Starting up business in Finland – foreign company

Select the start-up notification for the type of company you are establishing. The forms are available at ytj.fi.

• Y1 + Form 6204: foreign corporate entities
• Y2 + Form 6204: foreign business enterprises comparable to a Finnish general partnership or limited partnership
• Y3 + Form 6206: foreign self-employed individuals 
• Remember to include any required attachments, such as a trade registration certificate from the company's country of tax residence or a copy of your contract agreement or employee leasing agreement.

You can use the Tax Administration's online helper tool to estimate whether your operations in Finland will give rise to a permanent establishment. A permanent establishment affects your tax obligations in Finland.

The Tax Administration examines the details submitted in the start-up notification and its enclosures, and estimates whether your company is likely to have a permanent establishment in Finland. No binding decision on the permanent establishment is made in this registration stage. The decision is made later, in connection with the tax assessment of your company's first year. Read more about permanent establishments

If you need a binding decision on whether or not your company has a permanent establishment in Finland at this stage, you can request an advance ruling on the matter. Advance rulings are subject to a fee.

You can enter your company in the Tax Administration's registers with the start-up notification form. The Tax Administration maintains the following registers:

• prepayment register (belonging to the prepayment register affects the advance collection of taxes during the income year)
• VAT register (for taxpayers liable to pay value-added tax)
• register of employers 
• Whether or not your company has a permanent establishment in Finland may affect which registers you will need to enter. Please make sure to reserve enough time for the processing of your registrations.

After you have filed the start-up notification, the Tax Administration will send you a notification letter on your company's registrations. The letter will also include the Tax Administration's estimate of whether you have a permanent establishment in Finland and instructions on how to proceed.

After your company is entered in the Tax Administration's registers, you are liable to file reports and pay taxes and other contributions.