Requesting a temporary VAT refund

What does the refund of VAT mean?

Companies can request a refund of the VAT they have paid in 2020 and pay it back later to the Tax Administration. This can help to alleviate the cash flow situation in companies that have been affected by the coronavirus.

You can request a temporary VAT refund and get back the VAT that was due in January-March 2020. For monthly declarants, the refund concerns the VAT from November to January. If the company’s VAT period is a year, you can request 25% of your VAT for 2019 to be returned.

Paying back the VAT as a part of a payment arrangement plan

You cannot keep the returned VAT, but instead the company commits to pay the VAT back to the Tax Administration later through a payment arrangement plan. While paying back the VAT, late-payment interest of 3% is paid too and it is automatically included in the payment instalments of the arrangement.

How to request the VAT to be returned?

Companies can request the VAT to be returned in MyTax starting from 26.5. VAT refunds are requested through a payment arrangement plan request. The request can also be made by calling to the Tax Administration’s service number 029 497 028.

Has your company already requested a tax payment arrangement?

If a company has previously requested a tax payment arrangement and now want to make a VAT refund request, they must make a new payment arrangement plan request. The request must be sent by 15.6.2020 and it must state that the company wants the VAT from the beginning of the year to be refunded. The new payment arrangement plan request replaces the previous payment plan and it automatically includes all taxes due by 30.6.2020.

Cancelling previous use of tax refunds

You can request the Tax Administration to cancel the use of tax refunds if you received any in April, May or June and they have already been used to pay your taxes. You can get the tax refunds to your company by filling out the section in the payment arrangement plan request, where you ask the cancellation of use of refunds. Therefore, refunds used from 24.5. will be given back. Refunds will be paid until the date that the VAT refund law amendment takes effect. According to current information, the amendment will take effect on 15.6.

Note the effect of cancelling the use of tax refunds on the taxes on which the refunds were originally used. The taxes will become unpaid and they are automatically added to the payment arrangement plan to be paid back as a part of the arrangement. Taxes will accrue late-payment interest from the original due date.

You can read more about VAT refunds on the Tax Administration’s website.

Your own accountant can help you with your company’s payment arrangements.