Household Business: A Simple Startup Model for Vietnamese People

Starting a business doesn't necessarily have to be complicated with company registration procedures or large capital. Many people begin by selling goods online, opening a coffee shop, or running a small grocery store under the business household model. This is a flexible business model suitable for those who want to test their business ideas or create additional income sources.

However, many people still don't fully understand how business households operate, how to register, and what obligations they have to the state. This article will help you understand each aspect in the simplest and most practical way.

What Exactly Is a Business Household?

A business household is a small-scale business form operated by one person or members of the same family household. A business household is liable with all of its assets for the business activities of the household (Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP, Article 82 Clause 1). The business household owner and family members who register the business household bear joint and several liability for the business activities of the business household (Article 84 Clause 1).

Unlike enterprises, a business household does not have independent legal status. If a business household is established by family members, those members must authorize in writing one member to represent the business household, and this authorization document must be notarized or certified (Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP, Article 82 Clause 1).

According to Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP, Article 83 Clause 1, an individual or family member can only register one business household nationwide. A business household may have multiple business locations across the country and must notify the tax management agency and market management agency as prescribed by law (Article 87 Clause 2, amended by Decree 296/2026/NĐ-CP, Article 19 Clause 5; Decree 296/2026/NĐ-CP takes effect from 23/07/2026 according to Article 22 Clause 1).

The tax identification number of a business household is the personal identification number of the business household owner (Tax Management Law 108/2025/QH15, Article 11 Clause 1).

Is an Individual Businessman Different from a Business Household?

Many people wonder about the difference between an individual businessman and a business household. In Decree 68/2026/NĐ-CP, an individual businessman is a resident individual engaged in production or business activities, including an individual who registers to establish a business household or a person authorized by family members to represent the business household (Article 4 Clause 1).

Taxpayers under this decree are business households and individual businessmen (Decree 68/2026/NĐ-CP, Article 2 Clause 1). If you are unsure which category you fall into, ask your accountant.

The Issue of Tax Identification Number for Business Households

When registering a business household, you will automatically be issued a tax identification number, which is recorded on the Business Household Registration Certificate (Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP, Article 91 Clause 1).

The tax identification number of an individual, family, business household, or individual businessman is the personal identification number of the individual, family head, business household owner, or individual businessman issued according to regulations on citizen identification (Tax Management Law 108/2025/QH15, Article 11 Clause 1). This law takes effect from 01/07/2026 (Article 52 Clause 1). Taxpayers who have been issued a tax identification number before Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC takes effect shall continue to use the issued tax identification number, except for individuals, families, business households, and individual businessmen as defined in Clause 1 of Article 11 of Tax Management Law 108/2025/QH15 who shall use their personal identification number as the tax identification number (Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC, Article 37 Clause 2). Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC takes effect from 01/07/2026 and replaces Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC (Article 36 Clause 1).

Individuals, households, business households, and individual business operators can look up tax registration information that has been verified by the tax authority as matching or not matching the National Population Database on the National Public Service Portal, Tax Information Management System, or electronic transaction account. If the information is incorrect, the taxpayer shall contact the directly managing tax authority or the local tax office where the individual resides to update the accurate information (Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC, Article 37, Clause 5).

In case a tax identification number was issued before 01/7/2025 but the tax registration information of an individual, head of household, head of business household, or individual business operator does not match or is incomplete with the information of the individual stored in the National Population Database, the taxpayer must perform the procedure to change the tax registration information with the tax authority to ensure the information matches the National Population Database before using the personal identification number as a tax identification number (Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC, Article 37, Clause 3). In case more than one tax identification number has been issued, the taxpayer must update the personal identification number information for the issued tax identification numbers so that the tax authority can integrate the tax identification numbers into the personal identification number and consolidate the taxpayer's tax data according to the personal identification number (Article 37, Clause 4).

Households and individuals with production and business activities that are not required to register a business household according to the law on business registration shall register taxes directly with the tax authority (Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC, Article 4, Clause 2, Point k), by Tax Registration Declaration Form No. 03-ĐKT or tax declaration file with integrated tax registration information (Article 21, Clause 1, Point b.1.2). The deadline for initial tax registration is 10 working days, calculated from the date of commencement of business activities for individual business operators not required to register a business, or from the date the obligation to the state budget arises for other cases without a tax identification number yet (Decree 252/2026/NĐ-CP, Article 6, Clause 3, Points a, a.2, and a.5). Business households that have registered a business household under the one-stop interconnected mechanism shall have a tax registration deadline that is the business household registration deadline (Article 6, Clause 2). Business households that have been issued a business household registration certificate but have not yet been issued a tax identification number shall have the tax authority guide the submission of tax registration documents according to Article 7 and Article 21 of Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC (Article 37, Clause 6).

Who Has the Right to Establish a Business Household?

Not everyone can register a business household. Individuals and members of a household who are Vietnamese citizens with full civil conduct capacity as provided by the Civil Code have the right to establish a business household, except for persons under criminal prosecution, in temporary detention, serving a prison sentence, serving an administrative sanction at a mandatory addiction treatment facility, mandatory education facility, or being prohibited by a court from holding a position, practicing a profession, or performing certain work, and persons not allowed to establish a business household according to the law (Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP, Article 82, Clause 2). A person who is eighteen years of age or older is an adult and has full civil conduct capacity, except in cases as provided in Articles 22, 23, and 24 of the Civil Code (Civil Code 91/2015/QH13, Article 20, Clauses 1 and 2).

A household can also register, but members must be Vietnamese citizens and designate one person as an official representative to manage business activities.

There are certain cases where business household registration is not required. Households engaged in agricultural, forestry, and fishery production, salt making, and individuals selling goods in carts, small merchandise, conducting traveling trade, mobile business, seasonal business, and providing low-income services do not need to register as a business household, except in cases of operating conditional investment business sectors and trades. The People's Committees of provinces and centrally-controlled cities shall determine the low-income threshold applicable within their local jurisdiction (Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP, Article 82, Section 3). If these entities wish to establish a business household, they shall register according to Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP (Article 82, Section 4).

You need to carefully consider your personal resources such as capital, skills, time, and risk tolerance before deciding to register a business household. This form is suitable for those who want to start small and maintain flexibility in management.

Detailed Business Household Registration Process

From July 1, 2025, business households register with the Business Registration Authority at the commune level (Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP, Article 94 and Article 124, Section 1). If the commune-level administrative unit establishes a specialized department, the business registration authority shall be the specialized department under the commune-level People's Committee that has the function and responsibility to register business households according to the decision of the province or centrally-controlled city People's Committee; if no specialized department is established, the business registration authority shall be the commune-level People's Committee (Article 20, Section 2, as amended by Decree 296/2026/NĐ-CP, Article 5; Decree 296/2026/NĐ-CP takes effect from July 23, 2026 according to Article 22, Section 1). Business households may submit documents and receive results at any Business Registration Authority at the commune level within the province or centrally-controlled city where the business household is headquartered (Article 88, Section 2).

Document Preparation

Documents for business household registration establishment include the Application Form for Business Household Registration and, if the business household is established by household members, a copy of the power of attorney from household members to one member as the business household owner; this power of attorney must be notarized or authenticated according to law provisions (Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP, Article 99, Section 2). In case of submitting paper documents, the person submitting documents must present a Citizen Identity Card, Identity Card, or use electronic identification (Article 92, Section 2). In case of disconnection between the Business Household Registration Database and the National Population Database, documents requiring personal information declaration must be accompanied by a copy of the valid Citizen Identity Card or Identity Card of that person (Article 92, Section 3).

Document Submission

The business household owner or authorized representative registers the business household with the Business Registration Authority at the commune level using one of three methods: direct registration at the Business Registration Authority at the commune level, registration via postal service, or registration via electronic information network (Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP, Article 94). When registering via electronic information network, the person submitting documents logs into the National Public Service Portal or National Identification Application using an electronic identification account to access the Business Household Registration Information System (Article 113, Section 1, as amended by Decree 296/2026/NĐ-CP, Article 18).

Receiving Results

If the application is eligible for issuance, the business registration agency at the commune level shall issue a Certificate of Business Household Registration and send a notification to the tax agency managing the business household directly to the business household within 03 working days from the date of receipt of the application. If the application does not meet the conditions for issuance, the business registration agency at the commune level shall notify the applicant in writing within 03 working days from the date of receipt of the application; the notification must clearly state the reasons and requirements for amendment and supplementation of the application (Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP, Article 99, Clause 3). Applications received on the Business Household Registration Information System after business hours or on holidays or Tet shall have the deadline for returning results calculated from the next working day of the date the application is received (Article 112, Clause 4, amended by Decree 296/2026/NĐ-CP, Article 17, Clause 4).

Performing online through the National Public Service Portal helps you monitor processing progress and receive results quickly without having to come in person multiple times.

Tax Obligations of Business Households

Business households must fulfill tax obligations according to scale, business sector, and revenue. Common types of taxes include value-added tax, personal income tax, and certain special taxes such as excise tax or environmental protection tax depending on the goods or services being traded.

From January 1, 2026, business households and individual business operators with annual revenue of VND 1 billion or less shall not be subject to VAT and shall not pay personal income tax; revenue exceeding VND 1 billion shall be subject to VAT and personal income tax (Decree 68/2026/NĐ-CP, Article 3 and Article 4, amended by Decree 141/2026/NĐ-CP).

From January 1, 2026, business households and individual business operators shall not apply the tax allotment method and shall pay taxes according to tax management legislation (Resolution 198/2025/QH15, Article 10, Clause 6).

From March 5, 2026, the tax declaration method of business households and individual business operators depends on annual revenue (Decree 68/2026/NĐ-CP, Article 8, Article 9 and Article 10, effective from March 5, 2026 according to Article 19; the level of VND 1 billion according to Decree 141/2026/NĐ-CP, Article 1, Clause 1, applied from January 1, 2026 according to Article 3).

Regulations on Compulsory Social Insurance

From July 1, 2025, according to the 2024 Social Insurance Law, business household owners with official registration must participate in compulsory social insurance. This is an important change aimed at expanding social protection for self-employed workers.

The compulsory social insurance contribution is calculated at a rate of 25% on the salary basis. Of this, 22% goes to the retirement and death fund, and 3% goes to the sickness and maternity fund. You have the right to choose the salary basis for payment, but it must not be lower than the reference level and must not exceed twenty times the reference level.

Ask an accountant or social insurance agency about the reference level and minimum monthly contribution currently applied. You can flexibly choose to pay monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually depending on your financial situation.

Participating in compulsory social insurance brings many long-term benefits. You will receive retirement pension when you reach old age, death benefits for family members, and maternity and sickness benefits. This is an investment in the future and peace of mind for yourself and your family.

Things to Note When Operating

Understanding business households and the legal obligations that come with them is necessary before you decide to start a business. Although this model is simple, it still requires seriousness in complying with regulations on registration, taxation, and social insurance.

You need to regularly monitor changes in policies and regulations to ensure that business operations always comply with the law. Fulfilling obligations completely not only helps avoid legal risks but also creates a solid foundation for long-term development.

If you need support with cash flow management, tax payment, or other financial solutions during business operations, choosing a reputable banking partner will help you run everything smoothly and more professionally.

Note: The information in this article is for reference purposes and may change over time. You should consult additional current legal documents or contact the competent authorities for the most accurate information.