Fine and "sentence" for 10 years of retroactive collection
According to Decree 125/2020/ND-CP (amended by Decree 310/2025/ND-CP), the act of late payment of tax declaration dossiers for house rental activities will be strictly handled according to the level of delay:
Delay from 1-30 days: Fine from 2 - 5 million VND.
Delay from 31-90 days: Fine from 5 - 15 million VND.
Delay of over 90 days: A fine of 15 - 25 million VND (if taxes have been fully paid before being inspected).
However, what is more frightening than administrative fines is the tax arrears period.
Specifically, Clause 6, Article 8 of Decree 125/2020/ND-CP clearly stipulates: Even if the penalty period has passed, the tax authority still has the right to recover sufficient tax arrears and late payments within 10 years or more from the date of discovery of the act.
In case the homeowner does not register for tax, functional agencies will recover the entire amount of tax evasion for the entire period before (unlimited to 10 years). This is an extremely large legal risk that may "evaporate" the profit accumulated for many years of the landlord.
07 "survival" steps for business households in 2026
In addition to tightening house rental tax, from January 1, 2026, business households will also enter a historical transition from fixed tax to self-declaration.
To avoid being confused and being wrongly fined, the Tax Department recommends that business households immediately implement the following 07 preparation steps:
1. Review revenue: Determine which group you belong to (Below 500 million; From 500 million - under 3 billion; Over 3 billion VND/year) to choose the correct tax calculation method.
2. Inventory inventory inventory: Mandatory for groups paying taxes according to the revenue minus expenses method (group of revenue over 3 billion).
3. Electronic invoices: Register for immediate use if the expected revenue is over 1 billion VND/year.
4. Getting acquainted with books: Business households must start implementing accounting regimes, recording transparent books as a basis for tax declaration.
5. Legal standardization: Complete business registration and tax registration to avoid being converted from business income to salary (higher tax).
6. Separate cash flow: Open a separate bank account for business activities and declare it to the tax authority.
7. Technology practice: Practice tax declaration through the eTax Mobile application or the Public Service Portal of the Tax sector.
Important note: Business households with revenue of less than 50 billion VND will make the first declaration on April 30, 2026.
According to Decree 168/2025/ND-CP, the Household Business Code is the tax code automatically synchronized by the system. This regulation aims to unify state management, making the lookup and management of tax obligations more transparent and simple.
