Starting a business
Toiminimi or Oy? How to choose your business form in Finland.
The two forms most people choose between, compared in plain words: who is liable, how profit is taxed, and what the paperwork costs.
By Jharna Bagaria, Head of Accounting, and Kamal Kumar, Tax and Business Advisor · Facts checked
The short answer
A toiminimi (sole trader) is the simplest way to start alone: quick to set up, light paperwork, low cost. An osakeyhtiö (Oy, limited company) is a separate company: more paperwork, but your own money is kept apart from the company's debts, and profit can stay in the company.
Which fits depends on your profit, your risks and your plans. We go through your own numbers with you, in writing, before you choose.
Toiminimi in brief
In law, you and your business are the same person. You are personally liable for the business's debts. When you start in OmaVero, you get your Business ID straight away.
The profit is taxed in your own personal taxation. Part of it is capital income: normally a 20 % yearly return on the business's net assets from the previous year. Capital income is taxed at 30 % (34 % above €30,000). The rest is earned income, taxed at your personal rate.
Oy in brief
An Oy is its own legal company. The share capital can be €0. The company pays 20 % corporate tax on its profit, and you pay personal tax only when you take a salary or dividends.
An Oy keeps double-entry books and registers its financial statements at PRH every year, so the yearly paperwork is bigger than a toiminimi's.
What is the same in both
Some rules do not depend on the form you choose:
- VAT: you must register when your turnover passes €20,000 in a calendar year.
- YEL pension insurance, toiminimi: needed when your work income is at least €9,423.09 a year (2026).
- YEL, Oy: needed when you work in a leading position and own over 30 % alone, or over 50 % together with family members.
- Bookkeeping: every business must keep books.
What it costs with Ankrito
Our Sole Entrepreneur plan for a toiminimi is €39 a month + VAT. The Business plan for an Oy is €119 a month + VAT. Setting up the business is free when your accounting starts with us. See the Pricing page for what each plan includes.
Can I change later?
Yes. A toiminimi can continue its business as an Oy. Many start as a toiminimi and change when profit grows. We do the change with you for a fixed €349 + VAT, plus PRH's registration fee.