Late-filing penalties will be imposed on delayed Incomes Register reports

It is important that the data reported to the Incomes Register is reported on time and that the data is correct. The first two years of the Incomes Register have been a transition period, during which the Finnish Tax Administration has not imposed any late-filing penalties for delayed reports. The purpose of the transition period was to ensure that payers learn the new way of reporting data. For the reporting of earnings payment data, the transition period closed at the end of 2020. Both the Finnish Tax Administration and other data users have also imposed other penalty fees during the transition period.

In terms of benefits and pensions payment data, the year 2021 is still considered a transition period during which late-filing penalties will generally not be imposed.

A late-filing penalty for neglecting the obligation to report mandatory data

Starting from 2021, the Tax Administration will impose a late-filing penalty if mandatory data on payments is reported to the Incomes Register after the eighth day of the calendar month following the payment date. Late-filing penalties will be imposed from 9 February 2021 onwards.

Late-filing penalties will not be imposed on individuals or estates, unless the late report concerns payments related to business activities, agriculture or forestry. If no data is reported to the Incomes Register or the data is incomplete, and the payer does not independently correct the neglect before taxes and contributions are levied, data users may impose their own penalty fees for the neglect and assess the amount of taxable income.

Data can be reported in advance

Following the deadlines for reporting data may be challenging during holidays, for example. Earnings payment reports can also be submitted to the Incomes Register in advance, for example, immediately after payroll runs. However, reports cannot be submitted earlier than 45 calendar days before the payment date.

The employer’s separate report can be submitted no earlier than one month before the beginning of the reporting month, if the report includes the total amount of the employer’s health insurance contribution and the amount of deductions made from the employer’s health insurance contribution. For example, data for March can be reported no earlier than on 1 February. Instead, the ‘No wages payable’ data can be submitted on the employer’s separate report for six months in advance.

Determination of the late-filing penalty

Late-filing penalties for reports submitted late to the Incomes Register are made up of two components: the daily amount of the late-filing penalty and the percentage based on the amount of the payment reported late.

Determination of the daily component

EUR 3 in daily late-filing penalties will be imposed for each day a report is late, until the data has been reported to the Incomes Register. The days for which the late-filing penalty is imposed are calculated from the day following the deadline for the late-filing penalty to the date on which the report is submitted. The daily late-filing penalty will be imposed for a maximum of 45 days, i.e. the maximum penalty will be EUR 135. The amount of the payment or tax reported late does not affect the daily amount of the late-filing penalty.

In determining the late-filing penalty, the earnings payment report and the employer’s separate report are considered a single report subject to a single daily late-filing penalty. No late-filing penalty is imposed if the first report for the calendar month was submitted on time.

Determination of the percentage-based component

The percentage-based component is imposed on reports that are over 45 days late. An amount equalling one per cent of the amount of the taxable payment reported late or the amount of earned income used as a basis for calculating a pension, whichever is greater, will be added to the daily component.

Correct data within 45 days of the deadline

If data is reported to the Incomes Register within the deadline, the data submitted for the calendar month can be adjusted, i.e. corrected, or supplemented for 45 days after the deadline without incurring a penalty fee. If the data for the payment month is corrected or supplemented more than 45 days after the deadline, the late-filing penalty will be one per cent of the amount of the taxable payment or earnings from work on which pension is based that was reported late, whichever is greater. No percentage-based component will be added to the late-filing penalty if the amount of the previously reported taxable payment or earnings from work on which pension is based does not increase due to the correction.

You can check your late-filing penalties in MyTax

The Finnish Tax Administration imposes late-filing penalties on Incomes Register reports. The late-filing penalty will be imposed on the basis of the data reported for each calendar month. Several late-filing penalty decisions can be issued for a single month. However, the daily component of the late-filing penalty can only be imposed once per reporting month.

Customers can view their late-filing penalty decisions in the monthly summary and MyTax. The penalty due date is the second general due date for self-assessed taxes following the entry in the summary. For any questions related to the late-filing penalty, please contact the Tax Administration’s customer service (employer contributions, tel. +358 29 497 012).

Read more:

• Reporting income data: penalty fees
• Tax Administration guidelines: Negligence Penalty for Incomes Register reporting (in Finnish)
• Deadlines for reporting
• Mandatory and complementary data on the earnings payment report