Switching from lump-sum tax to self-declaration and self-payment of tax from January 1, 2026: Ensuring transparency and fairness

The company's staff provides solutions to guide businesses in using sales management software, invoicing, and tax declaration.

Self-declaration and self-payment of taxes

The National Assembly issued Resolution No. 198/2025/QH15 on a number of special mechanisms and policies for private economic development, which stipulates that business households and individual businesses will not apply the lump-sum tax method from January 1, 2026. Business households and individual businesses pay taxes according to the provisions of the law on tax administration. Previously, Decree No. 70/2025/ND-CP of the Government amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 123/2020/ND-CP also had regulations on invoices and documents, requiring business households with revenue of 1 billion VND/year to use electronic invoices connected to cash registers from June 1, 2025. This creates a premise for millions of business households across the country to gradually abandon the lump-sum tax payment method.

The nature of lump-sum tax is to determine tax obligations based on estimated fixed revenue. According to Deputy Director of the Tax Department ( Ministry of Finance ) Mai Son, in recent times, the tax policy applied in the form of lump-sum tax for business households and individual businesses has achieved the highly humane requirements and goals of the State. Specifically, the policy has encouraged and created maximum conditions for people with small production and business activities to develop to get rich and support a part of freelance workers to have stable jobs. However, currently, the socio-economic and production, business and service activities, especially business on e-commerce platforms, have made progress and developed more strongly than traditional businesses. This poses great challenges for management agencies, including tax agencies.

Recently, the Ministry of Finance approved the Project "Converting the model and method of tax management for business households when eliminating lump-sum tax". In which, the goal is to ensure that business households apply the method of self-declaration and self-payment of taxes from January 1, 2026. Tax expert Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, former Director of the Propaganda Department (former General Department of Taxation) said that eliminating lump-sum tax for business households aims to create equality in tax regime between business households and enterprises, while ensuring transparency in the operations of business households.

The inevitable step

When lump-sum tax is no longer applied, taxpayers do not pay tax based on estimated fixed revenue as before but based on actual revenue. Revenue is recorded transparently because all sales transactions must be invoiced - electronic invoices must be issued in real time, according to business activities. This also ensures fairness in tax obligations, especially in recent times, many business households operating e-commerce, with large revenue but still paying lump-sum tax.

In addition, this is also an inevitable step in the development process, at the same time bringing practical benefits to the business household itself in terms of development potential and revenue expansion. Specifically, this helps to enhance prestige and market confidence. In addition, the ability to access capital and expand cooperation of business households is also enhanced.

When implementing, there will be initial concerns and fears. Mr. Huu Khiem, the owner of a restaurant in Binh Minh commune ( Hanoi ) said: "This policy helps businesses pay taxes close to their actual revenue. However, when switching to the declaration method, we have to pay attention to accounting issues, and pay more attention to storing invoices and documents to serve the declaration and comparison with the tax authorities. This is a new issue, so there will be many surprises."

Regarding this issue, Deputy Director of the Tax Department Mai Son said that currently, there are more than 110 software, electronic invoice and accounting solution providers nationwide. Some tax agencies have signed agreements with units that can provide a complete solution package that reduces the initial cost by 50%, including accounting software, free electronic invoice software and 1 year of digital signature use for business households. Mr. Mai Son affirmed that the Tax Department is committed to not leaving business households alone when abolishing lump-sum tax.

The Tax Department has just launched the Plan "60 peak days of converting the model from lump-sum tax to declaration for business households", from November 1 to December 30, 2025. In this campaign, tax authorities at all levels must ensure that 100% of business households carry out tax procedures electronically in a convenient and easy manner. The Tax Department also requires ensuring that business households apply the method of self-declaration and self-payment of taxes from January 1, 2026.

Regarding the transition from lump-sum tax to declaration, to ensure the transition process takes place smoothly, without interrupting the production and business activities of business households and individuals, the Ministry of Finance has just issued Official Dispatch No. 17142/BTC-CT to the Secretaries of Provincial and Municipal Party Committees; Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and cities on coordinating and directing tax management for business households and individuals when lump-sum tax is abolished from January 1, 2026; in which it is requested to pay attention to leaders and direct Party committees, authorities and relevant departments and branches in the area to closely coordinate with tax authorities, synchronously deploy tax management for business households and individuals.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/chuyen-tu-thue-khoan-sang-tu-khai-tu-nop-thue-tu-ngay-1-1-2026-bao-dam-tinh-minh-bach-va-cong-bang-722572.html