Penalty fees in the Incomes Register
It is important that the information reported to the Incomes Register is correct and submitted on time. This ensures that the insurance contributions related to the payments can be collected and transferred to the appropriate tax recipients promptly.
If the reporting obligation is neglected, a penalty fee is imposed. The purpose of the penalty fee is to encourage reporting of correct information at the right time. The penalty fee for reports not submitted to the Incomes Register on time is a late-filing penalty that is based on the act on the incomes information system.
A late-filing penalty will only be imposed on mandatory data reported late to the Incomes Register by an employer or other payer. The late-filing penalty will be imposed by the Finnish Tax Administration on the basis of information received from the Incomes Register. Late-filing penalties will not be imposed on individuals or estates, unless the late report concerns payments related to business activity, agriculture or forestry.
Although the information must, as a rule, be submitted within five calendar days of the payment date, the late-filing penalty is not based on the same deadline. The Finnish Tax Administration will impose a late-filing penalty if mandatory data on payments is reported later than on the eighth day of the calendar month following the payment date.
The late-filing penalties concerning Incomes Register reports submitted late consist of daily penalties and a percentage-based share determined by the payment amount.
Separate late-filing penalties are not imposed for earnings payment reports, employer's separate reports and benefits payment reports. In terms of penalties, the reports are considered a single reporting entity.
Penalty calculation
1–45 days
- A late-filing penalty of EUR 3 per day will be levied for the first late report submitted in each calendar month, until the information has been reported to the Incomes Register.
- The daily late-filing penalty will be levied for a maximum of 45 days, i.e. the maximum penalty will be EUR 135.
- However, if information that has been submitted on time is corrected within 45 days of the deadline, no late-filing penalty will be levied.
More than 45 days
- The late-filing penalty for reports submitted more than 45 days late will be EUR 135. A sum equalling 1 percent of the amount of the taxable payment reported late or amount of earned income used as a basis for calculating the pension, whichever is greater, will be added to the penalty.
- If previously reported information is corrected more than 45 days after the deadline, a late-filing penalty of one percent of the amount of the taxable payment or amount of earned income used as a basis for calculating the pension, whichever is greater, will be levied. No late-filing penalty will be imposed, however, if the amount of the taxable payment or amount of earned income used as a basis for calculating the pension will not increase owing to the correction.
The maximum late-filing penalty will be EUR 15,135 per calendar month. The maximum is reached if EUR 1,500,000 of a taxable payment or earned income used as a basis for calculating the pension is reported for a calendar month more than 45 days late.
When data is not reported to the Incomes Register at all, or the data is incomplete, and the payer does not correct the neglect of its own volition before the taxes and contributions are levied, as a rule, no late-filing penalty will be issued. In such cases, possible sanctions will include, for example, a tax increase or negligence penalty.