How to register for VAT

The register of taxpayers liable to pay VAT is maintained by the Tax Administration. The VAT register is a list of companies that must pay VAT. You can check whether a company is in the VAT register on the Business Information System (ytj.fi).

Should I enter my company in the VAT register?

if your turnover more than €10,000: you must register for vat

Companies with sales of goods or services that exceed €10,000 per accounting period (12 months) are usually liable to pay VAT. These companies must also be entered in the VAT register.

if your turnover is less than €10,000: you can register for vat on a voluntary basis

Companies with sales under €10,000 can request entry in the VAT register voluntarily. Registering for VAT may be beneficial if your company buys a lot of VAT-liable goods or services for its taxable business. If your company is VAT-registered, as a rule you can deduct the VAT of your purchases.

if all your business operations are exempt from vat: you cannot be entered in the register

Some business operations, such as health care and medical services, are exempt from VAT. If your activities only consist of VAT-exempt operations, you cannot register for VAT.

How to enter the VAT register

You can register as a VAT taxpayer at the same time as you establish your business or later. You can register or request entry to the register either on your start-up notification or a change notification. Select the correct section in the notification depending on whether you are required to register for VAT or you are requesting entry voluntarily.

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 will get a Finnish Business ID immediately after start-up.
  • 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 are not signing up to the Trade Register, always use the paper form.

If you already have a Business ID:

  • Fill in the online notification of change, or Form Y6 on paper, to register for VAT. Read more on ytj.fi.

When you establish a new limited company or a co-operation:

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

If the company or co-operation already has a Business ID:

When you establish a new partnership:

If you already have a Business ID:

  • You can register for VAT by filing a notification of change online or filing Form Y5 on paper. Read more on the Business Information System.

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, fur farms, reindeer farms, etc.

Register for VAT both as a business operator and as a primary producer if you operate in primary production and have other activities as well.

When you establish a new farming or forestry operation:

  • File the start-up notification with the paper form appropriate to your company’s legal form (Y1, Y2 or Y3). You can register for VAT on the same form. Read more on the Business Information System.

If you already have a Business ID:

You can register for VAT as soon as you start making purchases for the purposes of your VAT liable operations.

Non-profit corporations must register for VAT if they conduct business subject to taxation under the provisions of the Finnish act on income tax.

A corporation can register for VAT voluntarily even if they are not liable to pay tax for their business operations.

If your association already has a Business ID

What does registering for VAT affect?

If the company is liable to pay VAT, you cannot start "including VAT" invoicing until the company is in the register. Once the company is registered for VAT, do the following:

  • Always add VAT to the price of all taxable goods and services you sell.
  • Give the buyer an invoice with all the details required by the Value Added Tax Act.
  • Deduct the VAT of goods and services you have purchased for the purposes of your business from the VAT total of your sales.
  • If your sales for the accounting period (12 months) are less than €30,000, you may request relief for the VAT to be paid.
  • File and pay VAT to the Tax Administration regularly. The filing times depend on your tax period (for most VAT taxpayers, this means once a month).
    • Start filing VAT returns as soon as you register as a VAT-liable taxpayer.
    • File the return for each tax period even if you have not started your operations yet or you have had no sales in the accounting period.

Frequently asked questions

The estimate of the total amount of sales in the accounting period should be as accurate as possible. If you do not register for VAT and your sales exceed the threshold of €10,000 before the accounting period is ended, you will have to pay VAT retroactively for the entire 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.

Please note that if your tax period is the month or the quarter, your VAT returns and payments may already be late. You may therefore have to pay a punitive tax increase and a late-filing penalty.

The Tax Administration usually registers a company as a VAT-liable taxpayer retroactively, so the start date of the registration will be the start date of the company’s accounting period.