Finland value added tax (YF)

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Please notice that when making changes on/after 1st of May to tickets and travel related services for domestic travel within Finland issued between 1 January – 30 April 2023 (when temporarily VAT legislation was in place), the normal 10% VAT must be collected at the time of change. You can find more information on this below. 

The Finnish Government temporarily removed the value added tax (VAT) of 10% for passenger transportation and related services purchased on 1 January – 30 April 2023. This concerned domestic travel within Finland as well as the domestic portion of the journey when having an international connecting flight from Helsinki Airport with at least a 24 hours’ stopover in Helsinki (meaning there needs to be more than 24 hours between the flights). VAT is normally collected as YF tax code on tickets and EMD when applicable. 

The VAT was 0% for domestic flight tickets purchased on 1 January – 30 April 2023, regardless of customers’ travel dates. As an examples: 

  • customer buys flight ticket Helsinki-Oulu on 20 December 2022 for travel on 15 Feb  ->  10 % VAT is applied 
  • customer buys flight ticket to Helsinki-Oulu on 1 February 2023 for travel on 15 Feb  ->  0 % VAT is applied 

The VAT exemption applied also to transport-related travel extras that are normally subject to 10% VAT, meaning for example seats and bags. However, the VAT removal did not concern travel extras whose VAT level is 14% or 24%.

Applicable taxes are provided by automatic pricing and during the exemption period 0% VAT was applied automatically without additional steps from travel agencies (no YF tax to appear in pricing).

Ancillaries

Only transport-related ancillaries that are taxed with 10% rate were eligible for VAT exemption, meaning for example seats and bags. 

Ancillaries with tax percentages of 14 and 24 were not affected by the temporary VAT change.

Changes

Ticket revalidation 

As normally, ticket can be revalidated if only the date/flight number changes and there is no change to the actual fare -> VAT remains as it is 

Ticket changes (based on normal IATA regulations) 

  • Totally unused tickets are exchanged using current fares 
  • Partially used tickets are reissued using historical fares 

TICKET ISSUED ON/BEFORE 31 DEC 2022 TICKET ISSUED BETWEEN 1 JAN–30 APR 2023 TICKET ISSUED ON AND AFTER 1 MAY 2023
VAT 10% VAT 0% VAT 10%
Change to an unused ticket Original issue with VAT 10%➜ Exchange with VAT 0% (and original VAT refunded) ➜ Exchange with VAT 10% (VAT as YF identifier collected on fare and taxes)
Original issue with VAT 0% ➜ Exchange with VAT 10% (YF on fare and taxes)
Change to a partially used ticket (journey has started) Original issue with VAT 10%➜ Reissue with VAT 10% ➜ Reissue with VAT 10%
Original issue with VAT 0% ➜ Reissue with VAT 0%

Refunds

Unused VAT is always refundable.  

Name change and name correction fees

Between 1 January to 30 April 2023 the name change/correction fees exclude 10% VAT, meaning that no VAT breakdown shall be included. 

Group bookings

VAT is provided by automatic pricing and during the exemption period 0% VAT will apply automatically. This applies to all bookings, whether they are made in FGT or GDS. 

 

General guidelines

TAX CODE: *YF*
TAX TYPE: *001*
TAX NATURE: *GO*

Tax definition:

Collected on the applicable domestic fare, taxes, fees and charges incl. YQ/YR fees on all tickets and EMD, for wholly domestic transportation or for domestic transportation in connection with international travel.

Application description:

Whenever the transportation is subject to the domestic VAT, the VAT is to be calculated on the applicable domestic fare including the domestic Passenger taxes, fees and charges including YQ/YR fees.

The Domestic VAT is collected during sale and shown in the ticket tax box with the code of YF. Also, to be shown on the sales receipt/invoice.

Effective for tickets issued and travel on/after 1 October 2016, the application of the YF in the calculation on Through Fares should be considered as follows:

  • The VAT also applies to the domestic portion of international through fares, whenever a stopover of more than 24 hours exists at the Finnish gateway point (domestic to international as well as on international to domestic).
  • When a fare break does not exist at such connecting gateway point in the fare construction, apply mileage proration to establish the domestic taxable fare.

Examples:

  • OW journey PAR–HEL–OUL assessed as having a Published through fare PAR–OUL (Stopover more than 24 hours at HEL): Use mileage proration to establish the value of the HEL–OUL transportation for the purposes of assessing the VAT.
  • RT journey PAR–HEL–OUL–HEL–PAR assessed as having a Published through fare PAR–OUL–PAR (Stopover more than 24 hours at HEL both ways): Use mileage proration to establish the value of the HEL–OUL and OUL–HEL transportation for the purposes of assessing the VAT.


Clarification on the Application of YF – Calculation on Through Fares

To ensure a consistent application and understanding of the methodology to be applied for the calculation of domestic VAT when a through fare is applied, the TTBS (IATA Ticket Tax Box Service) has been advised by Finnair (AY) that effective for tickets issued on/after 06 April 2017 for travel on/after 06 April 2017, the Finland Value Added Tax (YF) is amended as follows:

  • The VAT also applies to the entire domestic portion (from the first Finnish point to the Finnish gateway and from the Finnish gateway to the last Finnish point) of international through fares, whenever a stopover of more than 24 hours exists either

    • at the Finnish gateway or
    • at any other intermediate domestic point on the international through travel (domestic to international as well as on international to domestic). If such a stopover exists but there is no fare break at the Finnish gateway and/or other domestic points in the international fare construction, then apply mileage proration to establish the domestic taxable fare portion.


Examples:

Domestic to International Travel

1. OUL – HEL (Stopover) – PAR

  • Apply VAT to the entire domestic fare portion OUL–HEL.
  • Apply VAT to the other Finnish taxes, fees and charges, and YQ/YR fees applicable on the itinerary.

2. OUL – X/HEL (Transfer) – PAR

  • No VAT applies to the fare.
  • No VAT applies to the other Finnish taxes, fees and charges, and YQ/YR fees applicable on the itinerary.

International to Domestic Travel

1. PAR – HEL (Stopover) – OUL

  • Apply VAT to the entire domestic fare portion HEL–OUL.
  • Apply VAT to the other Finnish taxes, fees and charges, and YQ/YR fees applicable on the itinerary.

2. PAR – X/HEL (Transfer) – OUL

  • No VAT applies to the fare.
  • No VAT applies to the other Finnish taxes, fees and charges, and YQ/YR fees applicable on the itinerary.

Finland – Value Added Tax – YF

The TTBS has been advised by Finnair (AY) that effective for tickets issued on/after 08 June 2018 and for travel on/after 08 June 2018, the Value Added Tax (YF) has been amended as follows:

Exemption for all airports:
Domestic flights in direct combination with international scheduled flights – with the first international scheduled flights – with the first available connection within 24 hours.

If separate tickets are issued, the domestic ticket must include international ticket number in the endorsement (FE line). In this case the domestic ticket can be priced without VAT. In Amadeus the pricing command is FXP/R,ET-YFGO.

More information available in Amadeus (FQN TAX/FI/YF)