Articles

VAT refund in Finland for foreign businesses: who can claim and how

Karma Accounts · Published 24 October 2026

A foreign business that is not registered for VAT in Finland can reclaim the Finnish VAT on its costs here, such as hotels, trade fairs and import VAT, through the refund procedure for foreign businesses. As a rule it qualifies if it has no fixed establishment in Finland from which it does business, and makes no sales here other than sales on which the buyer pays the VAT under reverse charge, sales to the Finnish State or certain exempt transport services. A business established in another EU country applies through its own tax authority's online portal by 30 September of the following year. A business from outside the EU sends form 9550 to the Finnish Tax Administration (Verohallinto) so that it arrives by 30 June of the following year.

Who can use the refund procedure

The rules are in sections 122 to 124 of the Finnish VAT Act (arvonlisäverolaki 1501/1993). A foreign business can claim when all of these hold:

• No fixed establishment in Finland from which it does business.
• No Finnish sales of its own to report. It may sell here only where the buyer is liable for the VAT, as under the general reverse charge for sales to Finnish businesses or the construction reverse charge, where the buyer is the Finnish State, or in certain exempt transport services.
• The costs serve qualifying activity: business abroad that would be taxable or zero-rated if carried on in Finland, or the permitted sales in Finland. Only VAT deductible under Finnish rules is refunded.
• A deduction right at home. If the home country has a VAT system, the purchase must also serve activity that gives a deduction right there. A partial deduction right at home caps the refund at that percentage.

Otherwise, a sale of its own in Finland, such as to consumers, of passenger transport or event tickets, or to a foreign buyer with no Finnish VAT registration or establishment, generally means registering instead. Two exceptions: a business not on the Finnish VAT register that reports sales through an EU special scheme (OSS or IOSS) can claim the VAT on purchases for those scheme sales, and an EU business in the EU VAT scheme for small businesses can claim for purchases serving its taxable business at home, though not for its exempt small-business sales in Finland.

EU and non-EU businesses compared

Late claims are not considered, and a claim covers only past months. The VAT belongs to the period of the later of two events: the invoice, and the delivery, performance or advance payment. Import VAT belongs to the month of customs clearance. A forgotten invoice can go into a later claim for the same calendar year, provided that claim's period is widened to include the invoice's month.

EU businesses: claim through your home portal

There is no paper form. You file in your own tax authority's portal, which forwards the claim to Finland within 15 days. It does not forward a claim from a business that was not VAT-registered at home during the period, makes only exempt supplies, is covered by the small-enterprise exemption, or is under the flat-rate scheme for farmers. The claim can be in English, Finnish or Swedish, and an agent can file it with a scanned power of attorney.

For each invoice you give the Finnish seller's name, address and Business ID (Y-tunnus) with country code FI, the invoice date, number and amounts, your deductible percentage, the amount claimed and an expense code with its sub-code. The claim counts as made only when all the required information is given. Finland does not ask you to attach invoices, but the Tax Administration may ask for copies; the VAT Act names invoices with a tax base of 1 000 euros or more.

Without questions, the Tax Administration decides within four months of receiving the claim. If it asks for more information, it decides within two months of your reply, or of your reply deadline, but the limit is never shorter than six months; with further questions it is eight months. Questions come by secure e-mail from vatrefunds@vero.fi; you have one month to reply. The refund is due within ten working days after that decision deadline. If it is paid later, interest is added under the Tax Collection Act, unless you missed a deadline for sending requested information.

Non-EU businesses: form 9550

A business with no domicile or fixed establishment in the EU applies on form 9550, in English, Finnish or Swedish. If its fixed establishment in another EU country bought the Finnish goods or services, that establishment claims through that country's portal instead. Print an original copy of the form: photocopies and your own spreadsheets are not accepted. Fill in the form's own invoice table, and have it signed by someone with signing rights, or by an agent with a power of attorney.

• Certificate of status. Enclose an original certificate from your home tax authority showing your line of business, no older than 12 months, with your VAT or tax reference number on it. If your country issues neither number, give your trade register number and enclose an original trade register extract.
• No reciprocity. Finland refunds businesses from countries that have no corresponding refund system.
• No VAT representative needed. An agent, in Finland or abroad, is optional; the power of attorney says whether the agent may also receive the money.
• Address. Finnish Tax Administration, PO Box 560, FI-00052 VERO, Finland. A courier delivery that needs a receipt goes to Opastinsilta 12, K2 kerros, 00520 Helsinki, Finland.
• Payment. In euros, only to a bank in Finland or another EU country. The foreign bank's charges are yours, and no interest is paid on these refunds.

For purchases made in 2026 the form must arrive by Wednesday 30 June 2027. When 30 June falls on a weekend or public holiday, the next business day is enough.

What VAT you cannot get back

The refund follows the Finnish right of deduction, so the limits in our article on VAT deduction rules in Finland apply:

• Entertainment. Hospitality to win or keep business, such as a client meal. Light refreshments within a marketing event can be judged differently.
• Private consumption. The Tax Administration's own example is breakfast on a hotel bill: the room VAT comes back, the breakfast VAT does not.
• Passenger cars. A car and its running costs qualify only if the car was acquired solely for use that gives a deduction right; even a small share of other use excludes the refund. Cars acquired for resale, rental, professional passenger transport or driving instruction are the exception.
• Housing and commuting. Homes and leisure property for the owner or staff, and travel between home and work.
• Wrongly charged VAT. Ask the seller for a credit note instead.

When registering for VAT in Finland is the better route

Registration replaces the refund procedure when you make sales in Finland on which you owe the VAT yourself and no special scheme covers them. It is also needed when you export or make intra-Community supplies from Finland and want the related VAT back; registering only for the notification duty is not enough. A registered business, including one that registers voluntarily, deducts its purchase VAT on its VAT returns instead.

See our guide to Finnish VAT registration for a foreign company, VAT returns for a foreign company and the VAT representative in Finland.

Worked example

A German GmbH, VAT-registered in Germany with a full deduction right there, sends two staff to a trade fair in Helsinki in March 2026. It makes no sales in Finland, and the purchases serve its taxable business. Its Finnish costs:

Of the 823,20 euros of VAT, 753,00 euros can be claimed and 70,20 euros stay as a cost. The company can claim now for March to May 2026, three months and above the 400 euro minimum, or include the invoices in a claim for the whole of 2026 by Thursday 30 September 2027.

Selling seminar tickets at the fair would change the picture: such sales normally require a Finnish VAT registration, or the OSS for tickets sold to consumers.

What we do

Karma Accounts helps foreign businesses work out whether the refund procedure or a Finnish VAT registration fits what they do here, and handles the registration and VAT returns for those that register. We work in English, Finnish or Hindi, and each engagement is quoted to its scope: see our Finnish VAT services for foreign companies or request a quote.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreign company get a VAT refund in Finland?

Yes, if it has no fixed establishment in Finland from which it does business, and makes no Finnish sales other than reverse-charge sales, sales to the State or certain exempt transport services. Otherwise it registers and deducts the VAT on Finnish VAT returns.

What is the deadline for a Finnish VAT refund?

For an EU business, 30 September of the year after the purchases, through its own country's portal. For a non-EU business, form 9550 must arrive by 30 June of the following year.

How long does a Finnish VAT refund take?

For EU claims, the decision is due within four months, or generally six to eight if more information is requested, and payment within ten working days after that. No processing time is published for non-EU claims.

Sources

• Tax Administration: refund of VAT to foreign businesses established in the EU, detailed guidance (20 January 2025)
• Tax Administration: refund of VAT to foreign businesses established outside the EU, detailed guidance (7 January 2026)
• Tax Administration: application for refund of VAT to foreign businesses, form 9550
• Tax Administration: instructions for filling in form 9550
• Finlex: Value Added Tax Act 1501/1993, sections 114, 122–124, 150–156 and 156 a–156 l (in Finnish)
• EUR-Lex: Council Directive 2008/9/EC
• EUR-Lex: Thirteenth Council Directive 86/560/EEC

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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