Legal02/15/2026
Taxes & Accounting for F&B Businesses
What you absolutely must know — no accounting degree required
~4.5% of revenue Sole Prop. Lump-sum TaxRevenue >1B/year Consider LLC WhenVND 2-5M/month Part-time AccountantMandatory from 2025 E-invoicing
Taxes and accounting sound intimidating, but for small F&B sole proprietorships, it's actually quite straightforward. Most small shops pay a flat lump-sum tax of roughly 4.5% on revenue — no complex bookkeeping, no double-entry accounting, no quarterly financial statements. As long as you keep basic records of what comes in and what goes out, you're covered.
Sole Proprietorship F&B Tax Breakdown
VAT (Value Added Tax)3% of revenueFlat rate for food & beverage services under the lump-sum regime.
Personal Income Tax (PIT)1.5% of revenueCalculated on total revenue, not profit — much simpler than corporate tax.
Total Lump-sum Tax4.5% of revenueExample: VND 600M/year revenue → VND 27M/year tax (VND 2.25M/month).
Tax Exemption Threshold<VND 200M/yearRevenue under VND 200M/year is tax-exempt (effective from 07/2025).
Business License FeeVND 300K-1M/yearBased on revenue tier. Revenue <VND 100M/year: exempt. To be abolished from 2026.
Accounting Essentials for Small Shops
Every day
Daily Revenue Log
Record total sales by payment method (cash, transfer, app). Takes 5 minutes at closing.
Every day
Daily Expense Log
Record all purchases — ingredients, supplies, utilities. Keep every receipt.
Every week
Weekly P&L Report
Revenue minus expenses = profit (or loss). Spot problems early before they snowball.
VND 2-5M/month
Outsourced Accountant
Handles tax filings, payroll, and compliance. Essential once revenue exceeds VND 500M/year.
E-invoicing Requirements from 2025
- >Mandatory for all businesses with revenue of VND 1B/year or above — no exceptions, no extensions.
- >Software options: VNPT-Invoice, Viettel S-Invoice, MobiFone Invoice — most cost VND 1-3M/year for basic plans.
- >Many modern POS systems (KiotViet, Sapo, iPOS) have built-in e-invoicing integration — ask your POS provider.
- >Sole proprietorships below VND 1B/year can still request invoices from the tax authority on a per-transaction basis.
- >Keep digital copies of all issued invoices for at least 10 years — cloud storage is your friend.
Common Tax & Accounting Mistakes
"Who checks a small shop?" — Not declaring tax
Tax authorities cross-reference bank transactions, delivery app data, and social media activity. Getting caught means back taxes + 0.03%/day late penalty + 1-3x fine on evaded amount.
Mixing personal and business bank accounts
Makes it impossible to track real profit. Also raises red flags during tax audits. Open a separate business account — most banks offer free accounts for sole proprietorships.
Not keeping purchase receipts
No receipts = no proof of expenses = higher taxable income if audited. Store paper receipts in a monthly folder and photograph them as backup.
Missing quarterly tax deadlines
Sole proprietorships pay tax quarterly (by the last day of the first month of the next quarter). Late payment: 0.03%/day penalty. Set calendar reminders.
When to Convert from Sole Prop. to LLC
Revenue exceeds VND 1B/yearStrong signalE-invoicing, POS-tax integration, and higher audit scrutiny make LLC structure more practical.
Opening a 2nd branchConsider seriouslyMulti-location management is cleaner under an LLC. Separate accounting per branch is easier.
Need bank loans > VND 500MAlmost requiredBanks strongly prefer lending to legal entities. Sole proprietorships have very limited borrowing capacity.
Additional cost of LLCVND 6-16M/yearAccounting services (VND 5-13M) + digital signature (VND 1-2M) + compliance costs. Factor this in.
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