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Accounting and Financial reporting. Deadlines

Accounting and Financial reporting. Deadlines

Financial statements. Tax return

The company's activity period is divided into (12) twelve-month accounting period also called as a fiscal year which is used for calculating annual financial statements. Often the financial or fiscal year corresponds to a calendar year. In some situations, the financial/ fiscal year may be shortened or extended but may not exceed 18 months. All company's branches have to adopt the same financial year. Accounting Act 1336/1997 (in English) / Kirjanpitolaki 30.12.1997/1336 (in Finnish).

The most important report in external accounting is the company's annual financial statement or the annual report (in Finnish, tilinpäätös), which provides an overview of the company's financial results such as profitability, business solvency, liquidity etc. The financial statements have to give a true and fair information about the reporting company’s result of operations and its financial position. The annual report must be prepared no later than four (4) months after the end of the financial year. After that, you have to file financial statements with tax return to the Tax Administration. You can do it online or using paper forms. (Finnish Accounting Act 1336/1997, Chapter 3)

Internal accounting helps managers in the decision-making process. Its data do not transfer to anyone outside the company, i.e. it is a restricted information.

Some useful information in Finnish on Taloushallintoliitto website.

VAT notifications and payment procedure

Accounting must be organized and managed so, that all monthly tax and other declarations to the tax authority and statutory notices for other purposes were made in time.

The cash transactions bookkeeping has to be made on a daily basis - in practice at least weekly. Other entries must be made on a monthly basis or during another appropriate period, unless more accurate recording is required by other laws or regulations. Accounting entries must be recorded so, that all required declarations and notifications will be done in a real-time accounting.

The VAT payer's electronic tax declaration must be submitted no later than one month and 12 days after the end of the reporting month. The reporting data and payment transferring must be based on a real-time accounting, for example, January accounting data should be submitted to tax authority by March 12. Tax Administration

The standard VAT taxpayers’ period is one calendar month. Companies with a turnover of up to EUR 30 000 can notify and pay VAT once a year: 28/29 February of the following year, or quarterly. The companies with a turnover of up to EUR 100,000 can use the quarterly notification and payment procedure. More detailed information on the site Vero.fi

Tax period Turnover 1. (first) tax period notification and payment date
monthly on default January 12.3
quarterly ˂ 100 000 (30 001 - 100 000) January - March 12.5
yearly ˂ 30 000 calendar year 28 / 29.02

Monthly tax notification process has changed since 1 January 2017. “MyTax” e-service has appeared on Tax Administration webpage. This service allows to manage all tax matters.

Intra-Community trading or international trade within the EU. VAT recapitulative statement

When VAT taxpayers from the countries within the EU have trade with each other, we have an “intra-Community trading”. The selling оf goods, known as “intra-community supply” is normally exempted from VAT. Nevertheless, you must complete a recapitulative statement to report your selling to customers in other EU countries. The VAT EU recapitulative statement must be filed on the 20th of each calendar month after the month of the taxable transaction. For instance, if you sold something to EU customers in January, you have to file the statement by 20 February.

When you buy goods as intra-Community acquisitions usually you have to pay VAT. However, this VAT is deductible, subject to the condition that the goods must be bought for business purposes. The VAT recapitulative statement does not contain information on purchases, so it is not needed to report purchase information on it.

After completing the VAT EU recapitulative statement, do not forget to fill also the VAT return by the deadlines that depend on your tax period.

Additional information in the section "Taxation of enterprises in Finland"

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