How to Calculate Duties and Taxes on Imports to Finland

Finland charges import VAT at 25.5% on most goods, 13.5% on food, supplements and books, and 10% on subscription magazines, on the price, transport to Finland, duty and Posti’s fee. Online purchases from outside the EU up to EUR 150 also pay a fixed EUR 3 duty per goods item, and all online purchases pay a EUR 2 Customs handling fee per item since 1 November 2026. Over EUR 150, duty follows the commodity code.

• Valuation basis: CIF
• Tax base: Customs value plus duties and other charges due on import, plus incidental costs such as transport and insurance to the first place of destination. Under IOSS, VAT is on the sale price at checkout.
• VAT standard rate: 25.5%. 13.5% replaced 14% from 1 January 2026.
• Reduced rates: 13.5%, 10%

IOSS: non-EU sellers and marketplaces may register in one member state, through an EU intermediary unless their country has a qualifying recovery agreement, to charge destination VAT on consignments up to EUR 150, excluding excise goods. Without IOSS, Special Arrangements or standard import VAT apply. From 1 November 2026 product identifiers are mandatory on these distance sales.

• Tulli's pages refuse direct reads and were read through a summarising fetch. Posti's EUR 3.10 and EUR 3.30 are from search excerpts of posti.fi.

Up to EUR 150, with VAT already paid at the store under IOSS, the seller usually arranges clearance. The buyer has nothing to do and nothing to pay. Since the changes on 1 July 2026, private buyers can't personally declare parcels on which VAT was already paid at purchase.

Up to EUR 150 without IOSS, VAT is paid during clearance, and if Posti carries the parcel, you pay its fee on its website once clearance is done.

Over EUR 150, the buyer declares the parcel. IOSS isn't available, and duty depends on the commodity code.

Businesses always file an import declaration with Tulli, even if VAT-registered. VAT then splits off. If you're in the VAT Register when the declaration is accepted, you calculate the VAT yourself and report it to Vero in MyTax for the month of the customs clearance decision. You deduct it in the same return if you're entitled, so no VAT is actually paid. If you aren't registered at that moment, Tulli levies it. You can check the register with your Business ID. A customs broker can file for you.

Tulli counts a goods item as similar products with the same commodity code and country of origin. Two similar shirts normally pay once. A shirt and a pair of shoes pay twice.

Tulli gives some real rates as a guide: about 12% on a cotton T-shirt, 16.9% on running shoes and 0% on books and computers. VAT applies even when duty is zero. The customs value runs up to the EU entry point, though for Posti consignments, transport costs up to delivery are included.

The VAT base is wider than in many countries because Tulli names everything: the price, transport to the destination in Finland, Posti's handling fee, duty, excise and any taxes paid abroad. The EU fee goes in too. Posti's handling fee is EUR 3.10 per shipment paid on its website, or EUR 3.30 at an outlet, and applies only when import taxes such as VAT are paid during clearance. Tulli's own customs duty calculator covers consumer purchases, and our import duty calculator covers both consumers and businesses.

1. Find the commodity code: try the HS code classifier. It sets the duty rate and tells you how many goods items you have.
2. Value the goods: up to EUR 150 pays fixed duty. Above that, the tariff rate on price plus transport to the EU entry point.
3. Claim origin: a trade agreement, for example with the UK, can reduce duty, but you must ask and provide proof such as an origin declaration. China has no such agreement.
4. Add the fee: EUR 2 per goods item on any online purchase, paid to Tulli at clearance.
5. Add Posti’s fee: EUR 3.10 or EUR 3.30 if Posti handled the clearance and taxes were paid.
6. Calculate VAT: 25.5%, 13.5% or 10%, on the price, transport, duty, fee and Posti’s charge.

Running shoes under EUR 150, cleared by Posti with no IOSS, one goods item.

A book by post with no IOSS, one goods item.

Running shoes above EUR 150, by Posti, at Tulli’s 16.9%.

• Using 24% or 14%: the rates are 25.5% and 13.5%. Check your templates, because both have changed since 1 September 2024.
• Leaving Posti’s fee out of the VAT base: Tulli lists it as part of the base.
• Trying to declare a parcel you’ve already paid VAT on: private buyers can’t do this since 1 July 2026.
• Treating Åland as domestic: there’s a tax border, and declarations are needed.
• Claiming preference with no paperwork: you must ask for it and provide a proof of origin, and VAT is still due.

VAT rates. The general rate went from 24% to 25.5% on 1 September 2024. On 1 January 2025 most goods at 10% moved up to 14%, and on 1 January 2026 that rate fell to 13.5%. Food, medicines and books are now at 13.5%, and newspapers and magazines stay at 10%. Older documents often show the old rates, so check the date on anything you rely on.

Åland. Åland is a tax border. Goods moving between Åland and mainland Finland are subject to import VAT and have to be declared to Tulli, with VAT-registered importers reporting the VAT to Vero.

Product identifiers. Since 1 November 2026, they must be given for online purchases up to EUR 150.

Business consignments. Tulli's consumer pages don't deal with these. With the old relief deleted, they pay the commodity code's normal rate, not the EUR 3, as Irish, German and Austrian customs instructions state. For the EU rule itself, go to de minimis and IOSS and VAT. This is guidance, not legal advice.