In real business, currently many small households are still used to managing revenue and expenditure manually, recording discreetly or even "remembering it in their heads". When asked about accounting books or documents related to revenue and expenses, many household owners said that small models do not need to open books, just pay taxes fully is enough.
However, according to current legal regulations, opening books and keeping accounting documents is a mandatory obligation, even for business households. Failure to implement or incomplete implementation may be subject to administrative penalties, even if tax evasion does not arise.
Not opening accounting books is a violation.
According to the provisions of the law on accounting and taxes, business households are responsible for opening books to reflect revenue, expenses and transactions arising related to business operations. Books do not necessarily have to be as complicated as businesses, but must ensure truthful reflection, with a basis for inspection and comparison when needed.
Not opening books, opening incompletely, or only taking formal notes can all be considered violations of regulations on accounting and documents, especially in the context of increasingly based tax management on data and risk testing.
Specific penalties for not opening books, not keeping documents
According to Decree 125/2020/ND-CP, amended and supplemented by Decree 310/2025/ND-CP, acts of not opening accounting books, not recording books or not keeping accounting documents as prescribed may be subject to administrative penalties.
Specifically, business households may be fined from 5 – 10 million VND in the following cases:
- Not opening accounting books as prescribed;
- Not recording or not fully recording arising economic nghiệp vụ;
- Failure to keep or lose valid accounting documents;
- Failure to present books and documents when competent authorities request inspection.
This fine is applied even if the business household does not incur tax arrears.
Without books, risks don't just stop at fines
Not opening books or not keeping documents not only causes business households to face administrative fines of up to 10 million VND, but also increases risks when tax management agencies conduct inspections. In case there is no basis for comparison, tax authorities can determine revenue and expenses according to management data, thereby reviewing tax obligations.
If a difference is detected leading to a tax declaration omission, business households may be subject to retroactive collection, a fine of 20% of the owed tax, and late payment penalties according to regulations.
Simple books but must have
The law does not require business households to apply a complex accounting system. However, they must at least have a revenue and expense tracking book and keep complete related documents such as input and output invoices, payment documents, and contracts.
Using simple software, spreadsheets or unified notebooks, and storing documents over time is an effective way to reduce risks during inspections.
In the context of mandatory tax gradually narrowing and tax management shifting to being based on data, books and documents are no longer an option, but a mandatory requirement. Proactively opening books, taking full notes and storing documents not only helps business households avoid being fined from 5 - 10 million VND, but also protects themselves when there is inspection and comparison of tax obligations.
