HCMC – Newly established small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be exempt from corporate income tax for three years starting from the year they receive their initial business registration certificates, with the policy applicable from the 2025 tax year.
The Government has issued Decree 20/2026/ND-CP guiding the implementation of a number of provisions of Resolution 198/2025/QH15. A notable provision of the decree is the exemption and reduction of corporate income tax.
Under the decree, SMEs that register for the first time are entitled to a full exemption from corporate income tax for three consecutive years from the date their first business registration certificate is granted. The tax holiday is calculated continuously from the first year of issuance.
For enterprises that were granted business registration certificates before Resolution 198/2025/QH15 took effect on May 17, 2025, and are still within an eligible incentive period, the remaining duration of the tax incentive will continue to apply under the new regulation.
However, the incentive does not apply to enterprises established through mergers, consolidations, divisions, splits, changes in ownership, or conversions of enterprise type.
It is also not applicable to newly established enterprises whose legal representatives (except where the legal representative is not a capital contributor), general partners, or largest capital contributors have participated in business activities in the same roles at other enterprises that are currently operating or were dissolved less than 12 months prior to the establishment of the new entity.
