SUMMARY OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS
PROFESSIONAL NEWSLETTER FOR January 2026
INTRODUCTORY SECTION:
From 01 January 2026, a number of important legal documents officially take effect or commence implementation, mainly in the areas of taxation, tax administration, invoices and supporting documents, labor, and electronic transactions. These changes have a direct impact on enterprises, household businesses, and individual business operators. Notably, the VAT exemption threshold for household businesses is increased to VND 500 million per year; the presumptive tax regime is abolished; the business license tax (license fee) is terminated; mandatory application of electronic invoices is enforced; and electronic labor contracts are legally recognized as having the same validity as paper-based contracts. Enterprises and individuals are advised to proactively review their accounting, tax, invoicing, and labor management procedures to ensure timely compliance with the new regulations from the beginning of 2026.
SUMMARY TABLE:
| No. | Title, reference number, date of issuance and effective date | Content |
|
PART I: INVESTMENT LAW POLICIES |
||
| 1 | Law on Investment 2025, No. 43/2025/QH15 (Promulgated on 11 December 2025, effective from 01 March 2026) | Note: The Law on Investment 2025 generally takes effect from 01 March 2026; however, Clause 3 Article 50 takes effect from 01 January 2026, while Article 7 and the List of Conditional Business Investment Sectors (Appendix IV) take effect from 01 July 2026. |
|
PART II: TAX LAW POLICIES |
||
| 1 | Amended Law on Value Added Tax 2025 (Promulgated on 11 December 2025, effective from 01 January 2026) | The Amended Law on Value Added Tax 2025 (effective from 01 January 2026) increases the VAT exemption revenue threshold for household and individual businesses to VND 500 million per year (doubling the previous threshold).
At the same time, it clarifies non-taxable objects, applicable tax rates for by-products, auxiliary products, and scrap, and abolishes several previous regulations on input VAT credit and tax declaration. Note: The first tax declaration period for most household businesses will be Q1/2026 (deadline: 30 April 2026); accounting books and invoices should be prepared from the beginning of the year. |
| 2 | Law on Special Consumption Tax 2025 (Promulgated on 14 June 2025, effective from 01 January 2026) | The Law stipulates taxable goods including: cigarettes, alcoholic beverages (beer and liquor), gasoline, automobiles with fewer than 24 seats, motorcycles with engine capacity exceeding 125 cm³, aircraft and yachts, high-capacity air conditioners, playing cards, votive paper offerings, and sugar-sweetened beverages containing more than 5g of sugar per 100ml.
Taxable services include: discotheques, massage services, karaoke services, casinos and prize-winning games, betting activities, golf, and lottery services. This Law replaces the 2008 Law on Special Consumption Tax and allows for adjustments to taxable objects when necessary to align with socio-economic conditions. |
| 3 | Law on Tax Administration 2025, No. 108/2025/QH15, applicable in 2026 (Promulgated on 10 December 2025, effective from 01 July 2026; certain provisions take effect from 01 January 2026) | The Law on Tax Administration 2025 (No. 108/2025/QH15) generally takes effect from 01 July 2026.
However, provisions on tax declaration, assessment, and deduction applicable to household and individual businesses (Article 13), as well as the use of electronic invoices (Article 26), apply earlier from 01 January 2026. Household and individual businesses should prepare for tax declaration and implement electronic invoices from the beginning of 2026. |
| 4 | Law on Personal Income Tax 2025, No. 109/2025/QH15, applicable in 2026 (Promulgated on 10 December 2025, effective from 01 July 2026) | The Law on Personal Income Tax 2025 (No. 109/2025/QH15) takes effect from 01 July 2026; however, income from business activities, salaries, and wages of resident individuals applies from the 2026 tax assessment year.
The Law redefines taxpayers (resident and non-resident individuals), strengthens personal income tax administration, and reduces the number of progressive tax brackets from seven (7) to five (5). The new family-based deduction levels are as follows: VND 15.5 million per month for taxpayers and VND 6.2 million per month per dependent. |
| 5 | Resolution No. 110/2025/UBTVQH15 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on adjustment of personal income tax family-based deductions (Promulgated on 17 October 2025, effective from 01 January 2026) | The adjustment of family-based deductions for personal income tax applies from the 2026 tax assessment year. Accordingly, the deduction level is VND 15.5 million per month for taxpayers and VND 6.2 million per month per dependent, increased compared to the previous levels under Resolution No. 954/2020/UBTVQH14.
Family-based deductions are applied before tax calculation on income from salaries and wages of resident individuals, and each dependent may only be claimed once. |
| 6 | Decree No. 310/2025/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP dated 19 October 2020 of the Government on administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations (Promulgated on 02 December 2025, effective from 16 January 2026) | The Decree amends and supplements a number of provisions on administrative penalties for violations in the fields of taxation and invoices under Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP, focusing on adjusting penalty levels, acts of violation, and remedial measures in order to strengthen tax and invoice administration in accordance with the new regulations. |
| 7 | Abolition of presumptive tax regime for household businesses from 01 January 2026 | From 01 January 2026, the presumptive tax regime applicable to household and individual businesses is officially abolished pursuant to Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW (2025) and Resolution No. 198/2025/QH15.
Household and individual businesses will declare and pay taxes in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration, based on actual revenue and management data, replacing the presumptive tax mechanism. This marks a transition toward a more transparent and digitalized tax administration system, while encouraging household businesses to convert into enterprise models. |
|
PART III: ACCOUNTING – AUDITING LAW POLICIES |
||
| 1 | Circular No. 99/2025/TT-BTC providing guidance on the corporate accounting regime (Promulgated on 27 October 2025, effective from 01 January 2026) | Circular No. 99/2025/TT-BTC (effective from 01 January 2026) provides guidance on the corporate accounting regime applicable from the 2026 fiscal year.
Accordingly, the accounting currency shall be the Vietnamese Dong (VND). In cases where an enterprise primarily collects and makes payments in a foreign currency, it may select a foreign currency as its accounting currency if it satisfies the conditions stipulated in the Circular. Once the accounting currency has been determined, the enterprise may not change it, except in cases of significant and material changes in its management and business operations. |
| 2 | Circular No. 107/2025/TT-BTC providing guidance on accounting for the Social Insurance Fund and Health Insurance Fund (Promulgated on 14 November 2025, effective from 01 January 2026) | Circular No. 107/2025/TT-BTC (effective from 01 January 2026) provides for the accounting regime and chart of accounts applicable to the Social Insurance Fund (SI), Health Insurance Fund (HI), and Unemployment Insurance Fund (UI).
Accordingly, the chart of accounts includes on-balance-sheet accounts (Classes 1–9, applying double-entry accounting) and off-balance-sheet accounts (Class 0, applying single-entry accounting), fully reflecting the collection, expenditure, balances, and investment activities of the funds. The social insurance authority is permitted to open detailed accounts to ensure transparent management of each fund; any addition of accounts at the same level must comply with the 2015 Law on Accounting. |
|
PART IV: INVOICE – DOCUMENT LAW POLICIES |
||
| 1 | Decree No. 310/2025/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 125/2020/ND-CP dated 19 October 2020 of the Government on administrative penalties for tax and invoice violations (Promulgated on 02 December 2025, effective from 16 January 2026) | Decree No. 310/2025/ND-CP (effective from 16 January 2026) stipulates penalties for the failure to issue invoices based on the number of violating invoices.
Accordingly, penalties range from warnings to fines of up to VND 80 million, depending on the case of failure to issue invoices for promotional goods and services, gifts, internal consumption, or the sale of goods and provision of services. This regulation aims to tighten invoice management and enhance tax law compliance from 2026 onward. |
| PART V: LABOR – WAGE LAW POLICIES | ||
| 1 | Decree No. 337/2025/ND-CP of the Government regulating the conclusion and performance of electronic contracts (Promulgated on 24 December 2025, effective from 01 January 2026) | Decree No. 337/2025/ND-CP (effective from 01 January 2026) provides that electronic labor contracts have the same legal validity as paper-based contracts.
The conclusion of contracts via eContract must comply with requirements on digital signatures, identification and authentication of contracting parties, security, storage, retrieval, and certification of electronic contracts. The Decree establishes a legal framework for the full digitalization of the process of concluding and managing labor contracts from 2026 onward. |
General Note:
This newsletter is for reference only – businesses or individuals should review the full text and, if necessary, consult legal experts to ensure proper compliance with procedures and forms.
