From January 1, 2026, all business households and individuals nationwide will have to switch to the new accounting regime when the fixed tax mechanism officially ends. This regulation is stated in Circular 152/2025/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance, a document establishing a unified accounting framework applicable to business households.
According to the Circular, household owners can self-record books, hire accountants or use accounting services. The scope of people allowed to concurrently hold accounting positions is expanded, including biological parents - adopters, spouses, biological children - adopters, siblings or those who are managing and operating, warehousekeepers, cashiers, people who regularly buy and sell to business households. The goal is to reduce personnel costs, helping business households meet new requirements without generating a large burden.
Bookkeeping becomes mandatory when fixed tax is abolished
From 2026, business households' taxes will be calculated based on actual revenue and expenses instead of the fixed level. Therefore, recording and storing invoices and documents becomes the central obligation of each household.
Circular 152 stipulates three levels of books attached to each tax payment method:
Group 1: Revenue under 500 million VND/year
This group does not have to pay VAT and personal income tax, but must still record it in the Sales and Service Revenue Book according to the Ministry of Finance's form. The book must show the date of birth, the content of the sales and the amount of money collected. This is the only type of book that the group under 500 million VND must prepare.
Group 2: Pay VAT and personal income tax according to the percentage of revenue
Households in this group must store invoices and documents related to revenue and use the Revenue Book to clearly show the tax calculation percentage and the amount of tax payable for each business activity.
Group 3: Paying taxes based on profit (revenue minus expenses)
This is the group with the highest requirements. Business households must have valid invoices for input - output and prepare 4 types of accounting books, including:
- Sales and Service Revenue Book
- Detailed books of materials and goods (import – export – inventory)
- Detailed cash flow book at the bank
- Cash tracking book
All invoices, documents and accounting books must be stored for at least 5 years, possibly in paper or electronic form. Business households are also entitled to design additional types of books to serve internal management if necessary.
New tax management framework: 4 groups of business households
In parallel with the Circular, the draft Decree on tax management for business households is being completed, which classifies households into four revenue groups:
- Group 1: Under 500 million VND/year, VAT and personal income tax are not paid, revenue is declared once per year.
- Group 2: 500 million - under 3 billion VND/year is selected for tax calculation based on revenue or interest.
- Group 3: 3 – under 50 billion VND/year will pay tax based on profit.
- Group 4: Over 50 billion VND/year must fully declare revenue - expenses, similar to large-scale enterprises.
Grouping is assessed to help standardize data and create consistency between the accounting regime and tax regulations, helping to closely manage the actual revenue of business households.
Switching to declaring according to actual revenue and expenses will create more transparency and accurately reflect business efficiency. However, small-scale household groups that are familiar with the contract form may face difficulties when making full bookkeeping for the first time.
The tax authority said it will issue detailed guidelines accompanied by training and support for localities in disseminating new regulations, in order to help business households catch up before the compulsory accounting regime takes effect from 2026.
