Articles
Plain answers on Finnish accounting
Short, practical notes on the questions clients actually ask us, with the rules cited so you can check them yourself.
Starting a business
Light entrepreneur bookkeeping in Finland: receipts and deductions
No business ID, no business books, but records still matter. What to keep, for how long, and how each work expense is handled in 2026.
Starting a business in Helsinki: Business Helsinki and permits
Business Helsinki gives founders free, confidential advice in seven languages, the start-up grant goes to Helsinki Employment Services, and food businesses and terraces need the City's paperwork. Here is the local side, in order.
Start-up grant (starttiraha) in Finland 2026: rules, amount and tax
In 2026 the start-up grant pays a new full-time entrepreneur 37.21 euros a day, five days a week, for up to 12 months. Here are the conditions, the timing rule and the tax.
Light entrepreneur or toiminimi in Finland 2026: what the difference costs
A light entrepreneur pays an invoicing service instead of running a business; a toiminimi keeps books but deducts more. Here is what each costs in 2026, and what to do when you switch.
Company registration costs in Finland 2026: toiminimi and Oy
Registering a toiminimi costs nothing at the Tax Administration or 75 euros in the Trade Register; an Oy costs 300 euros through the guided online package and 400 otherwise. Here is what else to budget for.
Business bank account in Finland for a foreign founder: what actually works
No Finnish law gives a business the right to a bank account, and banks may say no. Here is what they ask, the order that avoids a dead end, and what to use in the meantime.
YEL in 2026: who needs it, what it costs and when to take it out
In 2026 the YEL contribution is 24.40 % of your YEL income at every age, and the insurance must be taken out within six months of starting. Here are the conditions, the costs and what the income affects.
Starting a business in Finland as a foreigner: permits, company type, tax
Six decisions in the order they come up: whether you may work for yourself here, how you file, the form of the business, the registers, the bank and books, and YEL and tax.
Suomi.fi mandate: how to approve our request
We have sent you a mandate request in Suomi.fi. Nothing arrives to tell you it is waiting, so here is the whole job, step by step, in about five minutes.
Toiminimi vs Oy in Finland: bookkeeping, filings and tax
The form you choose decides how your profit is taxed, what you have to file, and whether money left in the business is yours or the company's. Here is the practical difference.
Invoicing and payments
Finnish reference number and RF reference: how to calculate them
A Finnish reference number is a base plus a check digit worked out with the weights 7, 3, 1; an RF reference adds RF and a two-digit mod 97 check number. Both worked through step by step, with when to use which.
The prepayment register in Finland (ennakkoperintärekisteri): checking a supplier and withholding 13 %
Pay a registered business in full; from an unregistered one you withhold tax from the payment for the work and report it. Here is how to check, what to withhold, foreign suppliers, and how a business gets in or is removed.
Credit notes in Finland: requirements and VAT corrections
A credit note is an invoice that reduces an earlier one. For a sale that needed an invoice you must issue one, it must refer to the original invoice, and both sides correct their VAT. Here is how, with an example.
Free invoice template guide: create an invoice and save a PDF
How to make a Finnish invoice for free with our browser template, step by step and with screenshots of a finished invoice: your details, the customer, the lines, then print or save as a PDF.
Late payment interest in Finland 2026: reminder fees and templates
Between businesses, late payment interest in Finland is 10.5 % for all of 2026, and a written payment reminder may cost at most 12 euros. Here are the rates, the fees, a worked example and two reminder texts to copy.
Finnish invoice terms in English: viitenumero, eräpäivä, Y-tunnus
The words on a Finnish invoice, from eräpäivä to viivästyskorko, in English, with the 0 % VAT notes in both languages and what to write when your customer is abroad.
How to invoice in Finland: a step-by-step guide for 2026
Your first Finnish invoice, step by step: who can invoice, what goes on it, how to show VAT, the due date and the reference number, and how long to keep it.
Is e-invoicing mandatory in Finland? What a small business must do, 2026–2030
In Finland e-invoicing is not generally mandatory yet, but a business customer can demand it and the state accepts nothing else. For trade between EU countries it becomes mandatory on 1 July 2030.
Invoice requirements in Finland 2026: what must be on a VAT invoice
A VAT-registered seller's invoice must carry the entries the VAT Act lists. Here is the full list, the simplified invoice up to 400 euros, and the mistakes that cost the buyer the deduction.
VAT and tax
Finland tax changes 2027: VAT, corporate tax and employer costs
In 2027 the VAT rates stay at 25.5, 13.5 and 10 %, while new VAT rules on OSS and call-off stock are already law. The corporate tax cut to 18 % and lower unemployment insurance rates are still proposals before Parliament. Each change below is labelled with its status on 29 October 2026.
The Finnish VAT number (alv-tunniste) and how to check an EU VAT number in VIES
A Finnish VAT number is FI followed by the Business ID without the hyphen. Here is how to confirm that a Finnish business is VAT-registered, how to check a customer's EU VAT number in VIES, and what to do when it comes back invalid.
Import VAT in Finland: goods from outside the EU, Customs or the VAT return?
A business in the Finnish VAT register reports import VAT on its own VAT return and usually deducts it on the same return. Everyone else pays it to Customs. Here is how to tell which applies, how to calculate the base, which month it belongs to and what foreign companies should watch.
Construction reverse charge in Finland: when the buyer pays the VAT
In Finland a construction service sold to a business that itself sells construction services is invoiced without VAT, and the buyer reports the 25.5 % VAT. Here is when the rule applies, what goes on the invoice and how both sides fill in the VAT return.
Intra-EU acquisitions in Finland: VAT on goods bought from another EU country
Goods from a VAT-registered seller in another EU country arrive without VAT. The buyer calculates the Finnish VAT, reports it and usually deducts it on the same return. Here is when the rule applies, which fields to use, which month it belongs to and how to book it.
The EC Sales List in Finland (yhteenvetoilmoitus): who files, deadlines and corrections
A business registered for VAT in Finland reports its VAT-free sales to businesses in other EU countries on the EC Sales List, buyer by buyer, by the 20th of the following month. Here is what goes on it, what does not, and how it must match the VAT return.
VAT deduction in Finland: what VAT is deductible in 2026
A VAT-registered business deducts the VAT on purchases for its taxable business, with a proper invoice. Entertainment, housing, commuting and most passenger cars are excluded, and mixed-use purchases are split.
How to correct a VAT return in Finland: amend it in MyTax (2026)
A wrong VAT return is fixed with a replacement return in MyTax, or, for an error of at most 500 euros, on the next return. What it costs, how long you have and when no correction is needed.
E-commerce VAT in Finland: OSS and the 10 000 euro EU limit
A Finnish webshop charges Finnish VAT to consumers elsewhere in the EU only while its EU-wide distance sales stay at 10 000 euros or less, this year and last. Above that, the VAT of the country of delivery applies, which you can report through the OSS. Here is how both work.
Marketing expenses in Finland: tax deductions, VAT and examples
Advertising, printed material, customary promotional gifts and marketing events are generally deductible in full, with the VAT deductible where the purchase serves deductible business. Here is where entertainment begins.
Restaurant accounting in Finland 2026: VAT and daily sales
A restaurant's books turn on two VAT rates on one bill and on sales that arrive through the till, card terminals, lunch-benefit apps and delivery platforms. Here is how each is booked in 2026.
VAT rates in Finland 2026: 25.5 %, 13.5 % and 10 %, and what goes where
Finland has three VAT rates in 2026: 25.5 %, 13.5 % and 10 %. The middle rate fell from 14 % on 1 January 2026. Here is what each rate covers, the traps, and which date decides the rate.
Selling services abroad from Finland: which VAT applies
When a Finnish business sells a service to a business abroad, the buyer's country usually taxes it and your invoice carries no VAT. Sales to consumers are usually taxed in Finland. Here is how to invoice and report each.
VAT in Finland 2026: a complete guide for a small business
Registration, rates, invoices, deadlines, deductions and cross-border sales: the whole of Finnish VAT for a small business on one page, with links to the details.
VAT registration in Finland: the 20 000 euro limit and when to register
VAT liability starts on the day your turnover for the calendar year passes 20 000 euros, not at the start of the year. Leaving the register takes two years under the limit.
Tax prepayment in Finland 2026 (ennakkovero): how it is set, paid and changed
Your prepayment is based on your latest tax assessment, or on your own estimate if the business is new. Here are the instalments, the due dates and when to change it.
Late VAT return in Finland 2026: what it costs and what to do now
Up to the 45th day a late VAT return costs 3 euros a day; after that 2 % of the tax is added. Here is the whole bill, and the order to put it right in.
VAT return deadlines in Finland 2026–2027: filing and payment
The return and the payment are due on the same day. Here are the actual dates for the coming periods, how to file and pay in MyTax, and what a quiet month needs.
Reverse charge in Finland: VAT on Google, Meta and Adobe invoices
The VAT on these invoices has not disappeared: you calculate it yourself. Here is how reverse charge works, where it goes on the VAT return, and when it costs you money.
VAT for foreign companies
Fixed establishment for VAT in Finland: when a foreign company has one
A foreign company has a VAT fixed establishment in Finland when it has a place of business here with enough permanence, staff and technical resources. Whether you charge Finnish VAT yourself or your business customer reports it under the reverse charge depends on whether that establishment takes part in the sale. Here are the tests, the Tax Administration's examples and how this differs from an income-tax permanent establishment.
VAT refund in Finland for foreign businesses: who can claim and how
A foreign business with no Finnish VAT registration can get Finnish VAT on its costs back through a separate refund procedure. EU businesses claim through their own tax authority's portal, others on paper form 9550. Here is who qualifies, the deadlines and what never comes back.
VAT representative in Finland: when a non-EU business needs one
A business with no establishment in the EU or Norway needs a Finnish VAT representative only when it registers for VAT voluntarily. The representative handles the VAT paperwork but is not liable for the tax. Here is when you need one, how one is appointed, and how it differs from a fiscal representative elsewhere in the EU.
Finnish VAT returns for foreign companies: deadlines, MyTax access and payments
A foreign company registered for VAT in Finland files the same returns, on the same dates, as a Finnish one. Here is how to get into MyTax without Finnish bank codes, how to pay from abroad and how VAT comes back.
VAT registration in Finland for a foreign company: when and how
Many foreign sellers never need a Finnish VAT number, because the Finnish business buyer reports the VAT. Others must register from their first sale. Here is how to tell which applies to you, and the registration steps, documents and timeline.
Sole trader accounting
Closing a sole trader business in Finland: toiminimi checklist
Closing a toiminimi takes one free notification at ytj.fi, but the work goes on after it: VAT on the stock and equipment you keep, the last VAT return, the prepayment, YEL, Form 5 for the final year and at least six to ten years of record keeping.
How to pay yourself as a sole trader in Finland: owner drawings (yksityisotto)
A toiminimi owner pays themselves by moving money from the business account: a private withdrawal, with no tax withheld. The tax is on the profit, paid through prepayments. How to book withdrawals and how much is safe to take out.
Accountant for a new sole trader in Finland: bookkeeping and VAT
An accounting firm can take over a new toiminimi's books and VAT returns from the first month. What to decide first, what to hand over, the monthly rhythm, the first VAT return and the first year-end.
Cash or accrual bookkeeping for a toiminimi in Finland
A toiminimi may book on a cash basis during the year, but income tax usually requires the accrual result. Here is what the Accounting Act allows, who may stay on cash basis for tax, and how cash-basis VAT works.
Sole trader financial statements in Finland: do you need them?
Most sole traders in Finland are not required to prepare financial statements. Here are the conditions in the Accounting Act, what you do every year instead, and a simplified illustration.
Sole trader net assets and the capital income share in 2026: 20 %, 10 % or 0 %
A toiminimi's profit is split into capital income and earned income according to the net assets of the business. How the split works in 2026, what counts as net assets, and how to ask for 10 % or 0 % instead.
Deductions a sole trader forgets in Finland (2026)
Many sole traders deduct the invoices they pay and forget the rest. These are the deductions that slip, with the 2026 amounts, and what changed this year.
Car in the business or in your own name? The 50 % rule in Finland
In Finland a car belongs to the business when more than half of the year's kilometres are business driving. Below that it stays private and you deduct the business trips. Here is how each works, including the VAT trap.
Sole trader tax return in Finland (Form 5): the parts people get wrong
A sole trader files the business tax return (Form 5) by 1 April every year, even a year with no activity. These are the parts that most often go wrong, and what each one costs.
Home office deduction in Finland 2026: 980, 490 or 245 euros
In 2026 the home office deduction is 980, 490 or 245 euros, depending on how much you work from home. From 2026 it can no longer be claimed against wage income, but a sole trader can still claim it on the business tax return.
Food courier taxes in Finland 2026: deductions, VAT and tips
How a food courier working through an app is taxed depends on the contract. Here is what the platform reports, when VAT applies, how tips are treated and what you can deduct.
Payroll and employees
Vehicle logbook in Finland 2026: required entries and a template
A vehicle logbook (ajopäiväkirja) is the usual evidence behind tax-free mileage allowances, a lower car benefit, a sole trader's car deduction and VAT on a van. Here is what each entry needs, a layout to copy, how long to keep it and a worked month.
Tax-free employee benefits in Finland 2026: limits and rules
A Finnish employer can give its staff sport and culture vouchers up to 540 euros a year, occupational health care, anniversary and small gifts, staff parties and a commuter ticket up to 3 400 euros without tax. Most of these must be open to the whole staff, and a new employee bike is now taxable.
Incomes Register reporting in Finland: deadlines, corrections and late-filing penalties
Every payday goes to the Incomes Register within five calendar days, and the month's employer's separate report by the 5th of the next month. Here is what each report holds, how to correct one, and when the late-filing penalty starts.
Fringe benefits in Finland 2026: car, meal, phone and housing values
A fringe benefit is pay in kind, taxed like salary at the value the Tax Administration sets for the year. Here are the 2026 values for a company car, meals, a phone and a home, and how the employer withholds, reports and pays on them.
Hiring an employee in Finland without a Finnish company: employer of record, foreign employer or subsidiary
You do not need a Finnish company to employ someone in Finland. You can use an employer of record, employ the person directly as a foreign employer, or set up a subsidiary or branch. Here is who the employer is in each case and what you must register, report and insure.
Sweden daily allowance 2026: 70 euros for business travel from Finland
For a qualifying business trip from Finland to Sweden, the tax-free maximum per diem is 70 euros a travel day in 2026, the same in Stockholm as in the rest of Sweden. When it applies, how the overnight ship to Stockholm is counted, and what free meals do to it.
Germany daily allowance 2026: 78 euros for business travel from Finland
For a qualifying business trip from Finland to Germany, the tax-free maximum per diem is 78 euros a travel day in 2026, with no separate city rates. How the day is counted on the ferry to Travemünde, on a connecting flight and on the way home, with two worked examples.
Estonia daily allowance 2026: 82 euros, Tallinn day trips included
For a qualifying business trip from Finland to Estonia, the tax-free maximum per diem is 82 euros in 2026, the same in Tallinn as in the rest of Estonia. When a Tallinn day trip by ferry gets it, what an overnight trip gives, and what free meals and a Tallinn office change.
Outsourcing payroll in Finland: a checklist for small companies (in English)
An outsourced payroll service makes the payslips, files the Incomes Register reports and works out what to pay by the 12th. The company stays the employer and stays responsible. Here is what to hand over, what to keep, and what to ask a provider, in English.
Holiday pay in Finland: annual leave, lomaraha and holiday compensation
An employee in Finland earns 2 or 2.5 days of annual leave for each full month and is paid for it before the holiday starts. The holiday bonus, lomaraha, is a separate thing: it comes from a collective agreement or the employment contract, not from the Annual Holidays Act.
TyEL pension contribution 2026: employer and employee rates
In 2026 every employee insured under TyEL pays 7.30 % of pay, whatever their age, and the employer pays the rest, on average 17.10 %. Here is who must insure, when, at what rate and how the money moves.
Foreign daily allowance 2026: Finland's per diem by country
Abroad, the tax-free per diem in 2026 depends on the country where each 24-hour travel day ends. Here are the rates for common destinations, the return-day and free-meal rules, and a three-day Berlin trip worked through.
Hiring your first employee in Finland: the paperwork, in order
Before the first working day you need accident insurance; within seven days, the key terms in writing; and from the first payday, reports within five days. Here is the whole list, in the order it comes up.
Employer costs in Finland 2026: about 20 % on top of salary
Using the average TyEL rate, a small employer's statutory contributions in 2026 come to about 19.9 % of salary, so 3 000 euros a month costs about 3 600 euros. Rates, limits and due dates.
Finland daily allowance 2026: 54 €, 25 €, abroad and 0.55 €/km
In 2026 an employer, your own Oy included, can pay tax-free up to 25 or 54 euros of per diem in Finland, a country rate abroad and 0.55 euros a kilometre. A sole trader cannot pay these to themselves, but may claim an additional deduction, reduced by related costs already deducted.
Entertainment expenses in Finland 2026: 50 % deductible, no VAT back
Hosting a client is entertainment, with no VAT back and half the cost deductible; a party for the whole staff is deductible in full. Here is where the line runs and what the receipt should say.
Limited companies and year-end
Negative equity in a Finnish Oy: fix it with an SVOP investment
When a Finnish Oy's equity turns negative, the board must file a loss of share capital notice with PRH. An owner's investment in the SVOP fund, in cash or by converting a loan to the company, usually fixes it. The steps, entries, tax and dates.
Transfer tax on shares in Finland 2026: 1.5 %, who pays, deadline
When you buy shares in an unlisted Finnish company, you as the buyer owe 1.5 % transfer tax on the price and must file and pay it in MyTax within two months of signing. Here is what counts in the price, when the seller has to collect it, and what is exempt.
Share issue in Finland: how an Oy issues new shares
A Finnish limited company issues new shares by a share issue (osakeanti), decided by the general meeting or the board under its authorisation. Here is what the decision must say, how the money is booked, what PRH needs and charges, and where tax can bite.
Change financial year in Finland: the 18-month rule and the steps
A Finnish financial year is 12 months, and a change gives you one shorter or longer year of at most 18 months. For an Oy the general meeting decides and the change counts only once PRH has registered it. Here are the steps and a worked example with real dates.
Capital loan in Finland: legal terms, balance sheet and tax
A capital loan ranks after every other debt and is repaid only from surplus. It counts as equity when the board checks for lost share capital, so it can clear the PRH entry. The conditions, the balance sheet and the tax.
Tax loss carryforward in Finland: Oy and sole trader rules
In Finland a confirmed business loss is deducted automatically from the next 10 years' profits, oldest first. An Oy loses it if more than half of its shares change owner other than by inheritance or will, unless the Tax Administration grants an exemption. A sole trader can instead use a new loss against capital income.
Closing a limited company in Finland: liquidation, costs and tax
A Finnish Oy cannot simply be shut down. The general meeting puts it into voluntary liquidation (selvitystila), creditors get a public summons, and the company is dissolved when the final settlement is presented. Here are the steps, the fees, the taxes and a worked example.
Audit requirements in Finland: when does an Oy need an auditor?
A small Oy can go without an auditor if, in each of its last two financial years, it exceeded at most one of three limits: 100 000 euros of balance sheet, 200 000 euros of turnover and three employees. How the test works, when an audit is always required, and what to do when you cross the line.
The SVOP fund in a Finnish Oy: investing, getting the money back and the tax
Money you put into your Oy's SVOP fund can come back to you taxed as a disposal (luovutus), usually with no tax up to what you invested. That needs your own investment, ten years at most and books that show it. Otherwise it is a dividend.
How to fill in Form 6B: the Oy tax return section by section
Form 6B turns your closed books into taxable income. Here is what goes in each part, in the order of the form, with a small company's figures worked through to the 20 % tax.
Small acquisitions in Finland (pienhankinnat): can you expense a laptop in 2026?
A laptop, phone, office chair or tool costing up to 1 200 euros can be deducted in full in the year you take it into use, up to 3 600 euros a year. How VAT changes the price that counts, what happens above the limit, and how to book it.
Paying dividends from a Finnish Oy: the rules and dividend tax in 2026
An Oy can pay a dividend only from the free equity in its last adopted financial statements, only if it stays solvent, and only on a decision of the general meeting or the board it authorises. Then it withholds 7.5 %, reports to the Tax Administration, and the owner's tax turns on the 8 % line.
Finnish limited company tax return (Form 6B): deadline and checklist
A Finnish limited company files Form 6B if it had income, expenses, assets, debts or other tax information in the year, even with no activity. The deadline, attachments, a checklist for your accountant, what the board signs, and what lateness costs.
Changing company details at PRH: fees and steps for an Oy
When a limited company's registered details change, it files a change notification in the YTJ service without delay. Here is what each change costs in 2026, who signs and what to attach.
Transfer pricing in Finland for small groups: what applies
Every invoice between two companies you control is a transfer price. Most small groups need no formal documentation, but all of them must price at arm's length. The rules and a practical routine.
Month-end close in Finland: monthly reporting for an Oy
A monthly close is not a legal duty for most companies, but it lets the owner and the board see the business while there is still time to act. What the law requires, what a close contains and how to read the report.
Consolidated financial statements in Finland: who needs them
When one company controls another, the two form a group. When the parent must prepare consolidated financial statements, when a small group is exempt, and what consolidation involves.
Shareholder loan in Finland 2026: the 31 December tax rule
Money you borrow from your own limited company is taxed as capital income if you still owe it at the end of the year, and it remains a debt. The 2026 rules and how to do it properly.
Board meeting minutes for a Finnish Oy: a 2026 template
A Finnish Oy's board decides by majority and keeps numbered, signed minutes. The rules, the usual decisions, a template and a one-member board's written decision.
AGM minutes for a Finnish Oy in 2026: what to decide, a template and the written decision
A limited company adopts its financial statements at the annual general meeting within six months of the year end. What it must decide, a minutes template and how a sole owner decides in writing.
Year-end in Finland: the steps from your last month to the financial statements
Year-end starts before 31 December. Here is the order, from December's purchases to the financial statements and the tax return, for an Oy and a toiminimi.
Turning a toiminimi into an Oy in Finland: the order that avoids tax
A toiminimi cannot simply become an Oy: you found a new company and move the business into it. Done in the right order, the change causes no immediate income tax. Here are the conditions and the steps.
Branch or subsidiary in Finland: which suits a foreign company
A branch is part of the foreign company; a subsidiary is a separate Finnish company (Oy). Both pay 20 % tax on Finnish profits, but they differ in liability, registration and reporting.
Financial statements in Finland: the deadlines and what being late costs
Four, six and eight months from the end of the financial year, with the tax return due at four. Here are a limited company's dates, what being late costs, and what a sole trader needs.
Salary or dividends: taking money out of your Oy in 2026
Most owners of a small Oy end up taking some of both, and the reason is arithmetic rather than opinion. Here is how each route is taxed in 2026 and what moves the mix.
Working with an accountant
Bookkeeping software or an accountant in Finland: can you do your own books?
Software records what you enter; the deadlines and the legal responsibility stay with you. When doing your own books works, when an accountant pays off, what each costs and what to check when you switch software.
How much does accounting cost in Finland? Oy and sole trader 2026
In a 2026 survey of published price lists, the median advertised monthly bookkeeping price was about 100 euros for a small Oy and 90 for a sole trader, before the year-end. What drives the price, what to ask before you sign, and what a year costs with us.
Will AI replace accountants? AI bookkeeping in Finland
AI already reads receipts, matches bank lines and suggests accounts and VAT codes. It does not take over the legal responsibility for your books or the judgement calls. Where it helps, where it slips, and how to use it safely.
Tax debt in Finland: how a payment plan (maksujärjestely) works
A payment plan spreads a company's tax debt over up to two years and keeps it out of enforcement and the tax debt register. Here is who can get one, how to ask and what it costs.
Behind on bookkeeping in Finland? How to catch up, step by step
Bookkeeping that is months behind can be caught up. What the Accounting Act requires, what neglect can lead to, and the order that puts the most urgent filings first.
Comparing accounting firms in Finland: what the monthly price includes
Choosing an accounting company in Finland means looking beyond the monthly price. Learn what to compare, which questions to ask and how Karma Accounts supports businesses with online accounting and clear communication.
Switching accountant in Finland: how to change accounting firm in the right order
Switching accountant takes a notice period, a handover of your records and new Suomi.fi mandates. Done in the right order, the risk of a gap between the two firms stays small.
Finnish accounting and tax terms in English: a glossary for business owners
The Finnish words you meet running a business in Finland, from toiminimi to tilinpäätös, explained in plain English, with links to the articles that go deeper.
How to choose the best accounting company in Helsinki
The questions that tell you what an accountant will really cost and who will do the work, to ask of any firm, followed by our own answers.
Receipts in Finland: what counts and how long to keep them
Every cost in your books needs a voucher that shows what you bought. Here is what counts, what to do when a receipt is lost, and how long the law says to keep it all.