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Cost of running a limited company in Finland: a yearly budget

Karma Accounts · Published 10 November 2026

The official fees for keeping a small Finnish limited company (osakeyhtiö, Oy) running are low. Filing the financial statements with the Trade Register in the YTJ service within eight months of the year end is free, the tax return costs nothing to file, and the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) charges only for certain changes, such as 55 euros for a new board member. What a founder actually pays each year is bookkeeping and the year-end, the owner's own YEL pension insurance if it applies, the bank, e-invoicing, software and any insurance the company chooses. In our worked example, a one-person Oy without employees comes to about 2 000–3 400 euros a year before bookkeeping. Corporate income tax, 20 %, is paid on profit, so it is not a fixed cost.

This article is about the years after founding. What it costs to set up the company is in our article on company registration costs.

PRH fees after founding

PRH charges when you file something; its 2026 price lists for a limited company contain no yearly charge. The notifications an Oy most often makes:

The fees carry no VAT. Even an inactive company must file its financial statements. How each change is filed and what to attach is in our article on changing company details at PRH.

Does an Oy need an auditor, and what does an audit cost?

Most small companies can leave the auditor unelected: the duty depends on size limits tested over the last two financial years, and a new company may usually start without one. The articles of association, a holding structure or a shareholder demand can still require an audit; the limits are in our article on audit requirements.

If you need one, the auditor prices the work: the state of the books (reconciled accounts and complete receipts save hours), volume and complexity, whether it is the first audit, and the review of the administration that every statutory audit includes. Notifying PRH of an elected auditor, or removing one from the register, costs 55 euros. If the articles of association require an audit, giving it up also needs a change to the articles: 300 euros plus 55 euros.

Bookkeeping and payroll: the biggest regular cost

The books, the financial statements and the tax return are due every year, also in a quiet one: the Tax Administration expects Form 6B even when the company had no activity. This is usually the largest item in the budget, and the year-end and payslips are often billed apart from the monthly fee. How firms price it and what to ask before signing are in our guide to how much accounting costs in Finland.

Business bank account, payment terminal and e-invoicing

• Bank account. An Oy is a separate legal person, and in practice it needs an account in its own name, apart from the owner's. Banks price business accounts as a package of account, online banking, cards and payments, so compare the whole package, not only the monthly fee.
• Payment terminal. Only needed if customers pay face to face. Expect a device or monthly fee plus a charge per transaction, so the cost grows with sales.
• E-invoicing. To receive e-invoices you need a contract with an e-invoice operator, through invoicing or accounting software, your bank, or a pay-per-use web service. When you must send them, and how, is in our article on e-invoicing in Finland.

Your own pension: YEL or TyEL

If you work in the company in a leading position, such as managing director or board member, and own more than 30 % of the shares or votes alone, or more than 50 % together with family members, you are insured under YEL, the self-employed persons' pension, once your YEL income is at least 9 423.09 euros a year in 2026. Owning shares without working in the company creates no duty.

In 2026 the YEL contribution is 24.40 % of your confirmed YEL income, so the lowest possible contribution is 2 299.23 euros a year. A first-time self-employed person gets a 22 % discount for 48 months, which brings the minimum to 1 793.40 euros. YEL is your own insurance, in your own name, and the contributions are deductible in full in your taxation. In this article we assume you pay them personally; if you would rather the company paid them, agree the tax treatment with your accountant first. Your YEL income also sets your pension and your sickness and parental allowances, so the minimum is a budget floor, not a recommendation; see our article on YEL in 2026.

If you own less, at most 30 % alone and at most 50 % with family, and the company pays you for your work, you are insured under TyEL like an employee, and the employer costs on your salary apply.

Once you hire: statutory insurances

With the first employee come statutory accident insurance, TyEL pension insurance, the unemployment insurance contribution and occupational health care. They follow the wages, so they belong to the payroll budget; the 2026 percentages are in our article on employer costs in Finland.

Optional insurance and software

Without employees, insurance is the company's choice. A YEL-insured entrepreneur can take out voluntary accident insurance for their own working time, though insurers are not obliged to grant it. Liability, property or legal expenses cover depends on the trade and on what customers require in contracts.

Software means office and email accounts, a domain and website, and any industry tools. Check whether your accounting firm's package already includes bookkeeping and invoicing software, so you do not pay twice.

Corporate income tax: 20 % of profit, not a fixed cost

An Oy pays corporate income tax of 20 % on its taxable profit, and none in a loss year. With 20 000 euros of taxable profit the tax is 4 000 euros, paid as prepayments based on the expected profit. Set it aside from profit; it is not a running cost. How the tax compares with a sole trader's is in our article on toiminimi or Oy.

A worked example: one-person Oy with no employees

Mika runs a consulting Oy alone, with a calendar financial year, invoices only business customers and has no payment terminal. He owns all the shares, works as managing director and is in his first 48 months as an entrepreneur. In 2026 he changes his deputy board member once.

The official fees and YEL below are sourced. The ranges for the bank, e-invoicing, software and insurance are our own assumptions for illustration, not survey figures or quotes. Bookkeeping is left out of the total; see the cost guide linked above.

Without the first-time discount, YEL is 2 299.23 euros and the total rises by 505.83 euros, to 2 514.23–3 904.23 euros. Mika pays YEL personally and deducts it in his own taxation, so it does not reduce the company's profit. If the company makes 20 000 euros of taxable profit, add 4 000 euros of corporate income tax, paid out of that profit.

Costs you can avoid

The PRH late fee counts from eight months after the year end and doubles when the statements were not filed within eight months for two or more financial years in a row. Keep the registered address current: PRH sends its requests there.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to run a limited company in Finland per year?

Official fees can be zero in a year with no changes. Besides bookkeeping, a one-person Oy pays its owner's YEL, the bank and software; our example comes to about 2 000–3 400 euros before bookkeeping, with assumed ranges for the market-priced items.

How much does an audit of an Oy cost?

It depends on the work: the state of the books, volume, complexity and whether it is the first audit. Most small Oys need no audit at all.

What are the audit requirement limits?

They are size limits on the balance sheet, turnover and staff, tested over the last two financial years; see our article on audit requirements.

How much does it cost to set up an Oy?

The registration fees are in our article on company registration costs.

How much does bookkeeping cost for a company?

See our guide to accounting costs: how firms price and what is billed separately.

About Karma Accounts

We keep the books for small limited companies, prepare the financial statements and tax return, and remind you of the PRH and tax dates so each filing goes in on time. See limited company accounting or request a quote.

Sources

• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: fees for changes and closures, 2026 (in Finnish)
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: changes to processing fees from 1 January 2026 (in Finnish)
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: financial statements
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: fee for financial statements filed late
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: negligence fee for missing register details (in Finnish)
• Tax Administration: limited companies and cooperatives
• Tax Administration: income tax return of a limited company
• Tax Administration: penalties in income taxation, sections 2.2 and 3.2.9 (in Finnish)
• Työeläke.fi: when do I need YEL insurance
• Työeläke.fi: YEL pension amount and contributions
• Workers' Compensation Center: the entrepreneur's voluntary accident insurance (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.

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