--- title: "Household Business Bookkeeping in Vietnam: Circular 152" description: "Which books a Vietnamese household business keeps under Circular 152/2025 from 2026, who may keep them for the owner, and for how long. With a filled-in week of sales." canonical: https://sosachsang.thenexova.cloud/en/blog/household-business-bookkeeping-circular-152 lang: en last-updated: 2026-10-04 --- 10/09 Company # Bookkeeping for household businesses under Circular 152 > Which books a Vietnamese household business keeps under Circular 152/2025 from 2026, who may keep them for the owner, and for how long. With a filled-in week of sales. Nguồn / Source: https://sosachsang.thenexova.cloud/en/blog/household-business-bookkeeping-circular-152 [!**Lê Thu Trang**Household business accountant](/en/team/le-thu-trang)Published 10 Sept 2026Updated 4 Oct 20266 min read ![A desk in the evening lit by a lamp and a candle, with a cup of tea and handwritten notes](/_astro/blog-6.CL99CpAg_2f6tw2.jpg) In this article 1. [If you are a foreign partner in a household business](#if-you-are-a-foreign-partner-in-a-household-business) 2. [Which book for which household](#which-book-for-which-household) 3. [Group 1: S1a, a week at a bánh mì stall](#group-1-s1a-a-week-at-a-bánh-mì-stall) 4. [Group 2 on the percentage method: S2a at a fabric shop](#group-2-on-the-percentage-method-s2a-at-a-fabric-shop) 5. [Group 3: four books, and why S2d matters](#group-3-four-books-and-why-s2d-matters) 6. [Who may keep the books](#who-may-keep-the-books) 7. [Where and how long](#where-and-how-long) 8. [Where people usually slip](#where-people-usually-slip) 9. [When to hire help](#when-to-hire-help) 10. [Sources and update](#sources-and-update) From 1 January 2026 every household business in Vietnam keeps accounting books under Circular 152/2025/TT-BTC, including households that pay no tax. Which books depends on how the household is taxed: under VND 1 billion a year you need only the sales ledger S1a-HKD; a household taxed as a percentage of revenue keeps the sales ledger S2a-HKD; a household paying personal income tax (PIT) on profit keeps four books, S2b to S2e. The owner can keep them, a close family member can, or an outside accountant can. Books and records are kept for at least five years. Circular 152 replaced Circular 88/2021/TT-BTC. The practical change is that households used to paying lump-sum tax barely wrote anything down. Now every household has at least one book. ## If you are a foreign partner in a household business The household is registered to one Vietnamese individual, and that person is responsible for the books. In practice, the person who handles the till usually keeps them. If that is you, the books can be in a spreadsheet, and nothing stops you keeping working notes in English, but the official ledger the tax office sees should follow the Vietnamese forms. ## Which book for which household The groups depend on annual revenue (the VND 1 billion threshold comes from Decree 141/2026/ND-CP). How the groups work is in [household business tax in Vietnam 2026](/en/blog/household-business-tax-vietnam-2026). | Your household | How tax is calculated | Books to keep | | ----------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Group 1, under VND 1 billion | No VAT, no PIT | S1a-HKD: sales ledger | | Group 2 using the percentage method | VAT and PIT as a percentage of revenue | S2a-HKD: sales ledger, split by business lines with the same tax rate | | Group 2 on the profit method; groups 3 and 4 | VAT as a percentage, PIT on profit (15%, 17% or 20%) | S2b-HKD: revenue for VAT; S2c-HKD: revenue and costs; S2d-HKD: materials, tools, products and goods; S2e-HKD: cash and bank | | Any household with taxes other than VAT and PIT | Depends on the tax | Add S3a-HKD: other tax obligations | The number of books follows the PIT method, not size. A group 2 household with VND 2 billion revenue on the percentage method keeps one book. The same household on the profit method keeps four, because it has to prove its costs. ## Group 1: S1a, a week at a bánh mì stall Uyên’s bánh mì stall in Đa Kao takes about VND 620 million a year: group 1\. Her S1a for the first week of September 2026: | Date | Description | Amount (VND) | | --------- | --------------------------------------------- | -------------- | | Mon 07/09 | Day’s sales | 1,680,000 | | Tue 08/09 | Day’s sales | 1,720,000 | | Wed 09/09 | Day’s sales, including 35 rolls for an office | 2,290,000 | | Thu 10/09 | Day’s sales | 1,650,000 | | Fri 11/09 | Day’s sales | 1,810,000 | | Sat 12/09 | Day’s sales | 2,060,000 | | Sun 13/09 | Day’s sales | 1,940,000 | | | **Week total** | **13,150,000** | One line a day, cash and transfers together. At month end she totals it and writes the running total for the year. That running total is what tells her how far she is from VND 1 billion (see [household businesses under VND 1 billion](/en/blog/household-business-under-1-billion)). ## Group 2 on the percentage method: S2a at a fabric shop The Bến Thành market fabric shop takes VND 2.4 billion a year on the percentage method. It only sells fabric, so it has one business line: trading goods (1% VAT, 0.5% PIT). Its S2a for the same week, written from the e-invoices its cash register issues: | Date | Invoices | Description | Revenue, trading goods (VND) | | ----- | ---------------- | ------------------------------------ | ---------------------------- | | 07/09 | No. 2141 to 2163 | Retail fabric at the stall | 6,420,000 | | 08/09 | No. 2164 to 2190 | Retail fabric at the stall | 7,150,000 | | 09/09 | No. 2191 | 120 m of silk to a tailor, wholesale | 9,600,000 | | 09/09 | No. 2192 to 2210 | Retail fabric at the stall | 5,380,000 | | 10/09 | No. 2211 to 2236 | Retail fabric at the stall | 6,970,000 | | 11/09 | No. 2237 to 2259 | Retail fabric at the stall | 6,110,000 | | 12/09 | No. 2260 to 2295 | Retail fabric at the stall | 9,840,000 | | | | **Week total** | **51,470,000** | A household with a second line at a different rate keeps a separate column or section for it. At quarter end, the total for each line is what goes on return 01/CNKD. ## Group 3: four books, and why S2d matters Households paying PIT on profit are taxed on revenue minus costs. The four books exist to prove those costs: - **S2b** records revenue for VAT, like S2a. - **S2c** records revenue and every documented cost: stock, rent, wages, utilities. - **S2d** tracks goods, materials and tools in, out and in stock. - **S2e** tracks cash and bank balances. Take a phone shop with VND 6 billion revenue, paying 17% PIT on profit. If S2d gets year-end stock wrong, cost of sales is wrong, profit is wrong, and the 17% lands on the wrong number. For group 3 clients we count real stock against the book at least once a quarter. At this size the books look a lot like a small company’s. If you are weighing that move, see [should a household business become a limited company?](/en/blog/household-business-to-limited-company) ## Who may keep the books Circular 152 allows three arrangements: 1. The owner keeps them. 2. A family member keeps them: parents (natural or adoptive), spouse, children (natural or adopted), or full siblings. 3. The household hires a bookkeeper or an accounting service. Nephews, cousins and friends are not on the family list; if one of them helps, treat it on paper as hiring someone. Whoever writes the book, the owner answers for the numbers. ## Where and how long Paper or electronic (spreadsheet, point-of-sale software, stored locally or online) are both accepted. Books and accounting records are kept for at least five years; invoices follow the tax rules. If your books live in a phone app or POS system, export a copy to a computer or separate drive at the end of each month. Five years is long enough for an app to shut down. ## Where people usually slip - **Writing the book at quarter end.** Rebuilding 90 days from memory and a bank statement almost always loses cash sales. Five minutes each evening avoids it. - **The wrong book after changing method.** A household moves from the percentage method to the profit method but still only has S2a, so there is no cost record when the return is due. - **Book and invoices disagree.** Revenue in the book is lower than e-invoices issued. The tax office sees the invoice data, so every gap needs an explanation. - **Family money in the shop account.** A spouse’s transfer, a loan to a sibling, school fees, all through one account. In a group 3 S2e these have to be separated or the cash balance never reconciles. - **No running total.** A group 1 stall writes every day but never adds up, and does not know which month it crossed VND 1 billion. ## When to hire help One S1a or S2a book and one business line: you or a family member can manage. For most group 1 households, that is what we suggest. Once you need the four S2b to S2e books, or have several business lines, the books directly decide your tax. Our [tax filing service](/en/services/tax-filing) covers the sales book and quarterly returns for VND 1.5 million a month before 8% VAT. Try the [fee calculator](/en/fee-calculator), check the [2026 tax calendar](/en/tax-calendar-2026), or [book a free 30-minute call](/en/book-a-call) and Trang will look at your current books. ## Sources and update Based on Circular 152/2025/TT-BTC of 31 December 2025 on household accounting (in force 1 January 2026, replacing Circular 88/2021/TT-BTC), Decree 68/2026/ND-CP and Decree 141/2026/ND-CP on household groups and the VND 1 billion threshold, and Circular 18/2026/TT-BTC for return 01/CNKD. The ledgers above are shortened for illustration; the full columns are in the appendix forms of Circular 152\. Last checked 4 October 2026. NG ## Sources checked 1. [Circular 152/2025/TT-BTC on household accounting (Luat Viet An, Vietnamese)](https://luatvietan.vn/thong-tu-152-2025-tt-btc-ve-ke-toan-ho-kinh-doanh.html) 2. [Circular 152 household bookkeeping explained (Ke toan Anpha, Vietnamese)](https://ketoananpha.vn/thong-tu-152-ke-toan-ho-kinh-doanh.html) 3. [The four groups of household businesses (MISA eShop, Vietnamese)](https://www.misaeshop.vn/?p=43105) 4. [Decree 141/2026/ND-CP summary (MISA AMIS, Vietnamese)](https://amis.misa.vn/269759/nghi-dinh-141-2026-nd-cp/) Checked on 4 Oct 2026\. Tax rules change often; ask an accountant about your own case before acting on this. TG ## Written by ![Portrait of a Vietnamese woman in a cream suit sitting and smiling against a grey background](/_astro/team-2.CbHy46Mo_3PP15.jpg) Lê Thu Trang, Household business accountant Six years with fabric shops, eateries and phone stores. Leads moving households from lump-sum tax to self-declaration. [Profile and other articles](/en/team/le-thu-trang) LQ ## Read next 12/03 Tax [Household business tax in Vietnam 2026: who files, how much, when](/en/blog/household-business-tax-vietnam-2026) 14/05 Tax [Household businesses under VND 1 billion: no tax, but three things to do](/en/blog/household-business-under-1-billion) 08/09 Company [Should a household business become a limited company? Tax, books and costs compared](/en/blog/household-business-to-limited-company) DV ## Want someone to handle this? [Tax filing: price and what is included](/en/services/tax-filing)[Ask an accountant, free](/en/book-a-call)[More on company](/en/blog/topic/company)