Which business owners are not subject to mandatory social insurance?

Mr. Tuong had been participating in social insurance through his company for some time. In addition, he also opened a shop for his own business. His shop handles value-added tax accounting, issues direct invoices daily, and submits quarterly tax reports.

Mr. Tuong asked: "From July 1st, shop owners are required to participate in social insurance. So, in my case, can I continue to participate in social insurance at my company? Or is it mandatory for the shop owner to participate in social insurance at the shop?"

In response to Mr. Tuong, the Vietnam Social Insurance stated that Mr. Tuong's case falls under several different categories of mandatory social insurance participants.

Firstly, Mr. Tuong belongs to the group of people who work under labor contracts.

Secondly, Mr. Tuong also belongs to the group of household business owners with registered business licenses who pay taxes using the declaration method, and is therefore subject to mandatory social insurance participation from July 1, 2025.

Based on the method of determining eligibility for business owners who simultaneously belong to multiple eligible groups as stipulated in Points a and b, Clause 3, Article 3 of Decree No. 158/2025/ND-CP (detailing and guiding the implementation of some articles of the Law on Social Insurance regarding compulsory social insurance), Mr. Tuong will continue to participate in compulsory social insurance at the company, and is not required to participate in compulsory social insurance as a business owner.

Unlike Mr. Tuong, Mr. Trung is a sole proprietor and is paying taxes using the lump-sum method.

Mr. Trung asked: "Since when am I required to participate in compulsory social insurance? If it's not yet compulsory, how can I participate in voluntary social insurance?"

According to Vietnam Social Security, business owners of registered households who pay taxes using the declaration method will participate in compulsory social insurance from July 1, 2025. For business owners of registered households not belonging to the above group, compulsory social insurance participation will begin on July 1, 2029.

Therefore, in Mr. Trung's case, if he is not the head of a registered business that pays taxes using the declaration method, he is not subject to mandatory social insurance participation from July 1, 2025.

However, the Social Insurance Law stipulates that Vietnamese citizens aged 15 and above who are not subject to mandatory social insurance and are not currently receiving a pension, social insurance benefit, or monthly allowance are eligible to participate in voluntary social insurance.

Therefore, if Mr. Trung wishes to participate in voluntary social insurance, he should contact the provincial/city social insurance office, the local social insurance office, or an authorized social insurance collection service organization in his place of residence for guidance on registration.