New points in Circular 152/2025/TT_BTC for household businesses.

Circular 152/2025/TT_BTC, effective from January 1, 2026, applies stricter regulations for household and individual businesses, requiring the use of accounting books and a 5-year retention period to ensure transparency and consistency in tax management. In the article below, let's explore the main changes in this circular with 1C Vietnam.

1. Download Circular No. 152/2025/TT_BTC guiding the accounting regime for household businesses and individual businesses.

Circular No. 152/2025/TT-BTC takes effect from January 1, 2026, replacing Circular 88/TT-BTC guiding the accounting regime for household businesses and individual businesses.

To help business households and individual business owners quickly update and apply Circular 152 directly to their businesses, 1C Vietnam has compiled all the information related to Circular No. 152/2025/TT_BTC, which can be downloaded here .

2. Three new points of Circular 152 guiding the accounting regime for household businesses and individual businesses.  

2.1. Abolish the regulation allowing household businesses and individual business owners to choose a different accounting system.

One of the major changes in Circular 152/2025 is the abolition of the option for household businesses and individual business owners to choose a different accounting system. Accordingly:

• Household businesses are required to apply the accounting system as stipulated in Circular 152.
• There is no longer the option to apply either the corporate accounting system or another accounting system as before.

This regulation helps to synchronize accounting data, making tax management and inspections by relevant authorities easier.

2.2. Clearly define the retention period for accounting records.

Article 3 of Circular 152/2025/TT-BTC stipulates that the minimum retention period for accounting documents of household businesses and individual businesses is 5 years. Regarding the retention period for invoices, it is governed by tax laws. Household businesses and individual businesses may retain accounting documents in paper form or electronically.

2.3. Changes to the accounting ledger format for household businesses and individual business owners.

Case 1: Household businesses and individual businesses are not subject to VAT and personal income tax.

Applicable to: Household businesses with annual revenue under 500 million VND.

Accounting books used: Sales revenue book for goods and services – Form S1a-HKD.

Purpose: To record all revenue generated during the period, for the purpose of revenue tracking and to determine whether the business household has exceeded the taxable revenue threshold as prescribed by regulations.

Case 2: Household businesses and individual business owners pay VAT and personal income tax at a percentage rate on revenue. 

Applicable entities: Household businesses with annual revenue ranging from VND 500 million to VND 3 billion, who choose to pay personal income tax at a percentage rate on revenue as stipulated by tax laws.

Accounting documents used:

• Invoice as per regulations.
• Documents that determine revenue as required by tax laws.

Accounting books used: Sales revenue book for goods and services – Form S2a-HKD.

Principles of accounting record keeping:

• Revenue is recorded by industry group with the same tax rate.
• Based on the recorded revenue, determine: Value Added Tax (VAT) payable and Personal Income Tax (PIT) payable.

Case 3: Household businesses and individual business owners pay VAT at a percentage rate on revenue and personal income tax on taxable income.

Applicable entities: Household businesses and individual businesses with annual revenue exceeding 3 billion VND.

Accounting documents used:

• Bill
• Purchase list (when buying from someone who doesn't provide a receipt)
• Other legitimate accounting documents

Accounting books used:

Case 4: Household businesses and individual business owners subject to other types of taxes. 

In cases where household businesses or individual businesses incur taxes other than VAT and personal income tax, such as export tax, import tax, special consumption tax, resource tax, environmental protection tax, and land use tax, they must open an additional Register for Tracking Other Tax Obligations – Form S3a-HKD – to monitor, manage, and fully fulfill their tax obligations as prescribed by law.

3. The latest regulations on business registration numbers.

From July 1st, 2025, the personal identification number will be used as the tax code for the business representative of a household business, and will also be the sole tax code for the household business. According to the new regulations, separate tax codes will no longer be issued for each business location of a household business as was previously the case.

Accordingly, the personal identification number of the business representative is used to declare and pay taxes for all of the individual's tax obligations, as well as all tax obligations arising from the business activities of the business household and its affiliated business locations.

Furthermore, when a business household registers with the business registration authority, the registered office address information will be declared from the outset. This data will be linked and transmitted to the tax authority's system, enabling the consistent and synchronized updating and management of the business household's tax registration information.

4. Notes for business households when Circular 152 is issued.

1. Implementation timeline and key changes

Circular 152/2025/TT-BTC officially takes effect from January 1, 2026, and completely replaces the previous Circular 88/2021/TT-BTC. It stipulates a new accounting regime for household businesses, requiring full recording of revenue and supporting documents, archiving of books for a minimum of 5 years, and the use of electronic invoices. Household businesses need to correctly identify their tax payment category (lump-sum or declaration-based) to apply the appropriate accounting book format, paying particular attention to controlling revenue exceeding VND 500 million/year to pay VAT.

2. Who is responsible for accounting for a sole proprietorship?

According to regulations, business owners and individual business owners can either keep their own accounting records or hire accounting services to perform this task.
In addition, household businesses are allowed to have family members such as parents, spouses, children, siblings participate in accounting work for the household business, in accordance with the scale and actual operating conditions.

3. What are the principles governing accounting record keeping?  

Based on Article 26 of the 2015 Accounting Law, accounting entries must comply with the following basic principles:

• Firstly, accounting entries must be based on legitimate accounting documents. All information and data recorded in the accounting books must accurately reflect the content of the originating documents.
• Secondly, accounting records must be kept promptly, clearly, and completely, in accordance with the content of each type of record. The information and data recorded in the records must be accurate, truthful, and consistent with accounting documents.
• Thirdly, accounting entries must be made in chronological order of the economic and financial transactions. The data recorded for the following year must be continuous, following the data of the immediately preceding year, ensuring that the accounting records are continuously maintained from the time they are opened until they are closed.
• Fourth, information in the accounting ledger must be written in ink, without overlapping, overlapping, or spacing between entries, and without line breaks. If a page is not fully filled, the remaining space must be crossed out; when a page is full, the total figures must be added up and moved to the next page.
• Fifth, accounting units must close their accounting books at the end of each accounting period before preparing financial statements and in other cases as prescribed by law.

Furthermore, accounting records may be recorded electronically. In the case of electronic accounting, the accounting unit must fully comply with the regulations of the 2015 Accounting Law (except for the requirement to affix a seal). After closing the accounting records electronically, the records must be printed on paper and bound into books for storage according to each accounting year, except in cases where storage is entirely electronic.

In cases where accounting records are not printed on paper, electronic storage must ensure data security and confidentiality, while also guaranteeing full retrieval capabilities throughout the prescribed retention period.

5. Application of accounting software in business management

Accounting Suite accounting software Localized and developed in strict compliance with Vietnamese accounting standards, including Circulars 132, 133, 200, and 99 of the Ministry of Finance, the software fully integrates accounting modules, effectively meeting the financial and accounting management needs of various sectors such as trade, manufacturing, and construction.

In the near future, 1C Vietnam plans to launch specialized accounting software specifically for household businesses, at a reasonable cost, to support and accompany household businesses and individual entrepreneurs in the process of transitioning and applying new accounting regulations.

Circular 152/2025/TT-BTC helps standardize accounting regulations for household businesses and individual business owners, contributing to reducing tax risks and improving financial management efficiency. To apply Circular 152/2025 correctly and easily, household businesses should choose a suitable accounting solution from the outset. Please leave your contact information, and the AccountingSuite team will provide detailed advice and support you throughout the accounting implementation process.