What changes will accountants need to make after July 1, 2025?

Summary to help with accounting planning.

1. Design/modify accounting forms and ledgers yourself.

Businesses are NO longer required to use the forms in Appendices 3 and 4 of Circular 133/2016.

Templates can be designed or modified to suit business needs, as long as they accurately reflect the situation, are transparent, and are verifiable.

If adjustments are required, accounting regulations must be issued clearly stating the reasons and legal responsibilities.

2. Amend the accounting chart of accounts.

The system outlined in Appendix 1 of Circular 133/2016 remains in effect, but users are permitted to modify the name, number, structure, and content reflecting the account.

Absolute guarantee: clear classification of transactions, no duplication of entities, and no impact on financial reporting targets.

3. Adding indicators to financial statements.

The names and codes of accounting accounts may be corrected if appropriate to the business process and without distorting the financial statements.

Additional items can be included in the financial statements, but they must be clearly explained.

4. Establish accounting regulations.

If any adjustments are made to forms, accounts, reports, etc., the business is required to issue internal regulations clearly explaining those changes.

5. New VAT Policy

Removing the 20 million VND threshold: All input VAT invoices intended for deduction must be paid using non-cash methods.

Some items have been moved from tax-exempt to taxable, or from 5% to 10% (such as sugar, educational equipment...).

Expand the scope of application of the 0% tax rate (international transport, free trade zones, etc.).

Additional conditions for tax refund: Businesses that supply goods subject to a 5% tax rate are eligible for a refund if the remaining taxable amount is 300 million VND or more.

Crack down on invoice abuse and fraudulent tax refunds.

6. Convert tax identification number to personal identification number.

Individuals, household businesses, and sole proprietorships are required to use their personal identification number (12 digits) instead of their tax identification number from July 1, 2025.

Similarly, households, business households, and individual business owners will use the personal identification number of the household representative or the individual business owner themselves as the tax identification number for that household or business establishment.

The tax authorities will no longer issue new tax identification numbers in the old format (10 digits or 13 digits) to these entities after July 1, 2025.

Transition roadmap: From February 6, 2025, the tax system began accepting the issuance of personal identification numbers (PINs) to new tax registrants. Previously issued PINs (not duplicated with the PINs) will remain valid until June 30, 2025. From July 1, 2025, all tax transactions must use the PIN instead of the old PIN.

The tax authorities will automatically cross-reference data with the national population database to convert the individual's current tax identification number (if the information matches) to a new identification number, without any additional administrative procedures for taxpayers.

If the information does not match, the old tax identification number will be temporarily "awaiting update," and individuals and business households need to go through the procedure to adjust their tax registration information to synchronize the data. After the update, the personal identification number will officially replace the tax identification number in all transactions.

Previously issued documents using the old tax identification number remain valid and do not require adjustment. However, from the time of the transition, businesses should update the new tax identification numbers of their partners and employees in their accounting system. This is a step forward in modernizing tax management, linking tax data with population data, making it more transparent and convenient for both tax authorities and taxpayers.

7. Electronic invoices - electronic identification

Continue implementing electronic invoices via cash registers (Circular 70/2025 from June 1, 2025);

Electronic invoices generated from point-of-sale (POS) systems: The government issued Decree 70/2025/ND-CP (March 20, 2025) amending Decree 123/2020 on invoices and documents, according to which, from June 1, 2025, the implementation of electronic invoices generated from POS systems will be mandatory for certain entities.

Specifically: (1) Household businesses and individual businesses paying taxes under the lump-sum method (not or not fully implementing accounting and invoice systems) with revenue of 1 billion VND/year or more and using cash registers must register to use electronic invoices generated from cash registers that are directly connected to the tax authority

Businesses engaged in the retail sale of goods and services directly to consumers in sectors such as shopping malls, supermarkets, retail (excluding automobiles, motorcycles, and other motor vehicles), food and beverage, restaurants, hotels, passenger transport, entertainment services, cinemas, etc., must also implement the use of electronic invoices from cash registers connected to the tax authorities.

8. Reform of Social Insurance Policy

Reducing the minimum social insurance contribution period required to receive a pension:Eligibility requirements for pensions have been relaxed, reducing the minimum number of years of social insurance contributions from 20 years to 15 years for both men and women.

Restrictions on withdrawing a lump sum from social insurance for new participants:To ensure long-term social security, the new law tightens the conditions for withdrawing a lump-sum social insurance payment for those who start participating in social insurance from July 1, 2025 onwards. Specifically, employees will not be allowed to receive a lump-sum social insurance payment if they do not meet the conditions, except in special cases as stipulated by law.

Encourage saving and receiving pension benefits instead of withdrawing them in a lump sum:To incentivize workers to retain their social insurance contributions, the 2024 Social Insurance Law adds benefits for those who do not withdraw their money in a lump sum. Specifically, workers who continue to contribute or preserve their contribution period will receive higher benefits when they meet the eligibility requirements and will have an easier time receiving their pension (due to the reduced number of contribution years).

Lowering the age for receiving social retirement benefits:The social retirement allowance scheme (allowances for the elderly without a pension) is being expanded. From July 1, 2025, the age for receiving monthly social allowances will be reduced from 80 to 75 years old.

9. Household businesses declare and pay taxes.

E-commerce platforms with integrated payment functions (Shopee, Lazada, etc.) will deduct and declare taxes on behalf of individual business owners.

Businesses that do not go through the platform (Facebook, Zalo, etc.) must self-declare and pay taxes according to Decree 117/2025/ND-CP.

Tax deduction rate on revenue:The VAT and personal income tax deducted by the e-commerce platform are calculated as a percentage of the revenue of each transaction, categorized by type of goods/services.

If the e-commerce platform cannot classify the transaction as goods or services, the highest corresponding rate will be applied (e.g., 5% VAT, 2% or 5% personal income tax, depending on the case).