve from the most basic problems to the most complex problems encountered in the process of enforcing tax obligations.
We hope that this publication will become an effective companion handbook, helping you to be confident and proactive in managing the finance and tax of a single business model but not simple in Vietnam.
Best regards!
1. What taxes must be paid by business households?
HM&P:
For normal production and business activities, business households and individuals need to pay attention mainly to two types of taxes: value-added tax and personal income tax.
Regarding value-added tax, according to the Law on Value-Added Tax 2024 (VAT), households and individuals producing and trading goods and services subject to value-added tax are value-added tax payers[1]. However, goods and services of production and business households and individuals with annual turnover from the turnover level prescribed by the Government or less are not subject to VAT[2].
Regarding personal income tax, according to the Law on Personal Income Tax 2025 (PIT), income from the production and trading of goods and services, including e-commerce and digital-based businesses, is income subject to personal income tax[3]. However, resident individuals engaged in production and business activities with an annual turnover of the revenue level prescribed by the Government or less are not required to pay personal income tax[4].
Thus, if the annual turnover of a business household does not exceed the turnover level prescribed by the Government, the business household is not required to pay VAT and PIT for ordinary production and business activities. In case the annual turnover exceeds this level, the business household must determine, declare and pay VAT and PIT as prescribed.
In addition to the two main taxes mentioned above, depending on specific industries, goods, services or business activities, business households may incur other tax and fee obligations such as excise tax, natural resource tax, environmental protection tax or environmental protection fee. These amounts are only incurred when business households have activities subject to corresponding taxes and fees in accordance with specialized laws.
In case the annual turnover exceeds this level, the business household must determine, declare and pay VAT and PIT as prescribed.
2. After tax registration, what tasks should business households perform to facilitate tax declaration, payment and management of tax records?
HM&P:
After completing tax registration procedures, business households should actively perform a number of necessary tasks so that tax declaration, payment and management of tax records are convenient and in accordance with regulations.
Firstly, business households need to keep and use the tax registration information that has been issued uniformly in the process of tax declaration, payment, invoicing and working with tax authorities. In case after tax registration, there is a change in information such as address, business location or other registered information, the business household must carry out procedures for changing tax registration information. If a business household registers tax together with the registration of a business household under the inter-agency one-stop shop mechanism, the change of tax registration information shall be carried out together with the procedures for changing the business household registration[5] contents. In case the change of address causes a change in the tax authority directly managing it, the business household shall carry out procedures at the tax authority of the place of relocation before registering the change of address at the business registration office[6].
Secondly, business households should register, activate and use electronic tax accounts to declare, pay taxes, look up tax obligations and receive notices from tax authorities. Accordingly, business households and individuals submit tax declaration dossiers electronically[7]; at the same time, tax authorities are responsible for guiding taxpayers to use applications and platforms for electronic tax declaration and payment[8].
Thirdly, business households need to notify the tax authorities of payment accounts and e-wallets used for business activities. Accordingly, business households and individuals are responsible for notifying electronically all account numbers opened at payment service providers and e-wallet numbers related to production and business[9].
Fourth, business households need to monitor the notice of the tax authority and the deadline for tax declaration and payment to comply on time. The time limit for submitting tax declaration and payment dossiers is determined on a case-by-month basis, quarterly or annual settlement[10].
Finally, business households should organize the recording, tracking, and keeping of books, invoices, documents, revenue data, expenses, and inputs from the beginning[11].
3. Business households that only sell goods online through e-commerce platforms, have an annual revenue of over VND 3 billion and have been deducted, declared and paid tax on behalf of the e-commerce platform, do they have to re-declare this revenue by themselves? In case of applying the tax calculation method on taxable income, what should business households pay attention to the monitoring of revenue, expenses, goods and documents for personal income tax finalization?
HM&P:
In case a business household sells goods online through an e-commerce platform with an annual revenue of over VND 3 billion, it is necessary to distinguish between the obligation to deduct, declare and pay tax on behalf of the e-commerce platform and the obligation to summarize and finalize personal income tax of the business household.
According to Decree 68/2026/ND-CP, in case the e-commerce floor has the function of online ordering and payment function, the floor is responsible for deducting, declaring on behalf of and paying the deducted tax amount for each transaction of selling goods and providing services of the business household. individuals doing business on the exchange. Therefore, for the revenue that has been deducted, declared and paid tax on behalf of the e-commerce floor, the business household is not required to re-declare in the sense of duplicate declaration to repay the tax amount that has been made by the exchange on behalf of the exchange.
However, the fact that the e-commerce platform has deducted, declared and paid tax on behalf does not mean that business households are no longer obliged to synthesize information for personal income tax finalization. According to the PIT Law 2025 and Decree 68/2026/ND-CP, business households and individuals with an annual revenue of over VND 3 billion are eligible to apply the personal income tax calculation method by multiplying the taxable income by the tax rate. According to this method, taxable income is determined on the basis of the turnover of goods and services sold minus expenses related to production and business activities in the tax period.
For business households that only do business on e-commerce platforms, or both do business at fixed business locations and e-commerce platforms, if they have a combined annual revenue of over VND 3 billion, business households must aggregate revenue to declare PIT finalization by year. The personal income tax amount that has been deducted or paid on behalf of the e-commerce platform will be deducted when determining the payable PIT amount when finalizing.
Because this tax calculation method is based on taxable income, business households need to monitor and keep sufficient information about revenue, expenses, goods, invoices, input documents and relevant documents to prove deductible expenses when finalizing PIT. Expenses are only counted as deductible expenses if they meet the prescribed conditions, including being related to production and business activities and having all valid invoices and documents.
Therefore, in case the e-commerce floor has deducted, declared and paid tax on its behalf, the business household does not have to re-declare the revenue that has been made by the floor on behalf of the floor to pay the same tax. However, business households still need to synthesize revenues, expenses and tax amounts that have been deducted and paid on behalf of them to serve the year-end PIT finalization if they are subject to finalization by the method of taxable income multiplied by the tax rate.
4. In case at the beginning of the year the business household expects the annual revenue not exceeding VND 3 billion and is applying the method of calculating personal income tax according to the tax rate multiplied by the taxable turnover, but by the end of the year the actual revenue exceeds VND 3 billion, the business household must immediately switch in that year to the method of calculating personal income tax according to taxable income multiplied by the tax rate or not?
HM&P:
Business households do not have to change the tax calculation method right in the year in which the revenue threshold exceeds the threshold of VND 3 billion.
Specifically, in case business households and individuals are applying the method of calculating personal income tax at the tax rate multiplied by the taxable turnover, if at the end of the year the actual annual revenue is determined to be over VND 3 billion, they must switch to the method of calculating personal income tax according to the taxable income multiplied by the tax rate[12] from the following year.
Thus, if at the beginning of the year the business household expects revenue not to exceed VND 3 billion and is applying the tax calculation method according to the tax rate multiplied by the taxable revenue, but by the end of the year the actual revenue exceeds VND 3 billion, the business household will continue to apply this method for the current year. The switch to the tax calculation method based on taxable income multiplied by the tax rate will be implemented from the next tax year.