"Unemployed" Musician about to get first "paid" gigs.......

[oompah18]

Believe it or not, having played music in church, playgroups, schools & other places in my area, for almost 10 years, I have NEVER been paid for anything. I have been SAHM for 9 yrs, and since my youngest turned 3 a yr ago, I just struggled to make ends meet on hubby´s income & lapsilisa. It didn´t work, I was rather frustrated, so I went to the Unemployment office, had the interview & expressed my plans to 1) learn Finnish & 2) be a working musician one day! Kela agreed to give me the minimum unemployment benefit (just over 100eur kk) & said that as I had been living here too long, I would have to seek & fund my own Finnish lessons.
Well, just been doing almost a term of the Finnish course, 2 evenings a week, & the 100eur from kela buys me the monthly bus ticket to the place too, phew. However, now things are changing......

I have been asked by 4 separate organisations to play music in 6 (yesss, so happy!) Christmas concerts & they will pay me "officially" of course. This is going to come to more than my 100eur unemployment money for sure. Then here is a stupid question, as my unemployment money is taxed, then it is my first income. So surely I must give my 2nd (higher of course) rate of tax paper to all these 4, different "employers"? Or not? Will I lose my 100eur the month after, as I have (surely) earnt more than 100eur in december?
Am I better off stopping my unemployment claim the day before the first of these concerts, so then surely what I earn in December must be first income, (I should only pay 9% tax on that)?
Can all these 4 employers be my first income for tax purposes? I mean I just photocopy my tax card & give it to each one? I have absolutely no idea?
After Christmas, I do not expect to have any income for a while, but hope to continue my Finnish evening classes, & claim unemployment benefit, until I get enough REGULAR work that I don´t need to claim unemployment. It is all so complicated.
I was wondering about the people that advertise on this forum as piano teachers.... do they have to decide if it is 2nd income & take the full whack tax, or do they just do the secret cash thing??? If I am to lose unemployment benefit totally, then surely I must declare myself as a freelance (own business?) musician. I have no savings. no other income, no way of supporting myself to start up a business......

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sorry to be so stupid. But it is a lot less scary to post here, than attempt to discuss this in Finnish with ??? office

[Rosamunda]

Can all these 4 employers be my first income for tax purposes? I mean I just photocopy my tax card & give it to each one?

The short answer is yes you can. But you will need a new tax card. Call Vero (they speak English, at least they do down here) and ask for a freelance employee tax card. Then you can give a photocopy to all your employers.

Note: this is NOT the same thing as being a self-employed freelance sole trader / toiminimi.

I have no idea what you should do about your unemployment money. But you really should ask the people in the office. They can't be that scary and maybe your SO or a friend can help with the Finnish.

I guess most freelance teachers have a toiminimi (ie are sole traders). This means they can invoice their customers (no VAT required until you do more than 8500e in a year). It is not difficult or expensive to set up a toiminimi (you can register online) so if your music business does get going it is probably a good idea to go down that route. There might be someone local who can talk you through the process. A huge number of Finns have toiminimi businesses for various things from selling socks, to clearing snow and breeding cats and dogs.


In theory, while you are just working on an ad hoc basis and you are way off the 8500e / year limit you do not have to register as a toiminimi. You can invoice your customers using any piece of paper, just indicating your own name and address and you need to add some wording to the effect that you are exempt from VAT. But, you still have to declare the income to Vero for personal tax reasons (i'm not too sure how or when though).


If you want answers in English you could try emailing www.intofinland.fi

[oompah18]

Thanks so much, that is REALLY helpful, I am on the case now......
A

[Rip]

Just want to point out (if this is not clear to you) that the different rates in tax cards only effect the initial withholding rate in an attempt to get the effect of the progressive tax rate correct. For the final calculation of taxes all the earned income will simply added up together. (but of course you wait one year for that to happen)

[oompah18]

Thank you! I am going to the tax office tomorrow to start the process for acquiring a freelance tax paper.....

[Pursuivant]

When you fill in your tyoton tyoton tyoton paper, you just list when you actually were working. They'll subject you to the bureaucracy and then not pay something at some point retroactively, so don't go on a spendathon.

[oompah18]

spendathon, not me! I am the sort of person that picks up an item for 3eur in the charity shop then decides it is too expensive, puts it back & looks for something for 2eur instead. My husband laughs that he can give me 5 eur, & I can spend an hour in the kirppis & return with a bagfull!!!! (sad but true ) Thanks for all the help