VatMainderVAT for taxi drivers and food couriers in Finland
When couriers and drivers must register for VAT, which rate their work is taxed at, what they can deduct, and how to keep it all straight from a phone.
Delivering food or driving people around is often the first business people run, and VAT is the part that catches them out. These are the rules that matter most for couriers and drivers working in Finland in 2026.
Do you need to register?
You must register for VAT once your turnover passes €20,000 in a calendar year, from the day it passes, and charge VAT on everything above it. Turnover is your sales without VAT, from all your work together. Below €20,000 you can still register voluntarily, which lets you deduct the VAT on what you buy for the work.
If you’re close to the line, register in good time. Registering late means registering backwards, and the first returns can already be overdue.
Which rate applies
| Work | Rate in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Taxi and ride-hail rides (passenger transport) | 13.5% |
| Food or parcel delivery (a transport service) | 25.5% |
The difference catches out drivers who do both. Vero’s own example is a taxi driver who also delivers food: the rides are 13.5%, the deliveries 25.5%. A courier’s delivery fee is a transport service at the general rate even though the food itself is 13.5%.
Before 2026 the passenger transport rate was 14% (in 2025) and 10% (until the end of 2024), so older receipts and invoices show those.
What you can deduct
Once you’re registered, you deduct the VAT on purchases you make for the business: a phone, a delivery bag, bike parts, software. Some rules to know:
- Mixed use: a phone you also use privately is deductible only for the business share.
- Vehicles: Vero has separate rules for cars. A taxi is treated differently from a private car used for deliveries, so check before you claim the VAT on fuel or repairs.
- Keep the receipts: in Finland, keep them for six years.
Filing and paying
New businesses file monthly by default, by the 12th of the second month after each month. With turnover up to €100,000 you can switch to quarterly. Monthly filing keeps each payment small, which suits income that arrives week by week. The due dates guide has the details.
Income tax and YEL
VAT is only half of it. Income tax on your profit isn’t taken off at source, and YEL pension insurance becomes compulsory once your business work is worth €9,423 a year. The guide to setting aside income tax shows what to plan for.
How VatMainder fits courier and driver work
VatMainder asks what kind of work you do: food courier, taxi owner, taxi or ride-hail driver, or another small business. You can pick more than one. It then suggests the right VAT rate for each kind of work, including Finland’s passenger transport rate for rides.
- Income by work: when you do several kinds of work, Home, the VAT statements and reports split your income by each one.
- Platform statements: with Pro, a scanned document from Wolt, Foodora, Uber or Bolt is read as income and filed under the right kind of work.
- Business share: for a mixed-use cost such as a phone bill, you set the business share and only that part of the VAT is deducted.
- Taxi owners with drivers: scan the invoices your drivers send for their share. VatMainder groups them by driver, shows what you kept from the taxi income, and reminds you before each one is due.
- Threshold warning: if you aren’t registered yet, the app warns you as your turnover nears €20,000.
The app’s sample data is a Wolt courier with a year of invoices and returns, so you can see how it works before you add anything of your own.
Vero’s pages on VAT rates and registering for VAT are the source for the rules above.
VatMainder isn’t an official tax authority app, and this isn’t tax advice. Rules change: check the details for your own situation with your tax authority or an accountant.
