How to correct a VAT return in Finland: amend it in MyTax (2026)
To correct a VAT return in Finland, open the return of the wrong period in MyTax (OmaVero), click Correct, choose the reason and file it again with every figure, not only the one that changed: this replacement return (korvaava ilmoitus) takes the place of the old one. Filed within 45 days of the original due date, the correction carries no late-filing fee; after that the fee is 2 % of the extra tax you report, and VAT paid late carries interest either way. An error of at most 500 euros in a period's tax can instead be corrected on the next return you file, and you have three years in all.
Correcting a VAT return: two methods
Under the Act on the Tax Procedure for Self-Assessed Taxes (OVML 768/2016, section 25), an error is corrected with a correction return (oikaisuilmoitus, in MyTax a replacement return) for the same tax period; only a minor error may go on a later return instead. Correct without delay, even when the error does not change the VAT.
| Your error | How you correct it |
|---|---|
| Changes the period's VAT by more than 500 euros | replacement return for that period |
| Changes the period's VAT by 500 euros or less | replacement return, or adjust the next return |
| Does not change the VAT at all | replacement return, whatever the size |
The third row catches people out: errors in tax-free EU sales, in reverse-charge sales of construction services or scrap metal, or in 0 % turnover do not change the tax, so they always need a replacement return.
How to amend a VAT return in MyTax
- Log in to MyTax, open the Your tax types tab and click File a VAT return.
- Find the period with the error and click Open return. If your period is the month and the error is in September 2024, that is the period ending 30 September 2024.
- Click Correct.
- Choose the reason: a calculation or entry error, a change in case law, guidance received in a tax audit, or an error in interpreting the law (for example sales reported at 25.5 % that belonged at 10 %).
- Make the changes and send the return.
The replacement return replaces the earlier one completely, so every field is given again, including those that were right; you can start from the earlier return. If you change the VAT on EU purchases, imports or reverse-charge construction or scrap purchases, change the matching purchase amount too. If you reported too little, pay the difference: filing does not pay it.
Errors of 500 euros or less: correct on the next return
Under the Tax Administration's decision on correcting errors, an error is minor when the tax over- or under-reported for one period is at most 500 euros. The limit applies to the period's errors together, not to each invoice or mistake, and is assessed separately for each tax type. It is the same for monthly, quarterly and yearly periods, so several periods can be corrected on one return if each error is at most 500 euros.
The correction goes straight into the VAT amount, at the latest on the return due on the first due date after the month in which you notice the error, even if that return would otherwise have nothing to report. Too little VAT last time: add the missing amount. Too much: subtract it. The Tax Administration's own example: in April 2025 you notice that the January 2025 return had 200 euros too much VAT at 25.5 %, so you reduce the 25.5 % VAT on domestic sales in the March return, due 12 May 2025 (the first due date after April), by 200 euros. If that return goes by, the shortcut is gone and the error needs a replacement return.
When you do not need to correct a return
Not every later change is an error in an old return. A credit note, a discount given afterwards or a bad debt belongs to the month in which it is booked under good accounting practice (VAT Act, sections 78 and 139): it reduces your sales in the current period, and the old return stays as it is. A credit note issued only because the original invoice was wrong, for example with the wrong VAT rate, is different: the sale was reported wrongly in the first place, so that period's return is corrected. See our article on credit notes and VAT.
A correction is needed when the return itself was wrong: a sale or purchase left out or entered twice, a wrong rate, a non-deductible cost deducted, or a customs decision that later changed the import VAT. Like the original entries, a correction must rest on a document (OVML 26 §); see receipts and record keeping. A return never filed is not a correction but a late VAT return.
What a correction costs: fee, tax increase and interest
| When you correct | Late-filing fee |
|---|---|
| Within 45 days of the original due date | none |
| Later, and the tax goes up | 2 % of the extra tax, at most 15 000 euros per period |
| Later, and a refund you claimed goes down | 2 % of the amount over-claimed |
| Later, and the tax goes down | none |
The 3 euros a day charged on a late return does not apply to a correction of a return you filed: only the 2 % does (OVML 36 §). A fee already charged because the original return was late stays in place. The rule on over-claimed refunds has applied since 2025. Separately, VAT you add carries late-payment interest from the day after the period's original due date until the day you pay, 9.5 % a year in 2026, counted in actual days. If a refund was paid to you too large, the interest runs from the day after it was paid.
An example. Your period is the calendar month. The March 2026 return was due on 12 May 2026. In August you find a sale of 2 000 euros excluding VAT that was never reported: 510 euros of VAT at 25.5 %. That is more than 500 euros, so you file a replacement return for March. The 45 days ended on 26 June, so the fee is 2 % of 510 euros, 10.20 euros. If you pay the 510 euros on 31 August, the interest for the 111 days from 13 May is about 15 euros.
Waiting costs more. If the Tax Administration finds the error first, it sets the tax and adds a tax increase, normally 10 % of the tax added. It is 15 to 50 % if the neglect is repeated or shows obvious disregard of tax obligations, and 3 % if the question was open to interpretation or unclear (OVML 37 and 38 §). A return filed or corrected evidently to escape the fee or a tax increase gets a tax increase instead of the fee.
If the correction lowers tax you have already paid, the difference is normally refunded about a week after the return is processed, unless the Tax Administration uses it to pay other taxes due. Refunds earn credit interest (0.5 % in 2026). Amounts under 10 euros are held back or used against other taxes.
How long you have to correct
You must correct an error within three years, counted from the start of the calendar year after the year the tax period belongs to (OVML 4 and 25 §). For a business whose financial year is the calendar year, errors in any 2023 period can therefore be corrected until 31 December 2026. If your financial year is not the calendar year and your VAT period is the month, the three years run from the start of the year after the financial year ends. Correct an error as soon as you see it all the same.
The EU sales list (yhteenvetoilmoitus) is corrected with a replacement list, with no penalty. An OSS return cannot be replaced: the correction goes on a later OSS return, within three years of the original deadline (see e-commerce VAT and OSS).
Where the errors come from
How much VAT is due is decided by the VAT Act (arvonlisäverolaki 1501/1993); how a mistake is corrected is in the procedure act above. Three common sources of error are worth checking before each return: a sale at the wrong rate (check our VAT rates 2026), purchases from Google, Meta or other foreign suppliers left out of the reverse charge, or invoices booked in the wrong month. Our guide to VAT in Finland introduces the system, and the dates for coming periods are in VAT return deadlines.
What we do
VAT returns are included in our monthly price. We keep the books, file each return in MyTax by its due date and tell you the amount before it is due; if an error turns up in a filed period, we correct the books and then file the replacement return or the adjustment, with its reason. Sole trader accounting costs 69 euros a month. Limited company accounting costs 199 euros a month up to 240 000 euros of turnover and 249 euros up to 500 000 euros, with a written quote above that. Prices are plus VAT 25.5 %, with the software and the year-end included and no limit on receipts. Sorting out returns from before you joined us is outside the monthly fee, at 85 euros an hour, agreed in writing before we start. See the price list or request a quote.
Frequently asked questions
How do I correct a VAT return in Finland?
File a replacement return for the wrong period in MyTax with all the figures again. An error of at most 500 euros in a period's VAT can instead be adjusted on the return due on the first due date after the month you notice it. Pay any VAT you under-reported.
How do I amend a VAT return in MyTax?
Your tax types > File a VAT return > Open return for the period > Correct. Choose the reason, change the figures and send. The new return replaces the old one.
Is there a penalty for correcting a VAT return in Finland?
No late-filing fee within 45 days of the original due date. After that the fee is 2 % of the extra tax, none if the tax goes down. VAT paid late also carries interest, 9.5 % a year in 2026.
How long can I correct a VAT return in Finland?
Three years from the start of the year after the year of the tax period, so for a calendar-year business errors from 2023 can be corrected until the end of 2026. OSS returns have three years from the original return's deadline.
Sources
- Tax Administration: instructions for filing VAT, "Correcting the return"
- Tax Administration: VAT filing and payment instructions, "Alv-ilmoituksen korjaaminen" (in Finnish)
- Tax Administration: decision on correcting an error in a tax return, VH/7485/00.01.00/2020 (in Finnish)
- Tax Administration: penalties in self-assessed taxation, chapters 3.2, 4 and 6, detailed guidance (in Finnish)
- Tax Administration: interest on late payments
- Tax Administration: refunds of VAT and other self-assessed taxes
- Tax Administration: how to make corrections to a special scheme VAT return
- Finlex: Act on the Tax Procedure for Self-Assessed Taxes 768/2016, sections 4, 25, 26 and 35–38 (in Finnish)
- Finlex: amending act 936/2024 on sections 36 and 38, in force 1.1.2025 (in Finnish)
- Finlex: Value Added Tax Act 1501/1993, sections 78 and 139 (in Finnish)
Please note: this is general information about Finnish rules, not advice for your own situation, and the rules change. Ask us before you act on it.
VAT returns off your desk?
We keep the books, file the VAT return by its due date and tell you the amount before it is due. A sole trader pays from 69 € a month and a limited company from 199 €, plus VAT.
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