How to enter in the VAT register (by ordinary entry, or by applying for entry)

The register of VAT taxpayers is maintained by the Tax Administration. It is a list of businesses that must pay VAT.

All parties with the obligation to pay VAT must be entered in the register. 
In some circumstances, you can also apply for voluntary registration:

You can register as a VAT taxpayer at the same time as you establish your business, or later. You can register for VAT as soon as you start making purchases for the purposes of your VAT liable operations.

See our guidance for VAT registration

When you are starting up business:

  • If you are also entering the Trade Register, file a start-up notification in the Business Information System. You are issued a Finnish Business ID immediately after your new business has been established.
  • After receiving your Business ID, fill in the online notification of change in the Business Information System to register for VAT.
  • You can also file the start-up notification and register for VAT on paper with Form Y3. The paper form is also available in the Business Information System. If you do not ask for your business enterprise to be entered in the Trade Register, always use the paper form.

If you already have a Business ID:

When you establish a new limited company or a cooperation:

  • You can register for VAT with the start-up notification, without having to apply for VAT registration separately. You can either e-file the start-up notification in the Business Information System or fill in the paper start-up form Y1.

If the limited company or cooperative society already has a Business ID:

When you establish a new partnership:

If you already have a Business ID:

You can register for VAT either as a primary producer or as a business operator – or both.

Register for VAT as a primary producer if you operate in primary production. “Primary production” refers to agriculture, forestry, horticulture, fur farming, reindeer farming, etc.

Register for VAT as a business operator and as a primary producer if you not only operate in primary production but also have other activities.

When you start up a new farming or forestry operation:

If you already have a Business ID:

Non-profit entities (promoting the public good) must register for VAT if they conduct business subject to taxation under the provisions of the Finnish act on income tax.

Such an entity can register for VAT voluntarily even if it is not liable to pay VAT for a business operation it carries out.

Registration in the Tax Administration’s registers takes approximately 3 weeks. See more detailed processing times.

If you are not registered for VAT

If you do not request entry or apply for entry in the VAT register,

  • you cannot deduct the VAT of your purchases
  • you do not need to file VAT returns or pay VAT
  • you do not need to add the VAT amount to the price of the goods and services you sell.

Frequently asked questions

When your business enterprise is registered for VAT, do the following:

  • Always add VAT to the price of all goods and services you sell.
  • Give the buyer an invoice with all the details required by the Value Added Tax Act.
  • Deduct the VAT on the goods and services you have purchased for the purposes of your business from the VAT total on your sales.
  • If your turnover for the accounting period (12 months) is less than €30,000, you may request a relief for the VAT to be paid.
  • File and pay VAT to the Tax Administration regularly. The deadline dates for VAT depend on your tax period (for the majority of VAT taxpayers, this means once a month).
    • Start filing VAT returns as soon as you register as a VAT taxpayer.
    • File for each tax period – even if you have not started your operation yet or even if you have not had any sales during the accounting period.

The estimate of the total amount of sales for the accounting period must not be too low. If you do not register for VAT and you exceed the threshold of €10,000 in turnover, you will have to pay VAT retroactively for your entire accounting period. You may also have to pay late-payment charges in addition to the tax.

If you notice that you exceed the €10,000 threshold during the accounting period:

  • Sign up for the VAT register immediately.
  • Pay the VAT for the entire accounting period.
  • File VAT returns for the entire accounting period.

When the Tax Administration registers a business retroactively as a VAT taxpayer, we usually record the start date of the accounting period as the start date of registration. If your VAT-taxable operation has begun in the middle of an ongoing accounting period, we will record the date when you started your operation as the start date of your VAT registration.

Note: if you had agreed that your tax period is going to be the month or the quarter, your VAT returns and payments may already be late. You can take account of this when you first have your business entered in the VAT register: if possible, select a longer tax period.