Household business accounting in Vietnam
A household business (hộ kinh doanh) is the smallest licensed business form in Vietnam: one owner, one registration, no corporate income tax and no separate legal personality. It suits a shop, a small workshop, a café, a service outlet or an individual trading at scale — and since the shift away from lump-sum tax, the record-keeping and declaration duties have become the part that decides whether the business stays profitable.
What the accountant actually handles
- Regime and rate. Which tax method applies to the business, and which rate applies to its revenue band.
- Books. The statutory book set for a household business, kept so the figures can be traced back to invoices.
- Declarations. Periodic VAT and personal income tax declarations on the business owner’s income, plus the annual settlement where it applies.
- Invoices. E-invoice registration and use, and the rules on when an invoice must be issued.
- Licence fees and other obligations. Fees that follow the registration rather than the revenue.
Where the risk sits
Most problems we see in household businesses are not tax-rate problems. They are record problems: revenue that was never invoiced, purchases without valid documents, a bank account used for both personal and business money, and a book set rebuilt from scratch at the end of the year. Once lump-sum assessment is gone, those gaps turn into declared revenue that cannot be supported.
Our household business accounting service is built around closing those gaps monthly rather than annually.
Related reading in English
- Vietnam accounting and tax guides — the full English library.
- Chief accountant requirement — where the household form stops and a company starts.
- Company formation services — converting or incorporating when the business outgrows the household form.
- Vietnam tax and accounting FAQ — short answers on rates and deadlines.
Talk to us
Call 0776 112 333, message Zalo, or use the contact page. Tell us the activity, the monthly revenue band and whether you already issue e-invoices, and we will quote the monthly fee.
