Customer fees

Client fees are determined in accordance with the Early Childhood Education Client Fees Act (1365/2022). The fee charged is based on family size, income and booked hours/month.

Payment calculator (estimate)

Family size, income limits and payment percentages as of August 1, 2024.
The highest monthly fee charged for full-time early childhood education for the youngest child in a family is €311/month. The highest fee for the second child is 40% of the youngest child's calculated full-time early childhood education client fee, i.e. a maximum of €124/month. The highest fee charged for each subsequent child is 20% of the youngest child's fee, i.e. a maximum of €62/month. No client fee is charged for amounts less than €30/month.

If the family size is greater than six (6), €275 is added to the income limit on which the payment is based for each additional minor child in the family.

Care time agreement (new limits from 1.3.24)
The treatment agreement is made in advance for a period of at least three (3) months. The treatment fee is determined according to the treatment agreement as follows:
 

Preschool age For a child who needs early childhood education in addition to preschool, the payment categories are: 

A reserved daycare uses the child's monthly hours, even if the child does not show up. The booked and actual treatment time are compared on a daily basis, and the higher of these reduces the number of hours used per month.

Example: Child booking 6 hours, child present 7 hours 12 minutes – care time is calculated as 7 hours 12 minutes or child booking 7 hours, child present 6 hours 58 minutes – care time is calculated as 7 hours.

Vacation payments and payment credits
From the beginning of June until the end of August, early childhood education client fees will be refunded for days that parents report their child's absences by a specific date announced in the spring (summer absence management agreement). Absences from other holiday periods (autumn, Christmas and spring) will not be refunded.

In family daycare
If the family daycare provider is unable to care for the child due to illness, vacation, or other absence and the guardians arrange the child's care themselves, the days in question will be credited against the early childhood education client fee.

Absences
Occasional days of absence of the child are not compensated in the early childhood education client fee. If the child is absent from early childhood education for more than ten working days (at least 11 working days) in a calendar month due to illness, the monthly early childhood education client fee is halved. If the child is absent from all working days of a calendar month due to illness, no fee is charged for this month. No fee is charged for the days on which the child is absent from early childhood education during paternity allowance periods (Health Insurance Act 1224/2004, Chapter 9, Section 7). The paternity allowance period must be notified to the early childhood education place in writing two weeks before the start of the period. If the child is absent from early childhood education for another reason for the entire calendar month, half of the monthly fee is charged.

Early childhood education for a child with a developmental disability
No client fee is charged for a child with a developmental disability if the early childhood education has been arranged as rehabilitation in accordance with the Act on Special Care for the Developmentally Disabled (519/1977). Parents must submit to the head of the early childhood education unit a medical statement (developmental disability diagnosis) regarding the child with a developmental disability and a special care program that specifies the need for rehabilitative day care (OpVkltk 21.1.2015 §4).

Temporary early childhood education
Full-day care over 5 hours/day €22,00/booked day of care/child, part-day care up to 5 hours/day €15,50/booked day of care/child

Beginning and ending of early childhood education
If a child's early childhood education begins or ends in the middle of a calendar month, the fee is determined based on the actual early childhood education period and is lower than the monthly fee. The head of the early childhood education unit must be notified of the start and end of early childhood education at least 2 weeks in advance. Early childhood education can be terminated using the Daisy service. https://ii.daisynet.fi/eDaisy 

Fee charged for uncancelled early childhood education
If the child's parents or other guardians do not accept the early childhood education place applied for and granted for the child and the place has not been cancelled before the early childhood education starts in accordance with the municipal decision, the child's parents or other guardians may be charged half of the monthly fee determined in accordance with the Act on Early Childhood Education Customer Fees. If the child's guardians reserve an early childhood education place for the child during their holiday and do not cancel it, half of the monthly fee determined in accordance with the Act on Early Childhood Education Customer Fees may be charged for the early childhood education place that is not cancelled. Even if the family's income is so low that no monthly fee has been set for the child, half of the minimum fee to be charged in accordance with Section 7 of the Early Childhood Education Customer Fees Act may still be charged.

Determining, reviewing and keeping income information up to date
Early childhood education client fees are calculated as a percentage of the family's total taxable earned and capital income and tax-free income. The client fee is always determined for an indefinite period and holiday pay (5%) is added to the gross salary. Any maintenance or support paid or received is also taken into account. If monthly income varies, the average monthly income of the past year is taken into account as monthly income. When determining the fee, the family size is taken into account for persons living in a joint household, married or in marriage-like circumstances, as well as the minor children of both of them living in the same household. The early childhood education client fee is determined for an indefinite period based on the documents presented at the start of early childhood education. If the family does not report income, the child is determined to have the highest client fee for the period of care.

The income and benefit information of guardians (and children) is checked from the Incomes Register. (Unless you have accepted the highest early childhood education fee).  

However, please provide the other necessary attachments for determining the customer fee:

Entrepreneurs: Income statement and balance sheet certified by an accounting firm
Students: from students, a certificate of study
Other possible attachments: certificate of maintenance or support, expert opinion on the need for special support, proof of capital, forestry and/or rental income

The necessary attachments must be submitted no later than 2 weeks after the start of treatment. If the necessary income information and attachments are not submitted, the municipality will set a maximum fee for the treatment fee. The family can indicate their consent to the maximum fee. https://ii.daisynet.fi/eDaisy 

If the child's guardians live at different addresses, but the child is provided with early childhood education in only one municipality, the fee is determined based on the income of the family with whom the child has a place of residence in accordance with the Act on the Population Information System and the Certificate Services of the Population Register Centre (661/2009). If the child is provided with early childhood education in the area of ​​two municipalities, the fee must be determined separately in both municipalities.

Families are required to report any changes in family income (+/- 10%) or family size without delay. The early childhood education client fee will be adjusted from the beginning of the following month after the changed income information has been submitted. If the decision to impose an early childhood education client fee was based on incorrect information provided by the client, the fee can be adjusted retroactively for a year.

Income limits and customer fees are reviewed every two years. New income information is reviewed annually at the beginning of the operating period, starting on August 1.8.

The necessary attachments are submitted through the Daisy system.