This guide will help you to go through the Finnish system as a visual artist.

The information of this guide is a translation made by Globe Art Point of the content released by The Artists’ Association of Finland / Suomen Taiteilijaseura on “Kuinka elää kuvataiteilija” and reproduced with their permission*.

* The Artists’ Association has not participated in the translation of the documents nor verified their accuracy. Therefore, the Artists’ Association shall not have any responsibility for the correctness or accuracy of the translations. 

The contents of this guide will be changing over time and since some of the links are not available in English we will continue working on it to offer a complete English version of the information mentioned.

CONTENTS:

• International House Helsinki – Your entry to working and settling in Helsinki area (G.A.P’s addition on 25.5.2020)
• Purchase price, wages, or payment for labour?
• Organisation of artistic work
• Selection of business form
• Contract templates
• Copyright protection for artistic works
• The artist’s copyright and its limitations
• Copyright in contracts made by an artist
• Consideration of copyrights in a combination of works
• Copyright remuneration for visual arts
• The Business Tax Act or Income Tax Act?
• General information on the taxation of artists
• Taxation of an artist-entrepreneur
• Value-added tax instructions for visual artists
• Grants and taxation
• Instructions for an artist who is left unemployed
• General instructions for an artist who is left unemployed
• The new Unemployment Security Act and rules for its interpretation
• Unemployment benefits after artistic work has ended
• Maintaining an artist’s professional skills during unemployment
• Unemployment benefits of an artist-entrepreneur
• Whether the artistic work is full- or part-time
• The effect of grants on unemployment benefits
• Adjusted basic unemployment allowance
• What makes up the artist’s pension?
• The artist on disability pension
• Supplementary state pensions for artists
• Pension plans for artists
• Pension-insurance plans for grants (MYEL)
• The Self-employed Persons’ Pension (YEL)
• The effect of grants on unemployment benefits
• General information on grants
• Legal-advice services for members of artists’ associations of Finland