What the authorisation is
Suomi.fi is the Finnish government's shared identification and authorisation service. The e-Authorizations part (Suomi.fi-valtuudet) records who is allowed to handle which matters on whose behalf.
When you grant a mandate for managing tax affairs to a bookkeeping company, the Tax Administration checks that register and lets that company act for you in OmaVero.
Nothing is emailed, nothing is signed on paper, and no password of yours is ever shared. The permission lives in a government register, not with your accountant.
What it does and does not give access to
A mandate for managing tax affairs gives access to your tax matters in OmaVero: your returns, your filing obligations, your tax records and correspondence with Vero.
It does not give access to:
- Your bank account, or any ability to move money
- Kela, your pension records, or your health data
- Any other authority or service you have not separately authorised
The mandate is also visible to you at all times in Suomi.fi, and you can see exactly what is in force.
If anyone asks for your online banking credentials to "set up bookkeeping", that is not how this works. Refuse.
Granting the mandate, step by step
Go to suomi.fi and open the e-Authorizations service. You can switch the site to English.
- Log in with your bank credentials or mobile certificate.
- Choose to act on your own behalf, as a personal user.
- Select the option to grant a mandate, for transactions on your behalf.
- Search for the company you are authorising by its Business ID (Y-tunnus) and confirm the name that comes back matches who you expect.
- Choose the mandate for managing tax affairs (Veroasioiden hoitaminen).
- Set the validity period.
- Review the summary and confirm.
The mandate takes effect immediately. Your accountant will normally check that it has landed before the first filing.
Choosing a validity period
You set an end date when you grant the mandate. A common choice is one to three years, which covers a full cycle of filings without needing renewal in the middle of a tax year.
A shorter period is not more secure in any meaningful way, because you can revoke at any time regardless. It mostly creates the risk that the mandate lapses silently in the middle of a period and a filing gets blocked.
Whatever you choose, note the end date somewhere. An expired mandate stops filings from being submitted, and the deadline does not move because of it.
Revoking it
Revocation is done in the same place, and takes effect immediately.
Log in to Suomi.fi e-Authorizations, open the mandates you have granted, select the one you want to end, and cancel it.
Worth knowing: a bookkeeping firm cannot revoke a mandate on your behalf, and should not be expected to. If you stop using a service, revoke the mandate yourself. Do it as part of leaving, not months later.
What to check before you grant it
A mandate is a real permission over your tax affairs, so it is worth thirty seconds of checking before you confirm.
- Verify the Business ID. Ask for it in writing and search it at ytj.fi. The name that comes back should match the company you think you are dealing with.
- Confirm the company actually exists and is registered. A bookkeeping service without a Y-tunnus is not a business you should be authorising.
- Check what mandate you are being asked for. Managing tax affairs is the normal one for bookkeeping. Be cautious about being asked for broader mandates you do not need.
- Never share your banking credentials. You log in yourself, on the government site, and grant the mandate yourself. Anyone who wants to log in "for you" is asking for something no legitimate service needs.
The whole point of the Suomi.fi system is that permission is granted in a government register rather than by handing over access to your accounts. Use it that way.
If you do not have Finnish bank credentials
Suomi.fi identification requires Finnish online banking credentials, a mobile certificate, or a certificate card. If you have a Finnish personal identity code and a Finnish bank account, you almost certainly have the first of these already.
If you have none of them, you cannot use the e-Authorizations service, and authorisation has to be arranged another way, which is slower and involves paper. If you are in that situation, raise it early rather than at the filing deadline.