Catch-Up Bookkeeping in Finland: Overdue Books, Late Filings and Switching Accountants

The charges grow with time. These are the rules in force on 7 November 2026.

VAT returns. A return is due for every tax period, also with no sales. A late return costs €3 a day, up to €135, even with no tax to pay. After 45 days, 2 % of the tax filed late is added, up to €15,000 per period. VAT paid late carries late-payment interest of 9.5 % a year in 2026. If no return arrives, the Tax Administration (Verohallinto, Vero) sends a reminder with its own estimate, then assesses the tax by estimate and can add a punitive tax increase. Filing the real figures afterwards still helps: Vero can cancel the estimate.

Public registers. Neglected VAT returns from the past six months show in Vero's public tax debt register. Substantial neglect can also get the company removed from the prepayment register, and then customers must withhold tax from payments for its work.

Income tax return. A return filed late, but before the assessment is finished, costs €100 per tax year for a company and €50 for a sole trader. A missing return leads to an assessment by estimate and a possible punitive tax increase. Deadlines are on our tax returns in Finland page.

Financial statements. An Oy files them with the Trade Register within eight months of the year end. After that, PRH charges €150 if the filing is up to two months late, €300 if it is two to four months late, and €600 if they are still missing a year after the year end. The fee is doubled when two or more consecutive years are late. If they are still missing after PRH's reminder, PRH orders the company into liquidation or removes it from the Trade Register. PRH said in October 2026 that it will begin these procedures by early 2027.

Vero does not charge a late-filing penalty when the delay had a cause outside the company's control or another valid reason. Where the facts support it, we ask for this on your behalf.

1. Map what is missing. With your authorisation we compare MyTax and the Trade Register with your bank statements and list the open months, VAT periods and years.
2. Written estimate. The hours at €75/h and the order of the work are in writing before anything is billed.
3. Books first, oldest period first. Every bank transaction is matched to a receipt or an invoice, and bank balances are reconciled month by month. Missing receipts come to you on one list.
4. VAT returns. We file the missing returns and correct earlier ones where the books differ. A correction within 45 days of the due date carries no late-filing penalty; later, it is 2 % of the extra tax.
5. Year-end. For each overdue year: financial statements, tax return, general meeting minutes and the Trade Register filing.
6. Back to normal. The books then run month by month. If the company has no future, the next step is closing it.

Read your current contract first, because it decides the notice period. If it refers to TAL2023, the general terms of Taloushallintoliitto (the Finnish association of accounting firms), and nothing else has been agreed:

• the notice period is two months, and the fee can be charged for it even if no work is done
• if the contract ends mid-year, the accountant prepares the balance sheet specifications against an advance payment
• the accountant may keep the material it has prepared, such as the journal and the general ledger, until its invoices are paid.

So settle the open invoices before the switch, and count the notice-period fees into the cost of switching.

The notice goes out in your name, and we can write it for you to send. With your authorisation we request the material from the previous accountant and check that the opening balances match before we continue. You don't need to wait for the year end: the current month's receipts are entered straight away.

Taking over the books is hourly work at €75/h with an estimate first, as in the price list below. Months that were never done are catch-up work with their own estimate.

A Finnish Oy files financial statements with the Trade Register and a tax return for every financial year, even with no activity, assets or bank account. If it is registered for VAT, a VAT return is due for every period too, even with nothing to report. For a dormant Oy with no sales and at most 10 purchase receipts in the financial year, we charge €250 per financial year plus €99 onboarding.

Sometimes a bank or a buyer asks for figures newer than the last financial statements, such as interim financial statements (välitilinpäätös). Those need current books, so the catch-up comes first, and we quote the interim statements in writing.

A company you no longer need does not disappear on its own: an Oy is closed through liquidation. Our fixed fee is €1,500 plus PRH's fees of €255, once the earlier financial statements and tax returns are done. The steps are in closing a Finnish company.

• Catching up overdue bookkeeping: €75/h, written estimate before we start
• Taking over from a previous accountant: €75/h, estimate first; a clean electronic handover (journal, general ledger, balance sheet specifications, reconciled opening balances) typically takes 1-2 hours, manual or unreconciled material typically 2-8 hours
• Onboarding: €99 once, on top of the hourly work
• Financial statements and tax return, small Oy: €480 per financial year
• Dormant Oy (no sales, at most 10 purchase receipts in the financial year): €250 per financial year + onboarding €99
• Monthly bookkeeping once the books are current: from €99/month (€99 up to 10 vouchers a month, €149 for 11-30, €199 for 31-60)
• Closing the company through liquidation: €1,500 fixed + PRH fees €255

All prices exclude VAT (25.5 %), and PRH's fees carry no VAT. You pay what the price list says; nothing else is invoiced unless agreed with you first. What monthly bookkeeping covers is explained on accounting services in Finland, and the full list is on our pricing page.

• The business ID (Y-tunnus) and the last financial statements and tax return that were filed.
• Bank statements for every account from the date the books stopped, foreign accounts and payment services included.
• Sales invoices and purchase receipts for the same period, in whatever format you have them.
• Letters from Vero and PRH, if any have arrived.
• The current accountant's contract and contact details, if you are switching.
• An authorisation to act for the company in MyTax, normally through Suomi.fi, and identification of the person who signs our agreement.

Send the quote request below with the business ID, the date the books stopped and roughly how many receipts a month. You get a written estimate before any work starts. What Finnish law requires from the books is in our bookkeeping guide, and VAT periods in VAT in Finland.

One English-speaking accountant handles your Finnish company from registration to monthly bookkeeping, VAT and payroll. Bookkeeping is a fixed monthly price with no per-voucher fees, and registration, payroll and the year-end have their own fixed prices.