Financial statements for small businesses 2026: contents, deadlines and year-end tasks

What are financial statements?

Under the Accounting Act (kirjanpitolaki 1336/1997), the financial statements summarise the result of the financial year and the company’s financial position on its last day. They are prepared from the accounts, in Finnish or Swedish, in euros. Financial statements are not the same as a tax return: the statements are a document under accounting law, while the tax return goes to the Tax Administration through MyTax (OmaVero). For a limited company, the figures in the statements are also the basis of the tax return.

What small-company financial statements contain

• Balance sheet (tase): assets, equity and liabilities on the last day of the year.
• Income statement (tuloslaskelma): income, expenses and the profit or loss for the year.
• Notes (liitetiedot): for example the accounting principles, the average number of staff and collateral and commitments given.
• Comparative figures for the previous year for every balance sheet and income statement item.

No cash flow statement is needed: it is mandatory only for large companies and public-interest entities. Small and micro companies do not have to prepare a board of directors’ report (toimintakertomus) either. A separate decree (PMA 1753/2015) with simpler formats applies to them. The statements must say that they follow the small or micro-company rules. A limited company’s statements also show the changes in equity and the board’s proposal on the distribution of profit. Balance sheet itemisations (tase-erittelyt) are prepared to support the statements, but they are not published.

Micro or small company? The 2026 limits

The size class is decided by three limits. A company is in the class if no more than one limit is exceeded in both the financial year just ended and the year before:

• Micro company: balance sheet total €450,000, turnover €900,000, an average of 10 employees.
• Small company: balance sheet total €7,500,000, turnover €15,000,000, an average of 50 employees.

The limits were raised by Act 605/2024. The new limits apply to financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025 (optionally already to years starting on or after 1 January 2024), so they apply to the year ending 31 December 2026.

Sole trader (toiminimi): are financial statements required?

A sole trader (liikkeen- tai ammatinharjoittaja) must keep accounts, but financial statements are required only if at least two of the micro-company limits are exceeded in both the year just ended and the year before. An ordinary toiminimi therefore does not need to prepare them. The books must still show trade receivables, trade payables and the information needed for taxation.

• Single-entry bookkeeping is enough if no more than one of these is exceeded in both the year just ended and the year before: balance sheet total €100,000, turnover €200,000, an average of three employees.
• A sole trader’s financial year is always the calendar year. With double-entry bookkeeping, it may differ from the calendar year.
• The business tax return (Form 5) is filed every year, even for a year with no activity. The deadline for tax year 2025 was 1 April 2026. Check the deadline for the 2026 return in MyTax.
• A sole trader files financial statements with the Trade Register only if the business is larger than a small company.

General and limited partnerships (avoin yhtiö, kommandiittiyhtiö)

A general partnership and a limited partnership must prepare financial statements within four months of the end of the financial year, signed by the partners with unlimited liability. Note that the tax return (Form 6A) is due earlier: for tax year 2025 it was due by 1 April 2026. The financial statements are not attached to the tax return. They are filed with the Trade Register within six months only if a limited company is the partnership’s partner with unlimited liability, or if the partnership is larger than a small company.

Limited company (osakeyhtiö): obligations and deadlines

• The financial statements are prepared within four months of the end of the financial year and signed by the board and the managing director.
• The tax return (Form 6B) is filed electronically within four months of the end of the last calendar month of the financial year, even if the company had no activity.
• The annual general meeting (varsinainen yhtiökokous) is held within six months of the end of the year. It adopts the financial statements, decides how to use the profit and on discharging the board and managing director from liability.
• The adopted financial statements are filed with the Trade Register within two months of adoption and no later than eight months after the end of the year. Filing is free within that time.
• For late filing the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) charges a fee: €150 if up to 2 months late, €300 if 2–4 months late and €600 if more than 4 months late or never filed. The fee is doubled if filing was late for two or more consecutive years. A company that fails to file for a long time can be struck off the register or placed in liquidation.
• A dormant limited company must also file financial statements for every financial year.

Most limited companies send their financial statements to the Trade Register together with the tax return. The Tax Administration forwards them to the PRH only if the attachment type has been chosen as instructed. If the general meeting has not yet adopted the statements, attach them with the type “Tilinpäätös vain Verohallinnolle” (for the Tax Administration only) and file the adopted statements after the meeting. Finally, check in the PRH’s Virre service that the statements have been registered.

Dividends and the auditor

• The board makes a proposal on the distribution of profit. No funds may be distributed if it is known, or should be known, that the company is insolvent or that the distribution would make it insolvent. If the dividend is decided after the tax return has been filed, the details are sent to the Tax Administration within one month of the decision.
• An auditor is not required if no more than one of these is met in both the year just ended and the year before: balance sheet total over €100,000, turnover over €200,000, an average of more than three employees. The articles of association may still require an audit, and a holding company may always have to appoint an auditor.
• If an auditor has been appointed, the financial statements are given to the auditor at least one month before the general meeting.

Year-end tasks: a checklist

1. 1Reconcile bank account and cash balances on 31 December with the statements.
2. 2Compare the VAT accounts in the books with the VAT returns filed in MyTax and correct any differences.
3. 3Go through open trade receivables and payables and find out which invoices really are unpaid.
4. 4Count your stock on 31 December. The acquisition cost of the stock left at year-end is carried to the balance sheet. If the replacement cost or selling price is lower than the acquisition cost, the difference is expensed.
5. 5Make the accruals: income and expenses belonging to the year are booked regardless of when they are paid (siirtosaamiset and siirtovelat). Minor items need not be adjusted unless their combined effect is material.
6. 6Book depreciation. For machinery and equipment, at most 25% of the remaining pooled value (menojäännös) can be deducted in tax each year, and a pooled value of up to €1,200 can be written off at once. An asset with a useful life of up to 3 years can be deducted at once. So can low-value assets of up to €1,200 each, up to €3,600 in total per year. Tax depreciation cannot exceed the depreciation booked in the accounts.
7. 7Prepare the balance sheet itemisations and check that the opening balances match last year’s financial statements.
8. 8Limited company: prepare the board’s profit distribution proposal and assess the company’s solvency.

Timeline for a financial year ending 31 December 2026

• December–January: give your accountant all receipts and invoices for the year, bank statements, a stock list and details of income and expenses belonging to the year that have not yet been invoiced.
• February–March: draft financial statements and depreciation calculations. Tax returns for sole traders and partnerships are due at the beginning of April (for tax year 2025 the deadline was 1 April 2026). Check the exact date in MyTax.
• April: financial statements prepared and signed by 30 April 2027 at the latest. The limited company’s tax return is due by 30 April 2027.
• May–June: the limited company’s annual general meeting by 30 June 2027. If a partnership has to file its financial statements, its deadline is also 30 June 2027.
• July–August: the limited company’s adopted financial statements filed with the Trade Register by 31 August 2027.

How long to keep records

Financial statements, the books, the chart of accounts and the list of books and records are kept for at least 10 years from the end of the financial year. Vouchers, business correspondence and other records are kept for at least 6 years from the end of the year in which the financial year ended. Receipts for 2026 must therefore be kept until the end of 2032, and the financial statements until 31 December 2036.

Common mistakes

• The limited company’s financial statements are sent with the tax return under the wrong attachment type and never reach the Trade Register. The late-filing fee still arrives.
• A dormant limited company does not file its statements because “nothing happened”.
• A dividend is paid before the general meeting has adopted the statements or before solvency has been assessed.
• A sole trader does not file a tax return for a year with no activity.
• A partnership assumes it has four months to file its tax return, when the deadline is at the beginning of April.
• A machine or equipment is expensed in full when it should be depreciated over several years.
• Stock is not counted, or December income and expenses are not accrued.

The size limits apply to financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025: micro company €450,000 / €900,000 / 10 people and small company €7,500,000 / €15,000,000 / 50 people. The late-filing fees (€150, €300 and €600) apply to limited companies and cooperatives whose financial year ended on or after 1 December 2024. The exact 2027 tax return deadlines are published in MyTax. Sources: Accounting Act (1336/1997), PMA decree (1753/2015), Limited Liability Companies Act (624/2006), Auditing Act (1141/2015), Business Income Tax Act (360/1968), PRH and the Tax Administration.

We help with your financial statements

Tilitoimisto Debit Credit prepares your small company’s financial statements and tax return, goes through depreciation, stock and accruals with you, and prepares the documents for your limited company’s general meeting and the profit distribution proposal. We file the adopted financial statements with the Trade Register on your behalf. Our clients can send their receipts and bank statements through the Vaavo app. We work in Finnish and Russian. Get in touch well before the year-end so the deadlines do not take you by surprise.

Official sources

• PRH: financial statements of limited companies and cooperatives
• PRH: fee for financial statements filed late
• PRH: financial statements to the Trade Register, all company forms (in Finnish)
• Tax Administration: tax return of limited companies and cooperatives
• Tax Administration: business tax return for sole traders (Form 5)
• Tax Administration: depreciation expenses
• Finlex: Accounting Act 1336/1997 (in Finnish)
• Finlex: decree on small and micro-company financial statements 1753/2015 (in Finnish)
• Finlex: Limited Liability Companies Act 624/2006 (in Finnish)
• Finlex: Auditing Act 1141/2015 (in Finnish)
• Finlex: Business Income Tax Act 360/1968 (in Finnish)