VAT (ALV) and invoicing in Finland (2026)

Finnish VAT is called arvonlisävero, shortened to ALV (mervärdesskatt in Swedish). It is administered by Verohallinto, the Finnish Tax Administration (vero.fi), under the Value Added Tax Act (arvonlisäverolaki). This guide covers what a small business in Finland needs to know in 2026: rates, registration, tax periods, invoice rules, e-invoicing and late payment. Figures are as of October 2026.

Finnish VAT at a glance

Recent changes. The general rate rose from 24% to 25.5% on 1 September 2024. On 1 January 2025 many goods and services moved to the reduced rate (then 14%), and on 1 January 2026 that rate was lowered to 13.5%.

Who must register for VAT

You must register for VAT when your turnover (sales excluding VAT) exceeds €20,000 in a calendar year. VAT is due from the day you pass the threshold, so if you register late, you register retroactively from that day and your first returns may already be overdue.

• The VAT relief for small businesses (alarajahuojennus) no longer applies to accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2025.
• You can leave the VAT register only after your turnover has stayed below €20,000 in two consecutive calendar years.

Your numbers. Your Business ID (Y-tunnus) has seven digits, a hyphen and a check digit, for example 1234567-8. Your VAT identification number is the Business ID with FI in front and without the hyphen: FI12345678.

Tax periods and due dates

The tax period is normally a calendar month. A smaller business can apply for a longer one:

Primary producers (agriculture and forestry) and visual artists with no other VAT-liable business normally have the calendar year as their period. If your turnover grows past these limits, tell the Tax Administration without delay.

If the 12th falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day, and VAT due dates cannot be extended. You file in MyTax (OmaVero) and must file for every period, even with no sales.

What a Finnish invoice must show

Section 209 e of the VAT Act lists the details of a full invoice:

Language. The required information may be in any language, although the Tax Administration can ask for a translation during an audit.

Foreign currency. For sales taxed in Finland, the VAT must be shown in euros, with two decimals, even if you invoice in another currency. Convert at the latest rate published by a commercial bank or the European Central Bank when the VAT became chargeable.

Simplified invoices. If the invoice total is €400 or less including VAT, a simplified invoice is enough: date, your name and Business ID, what was sold, and the VAT or the taxable amount per rate. Retail-type sales where almost all customers are consumers, such as kiosks and hairdressers, and receipts for restaurants, passenger transport and parking can also use the simplified rules above €400. You cannot use them for intra-EU supplies, distance sales or reverse-charge sales.

Corrections. A corrected or replacement invoice, or a credit note, must refer to the original invoice, ideally by its number.

When to issue it. The VAT Act sets a deadline only for some cross-border sales: intra-EU supplies of goods, and services taxable in another EU country, are invoiced by the 15th day of the month after the supply.

Record keeping. Keep invoices for at least six years from the start of the calendar year after the year of the transaction (section 209 o), and longer for real estate investments.

E-invoicing in Finland

• The right to an e-invoice. Under the Act on Electronic Invoicing (241/2019), a business or public procuring entity can demand that its suppliers send e-invoices that follow the European standard. The right does not apply to invoices to private persons, or where e-invoicing could disclose confidential information.
• Public sector. Public procuring entities must be able to receive e-invoices that comply with the European standard.
• Otherwise: invoices can still be sent on paper or electronically, but an electronic invoice needs the recipient's consent.
• EU rules from 2030. Under the EU's VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package, digital reporting based on e-invoices applies to cross-border B2B transactions inside the EU from 1 July 2030.

If a business customer or a public body demands e-invoices, you need an e-invoicing provider for that part.

A worked example in euro

A consultancy in Tampere invoices a client €4,000 net for advisory work, and in the same quarter buys a laptop and train tickets for client visits.

• output VAT: €1,020.00
• input VAT: €382.50 + €27.00 = €409.50
• VAT to pay: €610.50, by 12 November for a July to September quarter

To find the VAT inside a gross price, multiply by the rate and divide by 100 plus the rate: €1,255 × 25.5 ÷ 125.5 = €255.

Late payment between businesses

• Between businesses, a payment term may be longer than 30 days only if expressly agreed (Act on Payment Terms in Commercial Contracts, 30/2013, section 5). Public procuring entities must normally pay within 30 days.
• Late-payment interest in commercial contracts is the reference rate plus 8 percentage points (Interest Act, section 4 a). The reference rate is the European Central Bank's main refinancing rate before each half-year, rounded up to the nearest half percentage point, and the Bank of Finland publishes it.
• When you are entitled to late-payment interest, you can also claim a fixed €40 compensation for recovery costs (Debt Collection Act, section 10 i).

Our guide to getting paid faster covers payment terms and reminders.

Common mistakes

1. 1Using 14% after 1 January 2026, when the reduced rate is 13.5%.
2. 2Charging 25.5% on books, medicines or passenger transport, which moved to the reduced rate in 2025.
3. 3Registering late after passing €20,000: VAT is due from the day of the sale that crossed the limit.
4. 4Counting on the small-business VAT relief, which has ended for periods starting in 2025 or later.
5. 5Stating VAT in a foreign currency only on an invoice taxed in Finland.
6. 6Missing the 12th because the books were not closed in time.
7. 7Ignoring a customer's request for an e-invoice, which they are entitled to make.

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly handles the routine parts of invoicing and VAT:

• sequential invoice numbering per series, with the Finnish rates (25.5%, 13.5%, 10%) on every invoice
• credit notes linked to the original invoice
• invoice PDFs in your client's language, multiple currencies and a card payment link on the invoice
• you can see when an invoice was opened, and automatic reminders go out 3, 14 and 30 days after the due date
• recurring invoices, and receipt scanning that reads the VAT automatically
• sales and purchase VAT books per rate, including exports, reverse charge and intra-EU purchases, with VAT reports for you and your accountant and Excel and PDF exports
• imports of clients, suppliers, products and opening balances from Excel or CSV, and a mobile app

Clientlly does not send e-invoices through Finnish e-invoicing operators. If a customer demands e-invoices, you need an e-invoicing provider for those invoices. See the invoicing module and the accounting module.