Business · YEL 2026
YEL calculator 2026 — self-employed pension contribution in Finland
YEL is the self-employed person’s mandatory pension insurance, and in 2026 the contribution is 24.40% of the YEL work income (työtulo) — the same for all ages. A new entrepreneur gets a 22% discount for the first 48 months, making the effective rate 19.03%.
What matters is the level of work income: it is not your salary or turnover, but the value of your work input — and it is the basis of all your social security. The calculator shows the contribution per month and year, the pension accrued, and how work income affects your sickness and parental allowances. The work-income floor is €9,423.09 and the cap is €214,000 in 2026.
Calculate your YEL contribution
The monetary value of your work input — not your salary or turnover. Floor €9,423.09, cap €214,000 (2026).
The discount applies for the first 48 months. Effective rate 19.03%.
Your YEL contribution
€508€/month
€6,100 €/year · Contribution rate: 24.40 %
Pension accrual
€375/year
Pension accrues at 1.5% of work income per year.
How work income drives your social security
Sickness allowance
€58 €/day
Parental allowance
€58 €/day
These benefits are calculated from your YEL work income. The lower the work income, the lower the benefits.
The YEL contribution is 24.40% of work income in 2026 (new entrepreneur 19.03% for the first 48 months). The work-income floor is €9,423.09 and the cap €214,000. The benefits are calculated with the same engines as our sickness and parental allowance calculators and are indicative. The Finnish Centre for Pensions can review an underestimated work income and raise it retroactively. YEL contributions are tax-deductible.
How much does YEL cost in 2026?
The YEL contribution in 2026 is 24.40 percent of the YEL work income, and it is the same for all ages — the transition period of the 2017 pension reform ended on 31 December 2025. A first-time entrepreneur gets a 22 percent discount for the first 48 months, making the effective rate 19.03 percent. The work-income floor is €9,423.09 and the cap €214,000 per year. For example, at the floor the contribution is about €2,299 a year (about €1,793 for a new entrepreneur), and at a work income of €50,000 about €12,200 a year. The key point is that the YEL work income is the basis of all the entrepreneur’s social security: sickness allowance, parental allowance, unemployment allowance and pension are all calculated from it. If you set the work income too low to save on contributions, you cut your own security at the same time. Pension accrues at 1.5 percent of work income per year.
What YEL work income is and why its level matters
YEL work income (työtulo) is an estimate of the salary that would be paid to you if someone else did your work. It is not the money you withdraw but the value of your work input, and the Tax Administration and the pension company check that it is realistic. The 24.40% contribution is calculated on this work income: at €30,000, for example, the contribution is €7,320/yr, i.e. €610/month (for a new entrepreneur 19.03% → €5,709/yr). The insurance is mandatory once the business has run for over 4 months and the work income exceeds the floor of €9,423.09.
Work income determines both the pension accrued and almost all earnings-related benefits: sickness allowance, parental allowance and unemployment security. If work income is set too low to save on the contribution, these benefits will also be low just when you need them. That is why work income should be set at a realistic level, not the minimum.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the YEL contribution in 2026?
The contribution is 24.40% of YEL work income for all ages. A new entrepreneur gets a 22% discount for the first 48 months, making the effective rate 19.03%.
What is YEL work income (työtulo)?
An estimate of the value of your work input — not the salary you withdraw or your turnover, but the pay that your work should command. It is the basis of the contribution and of all your social security.
What are the work-income limits in 2026?
The floor is €9,423.09 and the cap is €214,000 per year. Above the floor, YEL is mandatory once the business has lasted more than 4 months.
How does work income affect benefits?
Work income determines pension accrual and the level of sickness, parental and unemployment benefits. Too low a work income reduces all of these — which is why setting it to the minimum backfires.
Is the YEL contribution tax-deductible?
Yes. The YEL contribution is fully deductible: it can be deducted either from business income or in your personal taxation. This reduces the real net cost of the contribution.