Per Diem

In Finland, the per diem allowances for business travel in 2025 are as follows:

• Full per diem: €53 (up from €51 in 2024)
• Partial per diem: €24 (unchanged from 2024)
• Meal allowance: €13.25 (up from €12.75 in 2024)
• Kilometre allowance: €0.59 per kilometre (up from €0.57 in 2024)

Employers may reimburse these expenses tax-free as long as they adhere to the Finnish Tax Administration’s official decision on allowances for travel expenses. If an employer does not cover business trip expenses, employees can deduct these costs as expenses for the production of income, subject to a minimum deduction threshold of €750 per year.

For more details, visit the Finnish Tax Administration website:
Tax-exempt allowances for travel expenses 2025​ vero.fi

Mileage

In Finland, employees using their personal vehicles for business purposes are entitled to a mileage reimbursement. For 2025, the reimbursement rate is 59 cents per kilometer. This rate is applicable to both domestic and international travel. The reimbursement must be based on actual business-related travel, and employees must keep a logbook or other records to substantiate the trips’ business purposes.

Reimbursement above the set rate may be subject to taxation. For more information, refer to the Finnish Tax Administration’s mileage reimbursement guideline

Paperless

In Finland, businesses are required to retain financial records and documents for specific periods as per the Accounting Act. Generally, financial statements must be filed with the Finnish Trade Register annually, and companies that fail to do so risk deregistration or liquidation.

The required retention periods for different records are:

• Accounting records must be stored for at least six years from the end of the financial year.
• Payroll records and other employment-related documents often need to be kept for a longer period, typically 10 years.
• Financial statements must be filed with the Finnish Trade Register, and failure to do so within a year of the financial period’s end can lead to deregistration of the company​
  prh.fi

For more details, you can refer to official Finnish government sources such as the Finnish Trade Register (PRH) and the Finnish Tax Administration (Vero.fi).

Meals, Benefits & Allowances

Employees traveling for business in Finland can receive meal reimbursements. The per diem for meals is included as part of the daily allowance. Employees must keep receipts to substantiate meal costs for reimbursement. Additionally, employers can provide allowances for accommodation if employees are required to stay overnight, and these allowances are generally reimbursed based on actual costs incurred.

The Tax Administration provides detailed guidance on what constitutes a reasonable reimbursement for meals during business travel​. vero.fi vero.fi

Tax-exempt allowances in 2025 for business travel:

The full tax-exempt per diem for travel in Finland will be €53 (€51 in 2024), the partial per diem will remain at €24 (€24 also in 2024), and the meal allowance will be €13.25 (€12.75 in 2024). The kilometre allowance will be 59 cents per kilometre (57 cents in 2024). Read more: Decision of the Tax Administration on tax-exempt allowances for travel expenses in 2025

Sales tax rates

For 2025, Finland’s sales tax (Value Added Tax, VAT) compliance includes the following rates:

• Standard VAT Rate: 25.5% (raised from 24% as of September 1, 2024).
• Reduced VAT Rate (14%): Applies to food, restaurant services, accommodation, sports & cultural services, and certain health-related products like medicines and sanitary items.
• Reduced VAT Rate (10%): Applies to newspapers and periodicals, including digital subscriptions.

Additionally, Finland is adjusting VAT policies, such as moving some goods from the 10% VAT category to the 14% category starting in 2025. There are also changes to small business VAT thresholds and taxation on certain goods like sweets, which will increase to the 25.5% standard rate from June 1, 2025. vm.fi vm.fi