Finnish VAT returns for foreign companies: deadlines, MyTax access and payments

Karma Accounts · Published 23 October 2026

A foreign company registered for VAT in Finland files the same VAT return as a Finnish business, usually every month, and the return and the payment are both due on the 12th of the second month after the period. It files in MyTax (OmaVero): a representative without Finnish bank codes logs in with the Finnish Authenticator app and a Suomi.fi mandate, or the company authorises a Finnish accountant to file for it. The VAT is paid by bank transfer to the Tax Administration's account, with the company's reference number, and must arrive by the due date.

Who files a Finnish VAT return

A foreign company files once it is in the Finnish VAT register. Whether it must register depends on what it sells, to whom and where the sale is taxed under the place-of-supply rules: a fixed establishment in Finland or sales to consumers here are typical reasons, and there are exceptions. Once registered, the company receives a Finnish Business ID if it does not already have one, and its VAT number is FI followed by that ID without the hyphen. How to register is in our guide to Finnish VAT registration for foreign companies; whether a company from outside the EU needs a representative is in our article on VAT representatives in Finland. A company that only sells to Finnish VAT-registered businesses, with no fixed establishment here, usually does not register: the buyer reports the VAT under reverse charge.

VAT periods and deadlines for a foreign company

The rules are the same as for a Finnish company. The VAT period (verokausi) is a calendar month unless the company applies for a longer one.

VAT period	Who can use it	Return and payment due
Month	every business, the default	12th of the second month after the month
Quarter	calendar-year turnover up to 100 000 euros	12 May, 12 August, 12 November, 12 February
Calendar year	calendar-year turnover up to 30 000 euros	last day of the following February

For a foreign company, foreign sales count toward these turnover limits, not only its Finnish sales. A longer period applies only after the Tax Administration approves it, from the beginning of the next calendar year, or from the start of the activity if requested at registration, and it must stay in place for at least a year. A request is refused if turnover is over the limit or returns and payments have not been on time. If turnover later exceeds the limit, tell the Tax Administration straight away so the period can be shortened; it can also shorten it on its own decision.

A due date on a weekend or public holiday moves to the next business day. The VAT return filing deadline cannot be extended. The September 2026 and Q3/2026 returns are due on Thursday 12 November 2026, October on Monday 14 December 2026, and the calendar year 2026 on Monday 1 March 2027. The dates for the coming months are in our article on VAT return deadlines in Finland.

Quiet periods still need a return

A return is due for every period, even with no VAT-liable activity. Tick No activities during the tax period in MyTax only when there is nothing to report: no sales, no VAT to deduct and no reverse-charge purchases. A known break can be reported up to six months ahead. Zero-rated sales with deductible VAT on the related purchases go on a normal return.

How a foreign company gets into MyTax

MyTax normally asks for Finnish online banking codes, a mobile certificate or a Finnish ID card. For a foreign company's representative without these, the route the Tax Administration documents is the Finnish Authenticator app plus a Suomi.fi mandate.

Route 1: your own representative files.

The person who will act registers a foreign individual's identifier (UID) and identifies in the Finnish Authenticator app with a selfie and a photo of a passport or ID card.
The company applies on Suomi.fi for that person's right to grant mandates. The signed application goes by post with a certified trade register extract and certified copies of the signatories' passports or ID cards.
Once the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) has registered the right, the person grants the "Managing of tax affairs" mandate in Suomi.fi e-Authorizations, to themselves, a colleague or an accounting firm.

Route 2: a Finnish agent files for you. The company requests a mandate for transactions for the agent directly, with the same paper application and documents. A company with a Finnish Business ID gives that ID on the form. The agent logs in with their own Finnish credentials and chooses Act on behalf of a company.

Plan for these points:

Which mandate. "Managing of tax affairs" covers the company's tax matters in MyTax, with some exceptions: it cannot, for example, change a Finnish limited company's bank account. "Filing of tax returns and other reports" lets an agent file through Ilmoitin.fi but gives no MyTax access.
How long it lasts. A mandate granted with a UID is valid for up to three years, and there is no automatic expiry reminder.
eIDAS. A notified eID from another EU country gives only limited MyTax functionality.
Software. An accounting system can send the VAT return and the EC Sales List through Ilmoitin.fi or the Vero API.

How to pay Finnish VAT from abroad

VAT is self-assessed: no invoice arrives. In MyTax, under Payment status > Paying taxes and payment details, you find the Tax Administration's bank accounts (IBAN and BIC, at Danske Bank and Nordea) and the company's reference number. The payee is Verohallinto. Use either the general reference number for all taxes or the tax-specific ones, not a mix, or payments may be allocated differently from what you meant.

A normal transfer from a foreign bank works; a SEPA transfer in euros usually takes one to two business days, and other international transfers often longer. The money must be on the account by the due date and cover your bank's charges. Late VAT carries late-payment interest, 9.5 % a year in 2026. Finnish e-invoices and direct debit are not available from a foreign account, and cheques are not accepted.

Getting VAT back

If you are registered in Finland, deductible VAT on purchases for the VAT-liable business is deducted on the return. When deductions exceed the VAT on sales, the negative VAT is refunded after the return has been processed: usually about a week after processing, but not before the general due date of the month after the period. The refund is first used for any overdue taxes, amounts under 10 euros are held back, and nothing is paid while any tax return is missing.

The refund goes to the one bank account the company has given in MyTax: the IBAN, plus the BIC for a bank outside Finland. The paper notice, form 7209, is only for a special reason such as technical problems and needs a handwritten signature of someone authorised to sign for the company.

If you are not registered in Finland, an eligible foreign business can use a separate refund procedure:

Where you are established	How to claim	Deadline for a calendar year
Another EU country	your own tax authority's VAT refund portal (Directive 2008/9/EC)	30 September of the next year
Outside the EU	form 9550 to the Finnish Tax Administration	30 June of the next year

A claim covers whole calendar months of one calendar year: at least three months, or the rest of the year if less remains, and at most the full year. A claim during the year must be for at least 400 euros, one for the full year or the rest of it at least 50 euros. Non-EU applicants are paid in euros, only to a bank in Finland or another EU country. The procedure is closed to a company that makes sales in Finland other than those taxed under reverse charge or certain exempt transport services; it registers and deducts the VAT on its returns instead.

Selling to other EU countries: the EC Sales List

A company registered in Finland also files the EC Sales List (yhteenvetoilmoitus) for intra-Community supplies of goods, transfers of its own goods to another EU country, triangular trade, and services to businesses in other EU countries where the buyer pays the VAT under reverse charge: monthly, one line per customer with their VAT number, by the 20th of the following month. The October 2026 list is due on Friday 20 November and the November list on Monday 21 December 2026. The same sales go on the VAT return. A late or missing list can cost 100 to 200 euros.

Late or wrong returns

A late VAT return costs 3 euros a day up to 135 euros; after 45 days, 135 euros plus 2 % of the tax, at most 15 000 euros. See our articles on a late VAT return and on correcting a VAT return: a replacement return within 45 days of the original due date carries no late-filing fee, though late-payment interest still runs on any VAT paid late. The VAT rates for 2026 are 25.5 %, 13.5 % and 10 %.

When the activity in Finland ends

To stop only the VAT-liable activity, ask in MyTax to be removed from the VAT register. If the company ends all its business in Finland, one termination notice at ytj.fi removes it from the VAT register, the prepayment register and the register of employers. A return is still due for the last period, on the usual due date for that period, and goods left unsold when VAT liability ends (final inventory) are taxed on it like goods taken for own use. A company registered voluntarily is removed no earlier than the date the notice is received, never retroactively.

What we do

Karma Accounts files Finnish VAT returns for foreign companies, from the EU and outside it, and for international VAT agencies that need a Finnish partner for their clients. We work in English. You send one data file per period, a sales and purchase listing in our format; when complete records reach us by the agreed cut-off date, we file the VAT return and the EC Sales List by the due date and tell you the amount and payment details before then. Each client gets a quote: tell us your periods and transaction volume through our quote request form.

Frequently asked questions

How do I file a VAT return in Finland as a non-resident company?

File it in MyTax for each VAT period, usually monthly, by the 12th of the second month after the period. Your representative logs in with the Finnish Authenticator app and a Suomi.fi mandate, or a Finnish accountant with your mandate files for you. Software can also send it through Ilmoitin.fi or the Vero API.

Can a foreign company access MyTax without Finnish bank credentials?

Yes. The person acting for the company registers a UID and identifies in the Finnish Authenticator app, and the company gets them a Suomi.fi mandate by a paper application with certified documents. A mandate granted with a UID lasts up to three years.

How do I pay Finnish VAT from abroad?

By bank transfer to the Tax Administration's IBAN, payee Verohallinto, with your reference number from MyTax. The money must arrive by the due date and cover your bank's charges. Late payment adds 9.5 % interest a year in 2026.

How does a foreign company get a VAT refund in Finland?

If registered in Finland, deduct the deductible VAT on your return; a negative balance is refunded after processing to the IBAN and BIC given in MyTax. If not registered, an eligible EU business applies through its own country's refund portal by 30 September of the next year, and a non-EU business sends form 9550 by 30 June.

Sources

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.

Finnish VAT for a foreign company?

We register foreign companies for VAT in Finland and file their VAT returns and EC Sales Lists, quoted per scope. See Finnish VAT services for foreign companies. For VAT firms and accounting firms: working with us as a Finnish VAT partner.

Request a free introduction

Please don’t send bank credentials, personal identity codes or other sensitive data by email.

All articles