Good to know
Good to Know
- There is no local-partner or local-shareholder requirement — foreigners can legally own 100% of a Finnish company.
- The real structural hurdle for non-EEA founders is usually the board residency rule: an Oy needs at least one ordinary and one deputy board member resident in the EEA, or a PRH exemption — plan this before filing rather than after being blocked.
- Owning a Finnish company does not automatically give you the right to live or work in Finland — that requires a separate entrepreneur's or startup entrepreneur's residence permit if you plan to relocate and personally run the business.
- Opening a Finnish bank account with proper KYC documentation is frequently the slowest real-world bottleneck for foreign founders, even though the official Trade Register filing itself can process in days.
- Since 2019 there's no minimum share capital requirement for a private limited company (Oy), which has lowered the cost barrier to incorporation.
- From 1 January 2026, Oy start-up notifications can no longer be filed on paper — everything must go through the online ytj.fi portal, which is only in Finnish and Swedish, so non-Finnish speakers may want local/legal help for this step.
- For most foreign solo founders and freelancers, the practical choice in Helsinki comes down to: toiminimi if you want minimal setup cost and don't mind unlimited personal liability and no separate legal entity, versus Oy if you want liability protection, more credibility with Finnish institutions/clients, and are willing to take on double-entry bookkeeping and a board-residency requirement.
- If you (and any co-founders) are entirely based outside the EEA, budget extra time/cost for either recruiting an EEA-resident board member for your Oy or pursuing a PRH exemption — this board-residency rule is an easy-to-miss requirement that can otherwise stall registration.
- Finland's flat 20% corporate tax rate has been stable since 2014, but a government proposal (still in the legislative pipeline as of mid-2026) would cut it to 18% starting with the 2027 tax year — don't assume that cut is already in effect when planning.
- VAT registration is only mandatory once your turnover passes €20,000/year, so many small freelance toiminimi operations legitimately stay VAT-unregistered below that.
Corporate Tax
- Headline Rate
- Finland levies a flat 20% corporate income tax (CIT) on resident companies' worldwide income, and this same 20% rate applies to Finnish permanent establishments (branches) of foreign companies on their Finland-source income.
- Rate Detail Citation
- The CIT rate is 20%, applying to Finnish resident companies on worldwide income and to Finnish permanent establishments (PEs) of non-resident companies on income attributable to the PE.
- No Local Surtax
- No municipal or local income taxes are levied in Finland on the income of a company — the 20% rate is the full corporate tax burden (aside from the separate YLE tax below).
- Loss Carryforward
- As of the 2026 tax year, business losses can be carried forward for 25 years (extended from a prior 10-year limit); there is no loss carryback, and losses expire if more than 50% of company shares change hands during the loss year.
- Proposed Future Change
- The Finnish government has proposed cutting the CIT rate from 20% to 18%, but as of mid-2026 this is still a draft proposal working through the legislative/consultation process and is intended to take effect for the 2027 tax year, not yet in force — treat 20% as the current, confirmed rate.
- Yle Public Broadcasting Tax
- A separate 'YLE tax' applies to companies with taxable income of at least €50,000: a flat charge plus 0.35% of income above that threshold, capped at €3,000/year for companies with taxable income of €867,142 or more.
- Withholding Tax On Outbound Payments
- Dividends paid to non-resident companies face 20% withholding tax and to non-resident individuals 30%, though these are frequently reduced by Finland's extensive tax treaty network (often to 0–15%); dividends to qualifying EU parent companies (10%+ shareholding) are exempt under the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive, and interest paid to non-residents is generally not subject to withholding.
Yle Tax Amounts
flat annual YLE tax if taxable income is at least €50,000
- Flat Annual YLE Tax If Taxable Income Is At Least €50,000
- €140
EUR
Structure Comparison For Foreigners
Osakeyhtiö (Oy) — private limited company
- Taxation
- The company itself pays the flat 20% corporate tax on its profits; if profit is later distributed as dividends to the owner, that is taxed again at the personal level (dividend/capital income tax rules apply, with different treatment for listed vs. unlisted company shares).
- Liability
- Limited liability — owners are not personally liable for company debts, liability is capped at company assets.
- Who Its For
- The most common and generally recommended structure for foreign founders wanting to run a real business in Helsinki; suitable for solo consultants up through scaling companies and subsidiaries of foreign parents.
- Registration
- Registration happens through the Trade Register via the online YTJ system; electronic registration typically takes 1–3 business days if documents are correct, versus 1–4 weeks for paper filings (and as of 1 January 2026, paper filings are no longer accepted for limited companies at all).
- Setup Cost Example
- €280
one cited online (YTJ) registration cost for an Oy; using a professional formation service adds significantly more
- Capital Requirement
- No minimum share capital is required — Finland abolished the €2,500 minimum in 2019, so an Oy can be registered with €0 in share capital.
- Ownership And Board Rules
- There are no restrictions on foreign ownership of an Oy, and Finnish law allows a foreign national to fully own and direct one — but at least one ordinary board member (and one deputy) must reside in the EEA, unless an exemption is separately granted by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH); founders entirely outside the EEA typically appoint an EEA-resident board member or pursue the PRH exemption route.
Toiminimi — sole trader / sole proprietorship
- Taxation
- There is no separate corporate tax — business profit flows directly into the owner's personal tax return, split into capital income (a flat 30% up to €30,000 of gains and 34% above that, calculated as a deemed return on net business assets) and earned income (taxed at Finland's progressive personal rates, which combine national, municipal, and — for church members — church tax, reaching roughly 56.5% at the top marginal level).
- Liability
- Unlimited personal liability — there is no legal distinction between the individual and the business, so personal assets are exposed to business debts.
- Bookkeeping
- Simple single-entry bookkeeping is generally sufficient, a much lighter administrative load than an Oy's double-entry requirements.
- Who Its For
- The cheapest, fastest option for a solo freelancer or small one-person operation; not a separate legal entity from the owner.
- Registration
- No registration is strictly required to start operating — the business legally begins upon notification — though registering the trade name with the Trade Register (via YTJ) protects it; setup fees are low.
- Setup Cost Example
- €65
typical online registration fee range (~€60–70) cited for toiminimi registration
- Additional Obligation
- Self-employed sole traders must also arrange and pay their own YEL pension insurance and other social security contributions, calculated based on income.
- Eligibility For Foreigners
- Both EU/EEA and non-EU/EEA citizens can register a toiminimi, but a non-EU/EEA citizen needs a valid residence permit that specifically allows self-employment, plus Finnish personal online banking credentials or an equivalent digital ID.
Branch of a foreign company (sivuliike)
- Taxation
- Taxed at the same flat 20% CIT rate as an Oy, but only on Finland-source income attributable to the branch, not worldwide income.
- Who Its For
- Foreign companies that already have Finnish business and want a local operating presence without setting up a separate Finnish legal entity.
- Registration
- Must register with the Trade Register, providing documentation from the home country and appointing a local representative.
Partnerships (Avoin yhtiö / Kommandiittiyhtiö)
- Liability
- General partners have unlimited liability; limited partners' liability is restricted to their investment.
- Who Its For
- General and limited partnerships exist under Finnish law but are rarely recommended for foreign founders and are used mainly in specific niche cases.
Incorporation Process And Requirements
- Overview
- Foreigners face no nationality-based restrictions on company ownership in Finland. EU/EEA citizens are treated identically to Finnish nationals when incorporating. Non-EU/EEA citizens can also fully own a Finnish company, but if they intend to physically move to Finland to run it day-to-day, a separate entrepreneur or startup residence permit is required.
Core Steps
- Choose a business structure and check/reserve a company name that is clearly distinguishable, not misleading, and includes the correct legal-form suffix (e.g. 'Oy'), verified via the Trade Register.
- Draft foundation documents: for an Oy this means the Articles of Association (yhtiöjärjestys) plus a memorandum/founder's agreement and description of business activities.
- Open a Finnish business bank account for KYC and, where applicable, share capital deposit — banks generally ask for proof of registration, identification of owners/directors, and basic business documentation, and requirements differ between banks.
- Non-EU/non-EEA founders acting as signatories typically need a Finnish personal identity code from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, and documents signed abroad usually require notarisation and, where applicable, an apostille.
- Submit the Start-Up Notification electronically through the joint YTJ online service (ytj.fi), which channels the filing to both the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) for Trade Register entry and the Finnish Tax Administration (Vero) for tax registers.
- Receive a Business ID (Y-tunnus) once PRH processes the Trade Register entry; the company can then register for VAT, the employer register, and the prepayment (advance tax) register as applicable.
- From 1 January 2026, paper filing is no longer accepted for limited liability company start-up notifications — all Oy filings must go through the online ytj.fi service.
- If relocating to Finland to run the business, apply separately for an entrepreneur's or startup entrepreneur's residence permit through the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), generally before or alongside company registration.
Typical Cost
- Share Capital
- No statutory minimum share capital for an Oy since 2019 (previously €2,500), so this is no longer a mandatory upfront cost.
- Other Likely Costs
- Certified/apostilled translations for non-EU founders, notarisation, and optional legal/accounting assistance are common additional real-world costs not included in the official registry fee.
- Oy Online Registration Fee Estimate
- €275
- Sole Trader Start Up Notification Fee
- €75
- Oy Online Registration Fee Upper Estimate
- €370
- Official Registry Fee Note
- Fees are set by PRH's own price list and have varied by filing channel; recent sources report the online Start-Up Notification fee for a private limited company (Oy) in roughly the €275–€370 range, versus a higher paper-form fee where paper filing was still available.
Official Links
Realistic Timeline
- Tax Register Entry
- Entering the company in the Tax Administration's registers (VAT, employer, prepayment) can take up to about three weeks after the start-up notification is filed.
- Official Electronic Processing
- Once fully submitted electronically, Trade Register registration for a limited liability company is generally required to take place within five working days, and some current guides cite processing as fast as one to three business days when filed online with strong electronic authentication.
- Realistic Foreign Founder Timeline
- Foreign founders should budget longer than the official processing window to account for opening a Finnish bank account, obtaining a Finnish personal identity code, and notarising/apostilling documents signed abroad — practically this can add one to several extra weeks on top of the electronic filing time.
Common Business Structures
Private Limited Company (Osakeyhtiö, Oy)
- Notes
- The most common structure for international founders. Since 2019 there is no legally mandated minimum share capital (previously €2,500).
Sole Trader (Toiminimi)
- Notes
- Simplest structure; a non-EEA resident sole trader needs a separate PRH permit to operate in Finland.
General Partnership (Avoin Yhtiö) / Limited Partnership (Kommandiittiyhtiö)
- Notes
- Requires at least two participants; no minimum capital requirement, but partners carry personal liability.
Branch Office (Sivuliike)
- Notes
- Lets a foreign parent company operate in Finland without creating a separate legal entity; the branch is not itself a separate legal entity and the parent company retains full liability, and it must appoint an EEA-domiciled representative.
Cooperative (Osuuskunta)
- Notes
- Can be established by a single member; used for shared/community-based ventures.
Local Partner Or Sponsor Mandate
- Ownership
- No local partner or local shareholder is required. Foreigners can own 100% of a Finnish company, with no nationality or residency restrictions for shareholders.
- Board Residency Rule
- The main structural requirement is not about ownership but about company officers: at least one ordinary board member and one deputy board member (for an Oy) must be resident in the European Economic Area (EEA). If no one on the board meets this, the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) can grant an exemption/permit, but without either an EEA-resident officer or an approved exemption, registration will be blocked.
- Residence Permit Note
- Non-EU citizens who plan to move to Finland to personally run the business need an entrepreneur's residence permit or a startup entrepreneur's residence permit; this is an immigration requirement, separate from company ownership itself.
VAT
- Reduced Rates
- A reduced 13.5% rate applies to food, restaurant/catering services, books, accommodation, and passenger transport, and a 10% rate applies to newspapers and magazines.
- Standard Rate
- Finland's standard VAT (arvonlisävero/ALV) rate is 25.5%.
- Filing
- VAT returns are filed via the MyTax (OmaVero) online portal; the default filing period is monthly, businesses with turnover up to €100,000/year may file quarterly, and those up to €30,000/year may file annually, with the deadline being the 12th of the second month following the reporting period.
- Registration Threshold
- €20,000
annual turnover threshold above which VAT registration becomes mandatory; below this, registration is optional
Corporate Filing Obligations
- Bookkeeping
- A limited company (Oy) must keep double-entry bookkeeping and produce mandatory annual financial statements, and may face a statutory audit requirement above certain size thresholds — a materially heavier administrative burden than a sole trader.
- Advance Payments
- Advance corporate tax prepayments are made monthly through the MyTax (OmaVero) portal.
- Annual Return Deadline
- The corporate tax return is due 4 months after the end of the accounting period — for calendar-year companies this means 30 April, and using a professional tax advisor can extend this to the end of May.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this business permits & incorporation for foreigners research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.