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Selling services abroad from Finland: which VAT applies

Published 1 October 2026

When a Finnish business sells a service to another business abroad, the general rule is that VAT belongs to the buyer's country: your invoice carries no Finnish VAT, and a buyer in the EU pays the VAT itself under the reverse charge. When you sell a service to a consumer, the general rule is the opposite: VAT belongs to Finland, and you charge Finnish VAT even if the consumer lives abroad. There are exceptions for some services, listed below.

The general rules

Before you leave VAT off an invoice to an EU business, check that its VAT number is valid in the EU's VIES service, and keep the result. The number is what shows the buyer is a business. The full list of what an invoice must show is in our article on invoice requirements.

Reporting a sale to an EU business

A service sold to a business in another EU country under the general rule is reported twice:

• On your VAT return, in the field for sales of services to other EU countries.
• On the EU sales list (EU VAT recapitulative statement), by the 20th of the month after the sale, in MyTax. September sales are due by 20 October. Filing late, or not at all, can cost a negligence penalty of 100 to 200 euros.

The buyer then reports the VAT in its own country. You do not register for VAT there.

Reporting a sale outside the EU

A service sold to a business outside the EU is not taxable in Finland under the general rule. It goes on your VAT return in the field for zero-rated turnover, which covers VAT-free sales in Finland and abroad on which you can still deduct the VAT on your purchases. It is not on the EU sales list. Keep evidence that the buyer is a business, such as its registration details and the contract.

Exceptions to the general rules

Some services are taxed where they physically happen, whoever the buyer is:

• services connected with a property, such as building or renovation work, where the property is
• passenger transport, where the journey takes place
• admission to events such as a conference, concert or fair, where the event is
• restaurant and catering services, where they are provided
• short-term hire of a car or other means of transport, where it is handed over.

So a conference ticket for an event in Helsinki carries Finnish VAT even when a foreign business buys it.

Digital services to consumers

Electronically supplied services to consumers, such as apps, online courses and streaming, are taxed in the consumer's country. A small seller established in Finland only can charge Finnish VAT while its sales of these services to consumers in other EU countries stay at 10 000 euros or less in a calendar year. Above that, the VAT of each customer's country applies, and the One Stop Shop (OSS) scheme lets you report it all in Finland instead of registering in each country.

Your purchases

Selling abroad does not take away your right to deduct the VAT on your own purchases. Buying services from abroad is the mirror image of this article: see our article on the reverse charge for purchases, and our VAT guide for the rest.

Cross-border sales are where a small business most often reports the right sale in the wrong field. If you want an accounting company in Finland to handle the VAT return and the EU sales list every month, both are part of our monthly fee.

Sources

• Tax Administration: VAT on cross-border supply and acquisition of services (detailed guidance)
• Tax Administration: EU VAT recapitulative statement
• Tax Administration: filling in the VAT return in MyTax (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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