Sole Trader in Finland: Setting Up and Running a Toiminimi in English
For freelancers and self-employed people
With a toiminimi (yksityinen elinkeinonharjoittaja in the law) you run a business in your own name: you register it, invoice under your own Business ID and pay tax on the profit as personal income. We register sole traders in English and keep the books after that. Registration is €350, bookkeeping starts at €99 a month and the year-end is €190, all excl. VAT.
Who can set up a toiminimi
If you are 18 or over and live in the European Economic Area (EEA), you can run a business as a sole trader. Citizenship doesn't matter, residence does.
If you are not an EU citizen and live in Finland on a residence permit, you may run a business on a permit issued on any grounds, as long as you still meet its requirements. On a permit for an employed person, that means staying in the job the permit was issued for. There is no separate permit for freelancers.
If the business is meant to be your living, the route is the residence permit for an entrepreneur. A sole trader can make the first application before arriving, without a Business ID, and registers after the move. We prepare the financial part: see entrepreneur residence permits.
Living outside the EEA, you would need a permit from the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH), a representative in Finland and a Trade Register entry. A limited company is usually the practical choice then: see company formation in Finland.
Registering: what we file and what it costs
A toiminimi starts with one start-up notification that goes to both the Tax Administration (Vero) and PRH, filed online at ytj.fi or on paper form Y3. The online service is in Finnish and Swedish only and needs a Finnish personal identity code and Finnish e-identification. If you can't log in, we file for you with a power of attorney.
The same notification puts you in the Tax Administration's registers:
- Prepayment register. Voluntary, but without it a customer who pays you for work must withhold tax from each payment, which can cost you business customers.
- VAT register. Compulsory once your turnover passes €20,000 in a calendar year, voluntary before that.
- Employer register, if you will pay wages regularly.
The Trade Register is optional for most sole traders. It is compulsory if you live outside the EEA or the business grows past small-company size. An entry gives you an exclusive right to the business name across Finland, so PRH advises it even when it isn't required. PRH charges €75 for it; registering only in the Tax Administration's registers is free.
Filed online, the Business ID comes right away, and Vero's register decisions usually follow within three to four weeks.
For an English-speaking founder, our fee is €350 plus the PRH fee. It covers the start-up notification and the registrations. When the bookkeeping starts, onboarding is a one-off €99: we set up the books and opening balances and check the registrations.
Bookkeeping, VAT and the year-end
Every sole trader keeps books, built from sales invoices, receipts and bank statements. Single-entry bookkeeping is allowed until two of these three limits are exceeded in two consecutive years: a balance sheet of €100,000, turnover of €200,000 and an average of three employees. With single-entry books, the financial year is always the calendar year.
VAT. You are not liable for VAT while your turnover stays at €20,000 or less in both the current and the previous calendar year. Once it passes the limit, VAT applies from that day, and a late registration is backdated to it. The standard rate is 25.5 %. VAT returns are monthly by default, quarterly on request with turnover up to €100,000 a year and yearly with turnover up to €30,000. More in VAT in Finland.
The year-end. A sole trader files the business tax return (Form 5) every year, also in a year with no activity. For tax year 2026 the deadline is 1 April 2027. Most sole traders don't need formal financial statements: the year-end means closing the year's books and filing Form 5.
Our monthly bookkeeping, VAT returns included, starts at €99 and the year-end with Form 5 is €190 a year. If you keep your own books, we review them first at €75 an hour on top, with a written estimate. See accounting services in Finland, and the bookkeeping guide for what the law requires from the books.
Tax and pension insurance (YEL)
A toiminimi has no tax of its own. The profit is added to your other income and split in two. By default, the part equal to 20 % of the business's net assets at the end of the previous year is capital income, taxed at 30 % (34 % above €30,000), and the rest is earned income at your progressive rate. You can ask for 10 % instead, or for all of it to be earned income. Tax is paid during the year as prepayment tax based on your estimate, which you can change. The tax return page goes through the details.
Pension insurance for the self-employed (YEL) is compulsory when all of these apply:
- you are 18 or over and work in the business in Finland
- the business has run for at least four months
- your YEL income is at least €9,423.09 a year (2026)
YEL income is not your profit but the value of your work, roughly the wage someone else would be paid for it. It also sets your sickness, parental and unemployment allowances. Take out the insurance within six months of starting. In 2026 the contribution is 24.4 % of the YEL income, a new entrepreneur gets 22 % off for the first 48 months, and the contributions are deductible in your taxation.
Sole trader, light entrepreneur or limited company
Liability. As a sole trader you are personally liable for the business's debts with everything you own. A limited company (Oy) is a separate legal person: you risk what you put in, plus any loan you guarantee personally.
Light entrepreneur (kevytyrittäjä). You don't set up a business of your own. An invoicing service bills your customer, takes its fee and pays you wages or trade income with tax withheld. Paid as wages, you have no VAT to deal with, but YEL applies under the same conditions and you can't deduct the service's fee in your taxation. Migri doesn't grant the residence permit for an entrepreneur to people working through an invoicing service.
Limited company. The company pays 20 % corporate tax, can keep profit inside and can be owned from abroad, but costs more to set up and run. Our sole trader vs limited company guide compares the two.
Moving from toiminimi to an Oy
You can incorporate later. If you form a new Oy, subscribe all its shares yourself and move the business into it with its assets and debts, the move is not taxed as a sale: the company carries on with the same tax values. If someone else joins as a shareholder in the change, that rule doesn't apply.
The conversion is €1,200 fixed plus PRH's €400. It covers forming the Oy, the transfer balance sheet, closing the toiminimi and starting the company's bookkeeping, so there is no separate onboarding fee.
What it costs
- Sole trader registration for an English-speaking founder: €350 + PRH fee (Trade Register €75; Tax Administration's registers only €0)
- Onboarding when the bookkeeping starts: €99 once
- Monthly bookkeeping incl. VAT returns, up to 10 vouchers a month: €99/month
- Monthly bookkeeping, 11-30 vouchers a month: €149/month
- Monthly bookkeeping, 31-60 vouchers a month: €199/month
- Year-end and business tax return (Form 5): €190 a year
- Sole trader who keeps own books: €190 a year + review €75/h, with a written estimate
- Converting a sole trader into a limited company: €1,200 fixed + PRH €400
All prices exclude VAT (25.5 %). You pay what the price list says; nothing else is invoiced unless agreed with you first. Months with no vouchers are not invoiced. The full list is on our pricing page.
For a fixed quote, send the form below with what the business will do, whether you live in Finland yet and roughly how many invoices and receipts you expect a month.
Get a fixed quote in English
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.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner set up a toiminimi in Finland?
Yes, if you live in the EEA. Citizenship doesn't matter. A non-EU citizen living in Finland can run a business on a residence permit issued on any grounds, as long as the requirements of the permit are still met. Someone living outside the EEA needs a permit from PRH and a representative in Finland, so a limited company is usually the better route from abroad.
How much does it cost to register a toiminimi?
Registering only in the Tax Administration's registers is free, and PRH charges €75 for an entry in the Trade Register. Our fee for an English-speaking founder is €350 plus the PRH fee, excl. VAT. When the bookkeeping starts, onboarding is a one-off €99.
Do I have to register for VAT as a sole trader?
Only once your turnover passes €20,000 in a calendar year. VAT then applies from the day the limit was passed, so watch your sales. You can also register voluntarily from the start if the activity is a real business, which lets you deduct the VAT on your business purchases but means adding 25.5 % VAT to your sales.
Do I need YEL insurance?
Yes, if you are 18 or over, the business has run for four months and your YEL income, the value of your work, is at least €9,423.09 a year in 2026. You take it out with a pension company within six months of starting. The contribution is 24.4 % of the YEL income in 2026, with 22 % off for the first four years.
Is a toiminimi or light entrepreneurship better?
Light entrepreneurship is simpler to start: there is no business to register, the invoicing service bills your customers and, if you are paid wages, there are no VAT returns. The service keeps a fee from each payment, and you can't deduct it in your taxation. With a toiminimi no service fee comes off your invoices, but you handle the registrations and the books yourself or through an accountant. It is also the route if you need the residence permit for an entrepreneur, which Migri doesn't grant to people working through an invoicing service.
Can I keep the books myself?
Yes. A sole trader may use single-entry bookkeeping until two of the size limits (balance sheet €100,000, turnover €200,000, three employees) are exceeded two years in a row. We can review your books and prepare the year-end and Form 5 for €190 a year plus the review at €75 an hour, with a written estimate before we start.
Can I change my toiminimi into a limited company later?
Yes. If you form a new Oy, subscribe all its shares and move the business into it with its assets and debts, the transfer is not taxed as a sale. Our fixed price for the whole conversion is €1,200 plus PRH's €400, excl. VAT.
Tell us your company form and monthly vouchers, and we'll give you a fixed price
We reply on the same or next business day. Your bookkeeping is done by Nita Mäkinen, and calls and email go to Samu Mononen.
Free initial consultation
Tell us about your business and we'll give you a no-obligation quote on the same or next business day. Remote service available across Finland, no office visit required.
- Tilitoimisto N.M. Oy, Business ID 3485356-2
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