VAT for freelancers in Finland, the 2026 guide
VAT is the part most people find hardest when they start, largely because the rules moved three times in three years, most recently on 1 January 2026. Here is what applies now: when you register, which rates you charge, and what disappeared.
What changed, briefly
Two things moved, and most out-of-date advice gets one of them wrong:
- The reduced rate is 13,5 %, down from 14 % on 1 January 2026. That is the newest of the three changes and the one most guides have not caught up with.
- The standard rate is 25.5 %, up from 24 % on 1 September 2024, and unchanged since.
- The registration threshold is 20 000 €, up from 15 000 € on 1 January 2025.
- The VAT relief (alarajahuojennus) was abolished on 1 January 2025. It is not coming back, and a Business ID does not restore it.
The rates
These are the rates in force in 2026. Between September 2024 and January 2026 all three of them moved, which is why the year a guide was written matters more than usual with this subject.
| Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|
| 25,5 % | The standard rate: most services and goods |
| 13,5 % | Food, restaurant services, books, medicines, sports services, passenger transport, accommodation. It was 14 % until 1 January 2026, and the goods that used to sit at 10 % joined this rate a year earlier |
| 0 % | International trade, among others |
When you must register
Registration becomes compulsory once your turnover passes 20 000 € in a year. Below that you may register voluntarily, which is worth considering when your clients are VAT-registered businesses and you have deductible purchases of your own.
VAT is never your income. You add it to the invoice, and it is remitted to the Tax Administration.
How VAT works with Palkkaguru
If you are not VAT-registered, you invoice without VAT and there is nothing for you to do. If you are, we add the VAT to the invoice and handle the returns and remittances for you.
One detail worth knowing, because it is money: our service fee is calculated on the amount excluding VAT, not on the invoice total. At the 25.5 % rate that is about four euros less on a thousand-euro invoice, every invoice. Some services in this market charge on the gross; the comparison sets out who does what.
The plans and what each one includes are on the price list, and if you want the figure for your own invoice before registering, the commission calculator works it out.
Frequently asked
- When do I have to register for VAT?
- When your turnover exceeds 20 000 euros a year. The threshold rose from 15 000 on 1 January 2025. You can also register voluntarily below it.
- What happened to the VAT relief (alarajahuojennus)?
- It was abolished on 1 January 2025. Small businesses used to get part of the VAT they had remitted back; that relief no longer exists. A good many guides still describe it, so check the publication date of anything you read on this.
- What is the standard rate?
- 25.5 per cent, up from 24 per cent on 1 September 2024. The reduced rate on things like food, books, medicines and passenger transport is 13.5 per cent, down from 14 per cent on 1 January 2026.
Tell us what you invoice, and we will work out which plan fits.
A free conversation, at our office or online. We go through whether light entrepreneurship makes sense in your situation, which plan works out cheapest for what you invoice, and whether you want the accident and liability cover. The conversation commits you to nothing.