Finland prepayments — 2026 operational method

Status: Source-cited draft by the OpenAccountants team. It is not accountant-authored, accountant-verified or an attestation. Sources were retrieved from the Finnish Tax Administration (Vero) for this editorial update.

Use this method for tax year 2026 for ordinary Finnish income-tax prepayments of an individual, self-employed person or partnership partner. It turns a complete tax-year forecast and a MyTax decision into a controlled request, payment and monitoring process. It does not calculate final income tax, decide foreign income, allocate partnership profit, amend a completed assessment or calculate a company’s tax liability. Limited companies and other corporate entities follow different prepayment rules (see "Companies: boundary only" below).

Key routes

Fact	Operational route
Existing taxpayer with a finalised assessment	Vero calculates the prepayment from the latest finalised tax assessment. Check the decision against the current forecast; a change requested this year also becomes the basis for next year’s prepayment.
Small-scale business income can be included correctly on a wage tax card	Change the tax-card details; do not duplicate it as a separate prepayment.
Business, rental, asset-sale, foreign-source (for example a foreign pension) or other income needs advance collection	Request or adjust prepayment in MyTax using forecast income and related deductions.
Wages from which no tax is withheld under a Finnish tax card (for example a foreign employer that does not withhold Finnish tax)	Prepayment is required. Report the wages in MyTax under Other income subject to prepayment, not as a salary change.
New business	Submit an estimate of income, expenses and operating profit in MyTax or with the start-up notification.
Existing forecast differs	Request a change. The old decision and instalments remain payable until a new decision is issued. Changes can be requested until Vero has completed the tax assessment.
Advances for the year look short	During the tax year, request a change to the prepayment. Individuals can also request an additional prepayment from December of the tax year until the assessment is completed; otherwise the shortfall is back tax after assessment.

Tax prepayment — Vero, instructions for making prepayments, Vero: prepayments for individuals and Vero request instructions

Ask the client first

• Latest MyTax prepayment decision, tax year, instalments, due dates, bank reference and payment history, including any instalment paid late or not at all.
• Full-year forecast, clearly separating actual year-to-date results from remaining assumptions.
• Business revenue, deductible costs, wages, start-up grants and other income that affects the taxpayer’s prepayment, including wages or pensions from abroad on which no Finnish tax is withheld.
• Rental, asset-sale or investment records where those items belong in the forecast; do not calculate their tax treatment from this method.
• Whether the taxpayer has a current tax card route, a prepayment-register entry, a filed tax return or a completed assessment.

The method, step by step

1. Identify the taxpayer and payment route. A prepayment-register entry does not create the prepayment decision. An entrepreneur on that register must request the decision and pay current-year instalments. The register normally means a customer can pay the work invoice without withholding; it does not replace the entrepreneur’s own prepayment duty. If the seller is not on the register, the customer must withhold tax on the payment for work: 13% for corporate entities and partnerships; for self-employed persons and other individuals, the rate on their tax card for non-wage pay, or 60% if no card is presented. The register has no effect on wages (withholding always follows the tax card) or on payments for goods or rental services (no withholding). Registration is not mandatory. Vero: prepayment register
2. Build the full-year forecast. Reconcile ledgers, invoices, withholding certificates and deduction evidence. For self-employed people, include taxable business income and other income such as wages and start-up grants. For partnership partners, include the profit share and other income. Record each forecast assumption and preserve the source record. Vero: instructions for making prepayments
3. Request or change the decision. Submit the forecast income and deductions in MyTax. A new entrepreneur supplies estimated income, expenses and operating profit. MyTax issues the prepayment decision showing instalments, due dates and payment instructions. Compare actual results with the forecast during the year and request a change when they diverge; more than one change may be requested, up until Vero has completed the tax assessment. Vero: tax prepayment
4. Pay the decision, not a self-selected amount. The normal due date is the 23rd of the month, moving to the next business day if it falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. Use the MyTax precompleted payment details (the payment leaves the account immediately, even if the due date is later) or the decision’s correct reference in online banking; individuals and self-employed people can also use e-invoice or direct payment. Until a new decision arrives, pay the instalment in the previous decision. Vero: instructions for making prepayments
5. Price a late instalment. An instalment paid after its due date carries late-payment interest from the day after the due date until the day of payment; in 2026 the rate is 9.5%. A late payment is applied first to the interest, then to the overdue instalment. Vero reminds only through the tax summary, and unpaid tax is then transferred to the enforcement authorities, which charge an enforcement fee. Vero: if you pay late
6. Control changes and records. Archive the submitted request, decision, payment confirmation, forecast version and supporting evidence. At each review, compare actual income against the forecast and test whether a tax-card change, prepayment change or no action is appropriate. Do not reduce or skip an imposed instalment while waiting for MyTax’s replacement decision. A formal claim for adjustment against a prepayment decision must be made within 60 days of receiving the decision, and the instalments must still be paid by their due dates while it is pending. Vero: claim for adjustment
7. Handle a year-end shortfall through the right route. Request the additional prepayment separately before paying and use the payment information in that decision; a payment sent without a request is not used as an additional prepayment. See "Additional prepayment" below for the interest-free window. If advances do not cover the year and no additional prepayment is made, the shortfall is back tax after assessment. Vero: additional prepayment
8. Complete the annual reconciliation. For an individual, review the pre-completed tax return, correct supported omissions, and reconcile final assessment with advance payments. Excess advances become a tax refund; an assessed shortage is back tax. Vero: individual prepayments

Request in MyTax

Under Individual income tax, open Tax cards and prepayments, choose the relevant tax year, and select Request tax prepayment or Change the prepayment. Review basic details and pre-completed income/deductions. Enter new business, rental or capital-gain income under Other income, add supported other deductions, and select payment preferences. Preview the request, submit it and save the acknowledgement; an unfinished saved request is not submitted. Seasonal businesses can request instalments during their active months; monthly payment can also be selected. Vero request instructions

Instalment control

For individuals, self-employed people, partnership partners and agricultural operators, the ordinary total minimum is €170. Below that amount it is not collected in advance but through final assessment. The default schedule is below; the actual decision, timing of changes and any selected monthly or seasonal arrangement control. The maximum is 12 instalments. Vero schedule

Annual amount	Default instalments	Months
€170–€500	2	March and September Vero schedule
More than €500 to €1,700	3	February, July and November Vero schedule
More than €1,700 to €10,000	6	February, April, June, August, October and December Vero schedule
Above €10,000	12	January through December Vero schedule

Vero instalment rules.

Companies: boundary only

Do not use the table above for a limited company or other corporate entity. Corporate prepayments are imposed per accounting period; the minimum is €500, and a smaller amount is collected at final assessment. From €500 to €2,000 there are 2 equal instalments, in the third and ninth month of the fiscal year; over €2,000 there are 12. A corporate entity cannot make an additional prepayment during its tax year, only after it ends; the minimum is €500, and no interest with relief arises if it is paid within one month after the end of the tax year. Refer any corporate computation. Vero schedule; Vero additional prepayment

Additional prepayment

An individual or self-employed person can either request an exact additional amount or report corrected full-year income and deductions for MyTax to calculate it. The minimum is €170; smaller shortfalls are back tax after assessment. Submit the request before sending money, then use the decision’s amount, reference and due date. MyTax online payment debits immediately. Neither e-invoice nor web invoice can be used for an additional prepayment. Vero additional prepayment

• When: individuals can request an additional prepayment starting in December of the tax year, and can request and pay it at any time until Vero completes the assessment for that year. For tax year 2026 that means from December 2026; Vero announces the exact opening day. Vero additional prepayment
• Interest-free window: individuals pay no late-payment interest with relief if the additional prepayment’s due date is in January of the year after the tax year (for tax year 2026, up to 31 January 2027). A request made in December cannot take a December due date; the earliest selectable due date is the first banking day in January. Vero additional prepayment
• Weekend trap: if the last day of January is a Saturday or Sunday, a due date requested for that day moves to the next business day and interest with relief is charged for the extra days. 31 January 2027 is a Sunday, so for tax year 2026 choose a due date no later than Friday 29 January 2027. Vero: interest with relief
• After January: interest with relief runs from 1 February until the due date (in 2026 the rate is 4.5%; payments in 2027 use the rate Vero sets for 2027). No €20 deduction applies to interest on an additional prepayment. If the additional prepayment is itself paid after its due date, ordinary late-payment interest (9.5% in 2026) is added from the day after the due date. Vero: interest with relief
• Small shortfall after January: because €20 is deducted from interest on back tax but not on an additional prepayment, Vero notes that where the tax is no more than approximately €880 it may cost less to leave it as back tax. Vero additional prepayment

Back tax after assessment

If advances and any additional prepayment are too small, the shortfall is back tax. Back tax of more than €170 is split into two instalments; less than €10 is not collected. Interest with relief is charged from 1 February of the year after the tax year until the back-tax due date, and €20 is subtracted from that interest (if the interest is below €20, none is charged). The due dates are on the tax decision and in MyTax; for the back tax collected in 2026, most individuals’ due dates fell in August, September, October and November. Back tax paid after its due date carries ordinary late-payment interest, and a request for a payment arrangement is made to Vero. Vero: paying back taxes

Worked decision cases

Case	Facts	Expected result
New sole trader	Forecast revenue €60,000, supported costs €20,000, operating profit €40,000 and wages €10,000.	Submit the business forecast and other income in MyTax. Use the issued decision; this guide does not calculate final tax. Vero payment rules
Profit forecast falls	Current decision requires €600 on the 23rd. Forecast profit falls before the due date.	Request a change. Pay €600 until a replacement decision is issued; do not substitute €400 unilaterally. Vero payment rules
Instalment missed	A €600 instalment due on the 23rd is paid a month late in 2026.	Late-payment interest at 9.5% runs from the day after the due date to the payment day; pay the MyTax amount, which includes the interest. Vero: if you pay late
Register is mistaken for a decision	Consultant in the prepayment register invoices €2,000 for work.	Customer normally pays without withholding, but consultant still requests and pays own prepayments. If the consultant were a self-employed person not on the register, the customer would withhold at the consultant’s non-wage tax-card rate, or 60% without a card. Vero: prepayment register
Shortfall after year end	Individual identifies an estimated €600 shortage for tax year 2026 in December 2026.	Request additional prepayment and select a January 2027 due date; paid by that due date, no interest with relief arises. Pay the amount and reference in the decision. Vero additional prepayment
Small shortfall found late	Individual finds a €600 shortage in April, after the January window.	An additional prepayment now carries interest with relief from 1 February with no €20 deduction; because €600 is below approximately €880, leaving it as back tax may cost less. Confirm with the MyTax figures. Vero additional prepayment
Seasonal income	Business expects income only in June–August.	Request a decision reflecting the forecast; follow its issued instalments rather than assuming twelve equal payments.

When to refuse or refer

• Refer a corporate or cross-border calculation, partnership allocation, rental or capital-gain computation, a completed assessment appeal, payment difficulty, imminent due date where a new decision is not yet available, or any discrepancy between MyTax and the documented forecast. Preserve the decision and supporting records while the specific route is resolved.

Official sources: Vero tax prepayment; Vero instructions for making prepayments; Vero prepayment register; Vero additional prepayment.