How to grant an authorisation for tax matters

Katso authorisations will be taken out of use

Katso authorisations are no longer valid starting 1 January 2021. If you are currently using Katso authorisations to take care of someone else’s tax matters, you must request new Suomi.fi authorisations instead. Your Katso authorisations will not be automatically replaced with Suomi.fi authorisations.

When using your Suomi.fi authorisation, log in to the e-service with your personal e-bank codes, a mobile certificate or a certificate card. The mobile certificate or certificate card can also be provided to you by an organisation.

You can authorise an agent to take care of your personal tax matters or your company’s taxes on your behalf. Your agent can be another person or a company, such as an accounting firm.

You do not need an authorisation to take care of your underaged child’s tax matters. Also, if you are your company’s managing director, you can take care of the company’s tax matters without an authorisation.

You can grant an authorisation on Suomi.fi. Corporate taxpayers can also use Katso authorisations until 31 December 2020. However, please note that old Katso authorisations are not automatically replaced with new Suomi.fi authorisations.

Check the table to see which authorisations can be used in which service channels

Suomi.fi authorisations for all tax matters

There are several different authorisations for tax affairs:

An authorised agent can take care of all the tax matters of the person or company who has granted the authorisation. The agent can also access tax data in MyTax. For example, an accountant can be authorised to manage all the tax matters of a company.

The authorised agent can visit tax offices and call our telephone service as well as use MyTax, Ilmoitin.fi, Lomake.fi and any future e-services on the authorising party’s behalf. However, the authorisation does not allow the agent to use Palkka.fi or to submit reports to the Incomes Register. The Incomes Register requires separate authorisation.

The “Managing tax matters” authorisation can be used by

  • individual taxpayers
  • self-employed individuals and agricultural operators
  • general and limited partnerships
  • limited companies, housing companies and cooperatives.

How to grant an authorisation – see instructions for your situation

Agents can see the personal tax data of self-employed individuals and agricultural operators

If you grant the “Managing tax matters” authorisation to an accounting firm, the firm can see your personal tax details as well as your company’s details in MyTax.

The agent can access the following details in MyTax:

  • income tax, inheritance tax, gift tax
  • advance rulings, claims for adjustment and decisions relating to income tax
  • decisions on claims for adjustment made by the Tax Administration and the Adjustment Board
  • letters and decisions concerning taxation
  • tax audit reports concerning business operations
  • decisions on advance rulings made in MyTax.

Inside information according to the EU regulation on market abuse is not available in MyTax.

Please note that your agent cannot change your company’s bank account number in MyTax with the “Managing tax matters” authorisation if the company form is limited company, public limited company or non-profit association.

The “Managing tax matters” authorisation allows you to search the tax debt register for business operators’ tax debt details. You can search for the tax debt details of companies and organisations without authorisation.

Suomi.fi authorisation for individual tax matters

The agent can view and update the real estate details used as basis for the authorising party’s real estate taxation. The agent can also request extended time for filing a real estate tax return and file a claim for adjustment of real estate tax.

How to grant an authorisation – see instructions for your situation

This authorisation allows the agent to file tax returns and other tax-related reports on behalf of the authorising party. The “Filing tax returns” authorisation also allows you to search the tax debt register for business operators’ tax debt details. You can search for the tax debt details of companies and organisations without authorisation.

The agent can use Lomake.fi and Ilmoitin.fi to file tax returns.

However, this authorisation does not allow the agent to use MyTax and access the authorising party’s tax data there.

How to grant an authorisation – see instructions for your situation

The agent can submit and edit requests for VAT refunds to other EU countries on the behalf of the authorising party as well as view the messages they receive on the subject.

How to grant an authorisation – see instructions for your situation

Information available to the authorised person in MyTax

The agent can take care of all matters related to refund applications:

  • file a refund request
  • view the status of the request
  • read messages and decisions published in MyTax.

The authorised person cannot see the taxpayer’s other tax matters in MyTax, such as tax payment details.

You can use the Katso ID

You can log in to MyTax with your current Katso ID until the end of 2020.

Foreign nationals will have to use the Katso authorisation, because they cannot grant Suomi.fi authorisations yet.

Katso authorisation can be used for M1SS and ALVEU matters.

This authorisation allows the agent to

  • file, view and edit household’s reports on construction work as well as contract and employee details related to construction
  • request tax number details.

The authorisation for construction work reports and tax number requests is available to

  • individual taxpayers
  • self-employed individuals
  • general and limited partnerships
  • limited liability companies
  • housing companies
  • cooperatives.

How to grant an authorisation – see instructions for your situation

Information available to the authorised person in MyTax

The authorised person can see

  • details of all reports on construction work filed with the ID of the party who has the obligation to provide information, regardless of who has actually filed the reports
  • letters related to the content of construction work reports
  • whether a tax number is in the public register of the construction industry.

When a company registers workers in the construction industry’s tax number register with their personal IDs, the company also receives information on the registered workers’ tax numbers.

The authorised person cannot see

  • negligence penalties on construction reports
  • letters concerning negligence penalties
  • claims for adjustments
  • letters concerning other matters than construction reports.

This authorisation allows the agent to

  • request registration for the VAT special scheme
  • take care of tax matters related to the VAT special scheme.

How to grant an authorisation – see instructions for your situation

Information available to the authorised person in MyTax

The authorised person can

  • file, view and edit VAT special scheme returns
  • see the amount of tax due and the reference and account numbers when filing a return, but not the taxpayer’s payment status
  • respond to information requests
  • see payment and filing reminders, information requests and decisions related to the special scheme
  • see and edit the scheme registration details
  • file a notification of termination to the VAT special scheme.

The authorised person cannot access

  • any information about the taxpayer’s other tax matters
  • the taxpayer’s tax payment status or payment details.

However, the authorised person can see the payable amount of tax filed in the VAT special scheme return.

You can use the Katso ID

You can log in to MyTax with your current Katso ID until the end of 2020.

Foreign nationals will have to use the Katso authorisation, because they cannot grant Suomi.fi authorisations yet.

Katso authorisation can be used for M1SS and ALVEU matters.

This authorisation allows the agent or representative to

  • submit an application for refund of source tax (relating to received dividends, interest or royalty) that has been withheld in Finland and the amount has been too high
  • submit an application, on behalf of a foreign corporate entity, for a tax-at-source card for dividends, interest and royalties to be received from a source in Finland

The authorisation is designed for users of Ilmoitin.fi.

How to grant an authorisation – see instructions for your situation

 

This mandate allows the assignee on behalf of the assignor to manage matters concerning taxation of vehicles that are registered or taken into use for the first time in Finland, such as

  • file car tax returns and respond to requests for additional information
  • view car tax decisions
  • pay car tax
  • apply for a return of car tax for exported vehicles
  • submit declarations of use for demonstration vehicles.

How to grant an authorisation – see instructions for your situation

How to grant an authorisation

Select the instructions depending on whether you act as a private individual or as a representative of a company or an organisation.

Finnish private individuals

Self-employed individuals and operators of agriculture or forestry

Limited companies, housing companies, cooperatives, limited partnerships, and general partnerships

Public sector organisations, partnerships, benefits under joint administration, foundations, and certain associations, companies, death estates and road maintenance associations

Associations

Foreign private individuals and companies

E-authorisations are not yet available to everyone

  • Guardians will be able to grant authorisations as of autumn 2020.
  • Estates cannot currently use Suomi.fi authorisations, unless the estate has a Business ID.
  • Organisations cannot use Suomi.fi authorisations, unless the organisation has a Business ID.

Frequently asked questions

The following parties can use all Tax Administration services on the company’s behalf:

  • Managing Director or substitute for the Managing Director
  • Chairman of the Board
  • liquidator
  • Building Manager
  • entrepreneur (no listing in Trade Register required)
  • general partner or partner
  • party authorised to sign for the company alone
  • holder of procuration.

The following parties can grant authorisations on the behalf of a company:

  • Managing Director
  • entrepreneur
  • party authorised to sign for the company (alone)
  • individual who has been granted a Suomi.fi authorisation to do so by a party mentioned above
  • members of the company’s Board of Directors entered in the trade register, all together
  • chairman and a member of the Board together, in accordance with the representation rule entered in the trade register
  • two members of the Board together, in accordance with the representation rule entered in the trade register

Limited companies and housing companies can authorise another person or company in the Suomi.fi service to take care of their tax matters even if multiple people together have the right to sign for the company. In other words, a limited company or a housing company can grant Suomi.fi authorisations even if the Trade Register records show that two or more people together sign for the company.

Authorisations can be granted on Suomi.fi if the company’s articles of association state that the following parties have the right to sign for the company:

  • the Board of Directors of the limited company or housing company, all together
  • members of the Board of the limited company or housing company, two together
  • the chairman together with one member of the Board.

Multiple persons entitled to sign for the company can grant an authorisation together if the right to sign for the limited company or housing company is recorded in the Trade Register and the persons granting authorisations have Finnish personal IDs.

Grant an authorisation as a company or an organisation (Suomi.fi)

You must request a Katso authorisation from your new clients regardless of their company type. Direct access to Tax Administration services through Tyvi service channels still requires Katso authorisation. This will change in 2020. More details on the schedule will be published during 2020.

Suomi.fi authorisations are only accepted in situations where the accounting firm does not have direct access to the Tax Administration from software, but instead uses MyTax for filing tax returns or uses Ilmoitin.fi to upload files generated by their accounting software.

If you are a private guardian, at present you cannot use MyTax on the behalf of the individual under your guardianship unless they can use electronic identification and grant you the authorisation to do so. Suomi.fi does not currently allow authorisation without electronic identification.

When Suomi.fi enables guardians to use the service on the behalf of the individuals under their guardianship, guardians will also be able to use MyTax.

More information on when authorisations can and cannot be used on Suomi.fi

How to grant an authorisation for tax matters — other pages