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A Finland company, for nearly every foreign founder, is an osakeyhtiö, shown as Oy after the name: a private limited liability company that is a legal person separate from its owners, can be set up by a single person and, since 1 July 2019, needs no minimum share capital at all. Owners use the Oy as a trading company inside the euro area and the EU, as the Finnish subsidiary of a foreign group, or as a holding company, which can use the participation exemption on share disposals. A foreign company that only wants a presence in Finland can register a branch instead.
Three Finnish features matter from the start. Part of the management must live in the European Economic Area unless the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) grants a permit. Filing is in principle online only, through ytj.fi, which PRH shares with the Tax Administration. And the Trade Register shows who runs a company but not who owns it, because ownership sits in the company’s own shareholder register.
| Finnish form | In English | Who carries the risk | Usual purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osakeyhtiö (Oy) | Private limited company | Shareholders, only to the extent of their investment; no capital minimum | Trading, holding and subsidiary companies; the form we sell ready-made |
| Julkinen osakeyhtiö (Oyj) | Public limited company | Shareholders, limited; capital of at least EUR 80,000 | Companies whose securities are to be admitted to a regulated market |
| Toiminimi | Private trader | The owner personally, without limit | One person in business alone |
| Avoin yhtiö and kommandiittiyhtiö | General and limited partnership | Every partner in full, except the silent partners of a limited partnership | Two or more partners |
| Osuuskunta | Cooperative | Members, up to their membership share | Member-owned businesses |
| Sivuliike | Branch of a foreign company | The foreign company | Operating in Finland without a subsidiary |
How an Oy is registered at ytj.fi, and what founders without a Finnish identity code can do, is covered on our page about company formation in Finland.
| Item | Rule in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Corporate income tax | 20%; a government bill (HE 151/2026) proposes 18% from tax year 2027 |
| VAT (ALV) | 25.5% general rate; 13.5% reduced rate since 1 January 2026; 10% on newspapers and magazines |
| VAT registration | Compulsory above the EUR 20,000 turnover threshold in a calendar year; voluntary below it for a genuine business |
| Prepayment register | Optional, but customers of a company outside it withhold 13% from payments for work |
| Company selling shares | Gain exempt where the shares are fixed assets, the holding is at least 10% and has lasted a year; real estate and housing companies excluded |
| Transfer tax on unlisted shares | 1.5% of the consideration, paid by the buyer; no tax where buyer and seller are both non-resident, except on real estate and housing company shares |
| Cross-border payments | EU Parent-Subsidiary and Interest and Royalties Directives, and more than 70 income tax treaties |
Shareholders face no residence, citizenship or work-permit test, and one shareholder is enough. The board normally has one to five members, a board of fewer than three needs a deputy, and a legal person cannot sit on it; a managing director is optional. Residence is the rule that catches founders from outside Europe, as the board question below explains, together with the representative in Finland that some companies must register.
Beneficial owners, the individuals holding or controlling more than 25% of the shares or votes directly or indirectly, or controlling the company in some other way, are filed with PRH; where nobody qualifies, the board or the managing director is filed instead. The names are not public: Virre shows only whether a filing exists, while authorities and obliged entities such as banks can see the details.
If none of your board members lives in the EEA, we can arrange an EEA-resident board member and, where the law calls for one, a representative living in Finland to accept service, always through a provider entered in the anti-money laundering supervision register kept by Lupa- ja valvontavirasto; that board member owes the company the duty of care and bears the personal liability set by the Limited Liability Companies Act like any other member, and you are filed with PRH as the beneficial owner.
Because an Oy can be registered with no capital, it needs no bank before registration. Finnish banks then onboard largely online, which is where foreign owners struggle: the main banks’ online routes require credentials from a Finnish bank, one of them issues electronic identification only against a Finnish personal identity code and an identity document from the EEA, San Marino or Switzerland, and another sends applicants who cannot apply online to an appointment at the bank. An online provider takes users living in the EEA, the United Kingdom or Switzerland. At least one bank lists up-to-date beneficial owner details in the PRH register among its requirements. Deposits are covered up to EUR 100,000 per depositor per bank, companies included. What each bank asks is on our page about bank accounts for Finnish companies.
We can supply a ready-made Oy or form a new one, prepare the memorandum, articles and start-up notification or the share purchase documents and PRH filings, help put the bank application together and, if we have a working contact at a suitable bank, introduce the company to it, with the bank deciding alone.
Oy is short for osakeyhtiö, the Finnish limited liability company, and Oyj for julkinen osakeyhtiö, its public form. A Finnish Oy is owned through shares, and its shareholders are not liable beyond what they invested. It is entered in the Trade Register kept by PRH, receives a Business ID, and its articles need state only its trade name, its home municipality in Finland and its field of operation.
The Oyj, the public company, must have share capital of at least EUR 80,000, and only a public company’s securities can be admitted to a regulated market. A private Oy needs no minimum capital at all and cannot be listed. Almost every foreign founder of a trading or holding company in Finland chooses the Oy, and the ready-made Finnish companies we offer are private Oy companies too.
Only with a permit. The Limited Liability Companies Act requires at least one ordinary board member, one deputy member and the managing director, if appointed, to reside in the EEA, and PRH examines each group separately. Where a group has no EEA resident, the persons concerned need a PRH permit, which residence in Switzerland or the United States can support. A company with no officer, signatory or procurist living in the EEA must also register a representative in Finland to receive summonses.
Only for particular reasons. A new Oy is filed online and needs no capital, so most founders lose nothing by forming one. A shelf Oy helps when the company must sign contracts at once, when a counterparty asks how long the company has existed, or when it already holds VAT or prepayment registration. Against that stand the 1.5% transfer tax where a Finnish resident is a party, and a history to check in Virre.
Yes. Financial statements are due for every financial period whether or not the company traded, and the income tax return is due even after a year with no activity at all. If the financial statements are more than a year late, PRH sends a reminder, then publishes one in the Official Journal, and finally removes the company from the Trade Register or orders its liquidation. A company held for later use needs its calendar kept from the start.
Weighing up a Finnish Oy? Let us know the intended shareholders, the board and the country each person lives in through our contact page, and we will explain what a new company or a ready-made one would need; Telegram and WhatsApp reach us at +48 663 247 166.