Early childhood education fees and grants
The client fee for municipal early childhood education is based on the Act on Client Fees in Early Childhood Education and Care (1503/2016). The fee is determined according to family size, service needs and gross income. If a child attends a private daycare center, the service provider charges the client fee.
Early years education fees from 1 August 2026
Monthly fees for early years education
- The maximum client fee for one child in early childhood education and care is €335.
- A fee of 40% is charged for the second child in early childhood education, up to a maximum of €134. The fee charged for other children in the family is a maximum of 20% of the fee for the younger child.
- The minimum monthly fee is €32, and families on the lowest incomes are exempt from the fee.
- If a child attends early years education on a part-time basis, the fee is lower than the full-time fee.
Determination of the payment and income limits
The monthly fee for early years education is determined based on family size and income. The fee is set as a monthly payment. The fee for full-time early years education may not exceed the euro amount corresponding to the fee percentage determined by family size, calculated from the monthly income exceeding the minimum income threshold. However, the local authority may set a maximum fee if the applicant does not declare the family’s income.
| Family size, number of people | Income limit (€/month) | Payment percentage | Income threshold for the lowest charge | Fee: €335 if your monthly income exceeds €/month |
| 2 | 4369 | 10.7 | 4664 | 7496 |
| 3 | 5635 | 10.7 | 5930 | 8762 |
| 4 | 6399 | 10.7 | 6694 | 9526 |
| 5 | 7163 | 10.7 | 7458 | 10290 |
| 6 | 7925 | 10.7 | 8220 | 11052 |
The income limits are adjusted in line with changes in the national earnings level index. The maximum and minimum client fees are adjusted in line with changes in the education price index. These adjustments are made every two years. The adjusted amounts enter into force on 1 August of the year following the adjustment year.
The impact of service needs on early years education fees
If a child’s monthly requirement for early years education is consistently lower than that for standard full-time early years education, the fee may be reduced as follows:
| Need for treatment | Payment | |
| Early childhood education | On average, no more than 20 hours per week, 84 hours per month | 60% of the monthly fee for full-time early years education |
| On average, more than 20 hours per week but less than 35 hours per week, 146 hours per month | 80% of the monthly fee for full-time early years education | |
| 35 hours per week or more, 147 hours or more per month | Monthly fee for full-time early years education |
Part-time early years education
For part-time early childhood education and care, an agreement is concluded under which the average weekly time reserved for early childhood education and care does not exceed 35 hours.. The early years education hours may be agreed upon in the agreement:
- The agreement on early years education is concluded for a minimum of three (3) months
- The agreement always comes into force at the start of the calendar month.
- If the agreed hours are exceeded during two consecutive months, the contract will be reviewed to ensure it reflects actual needs. The family will receive a notice for the first instance of exceeding the reserved attendance time. From the second instance onwards, the fee will be charged according to the next fee bracket for a minimum of three months. However, the fee is always based on the agreed hours and will not be reduced if the child attends early years education for fewer hours than agreed. Note: exceptions (sick leave).
- Children’s early years care attendance times must be submitted to the early years care centre at least one week in advance via DaisyFamily. For example, care times for week 51 (the week beginning 15 December) must be submitted by 23:59 on Sunday 7 December 2025.
- The period for averaging allocated early years education time is one calendar month.
Early years education for pre-school children
The monthly fee for early childhood education for a child in pre-school is calculated based on the time spent in early childhood education, minus the time spent in pre-school (4 hours per day). Parents must also apply for this reduction in writing by means of an agreement on early childhood education hours. In addition to pre-school, a fee is charged for the care of a child in part-time early childhood education as a monthly part-time early childhood education fee, including for full-time early childhood education during school holidays (autumn break, Christmas break, winter break) that fall within the school year. A full-time early childhood education fee is charged for August and June if full-time early childhood education is provided for more than three days.
Review and changes to client fees
The early years education fee is determined by family size, gross income and the length of time spent in early years education. The client fee is determined until further notice. However, it must be reviewed when:
- there is a significant change in the family’s income (a change of +/- 10% in gross income),
- the size of the family changes,
- the child’s agreed attendance time for early childhood education and care changes,
- current regulations and decisions are changing
- the payment turns out to be incorrect.
The family must report any changes affecting the amount of the client fee in eDaisy. The change must be permanent. For changes lasting less than three months, the monthly fee will not be adjusted.
If your income changes, please create a new income statement in eDaisy. Remember to attach the necessary supporting documents (e.g. your most recent tax assessment, details of rental income and any deductions).
Report any changes in your family circumstances (e.g. the birth of a new child, separation, or a guardian’s new spouse or partner) using the Other Changes form in eDaisy or by email paivahoitolaskutus@keuruu.fi.
Reporting income
New customers must submit their family’s income details for the purpose of determining the fee, or give their consent to the maximum customer fee, via eDaisy within one month of starting early years education. If the family’s income changes, the income details or consent to the maximum fee must also be submitted via eDaisy. The change must be permanent, as the monthly fee will not be reviewed for changes lasting less than three (3) months. If the decision on the fee was based on incorrect information provided by the client or their representative, the fee may be adjusted retrospectively for a period of one year. A general review of fees for all families is carried out annually at the beginning of the operating year, effective from 1 August.
The municipality may verify income and benefit information through the Finnish Incomes Register and Kela’s information system.
If guardians do not wish to provide their income information, they may select the following option in eDaisy: “I agree to pay the maximum early childhood education and care client fee until further notice. I will not provide my income information.” In this case, the client fee will be charged at the maximum rate, and the income information will not be verified through the Finnish Incomes Register.
Not all types of income are included in the Finnish Incomes Register. Therefore, the income listed below must always be reported in the income declaration:
- adult education grants, scholarships, certificate of enrolment
- child support and benefits
- capital income: interest, dividends, rent, etc., and capital gains
- forestry income, hectares of forest by municipality, tax certificate
- business and professional income, the profit and loss account and balance sheet for the last financial year, and the most recently approved tax certificate
- income from farming and business activities
- as a deduction from income: maintenance payments made to another family
If the decision to impose a charge was clearly based on incorrect information provided by the child’s parents or other guardians, the charge may be adjusted retrospectively for a period of up to one year. If the payment is incorrect due to an error made by the local authority, the provisions of Chapter 8 of the Administrative Procedure Act shall apply to the correction.
A family is defined as persons living together in a joint household, whether married or in a marriage-like relationship, together with their minor children who live in the same household.
When determining the client fee, the family’s income is calculated by taking into account all taxable earned and capital income, tax-exempt income and and calculated forestry income. Holiday pay (5%) is added to the gross salary if the client does not provide a separate statement regarding holiday pay. If income varies, the average monthly income over a longer period is taken into account.
The following are taken into account as income
- gross salary (including various allowances, bonuses, commissions, etc.)
- benefits in kind subject to tax (e.g. telephone, meal, car and housing allowances)
- capital income (e.g. dividend, interest and rental income; including children in early childhood education)
- forestry revenue
- income from self-employment and business activities (including start-up grants)
- pensions and annuities (including those for children in early childhood education)
- maintenance payments and maintenance allowances (for children in early years education)
- earnings-related unemployment allowance
- basic daily allowance (Kela)
- training allowance/training grant
- wages earned through apprenticeship training
- rehabilitation allowance/rehabilitation benefit paid by Kela and the insurance company
- sick pay
- maternity, paternity and parental allowance (including special care allowance and special maternity allowance)
- flexible/partial care allowance
- Compensation for loss of earnings (insurance)
- foster care allowance
- informal care allowance
- grant for work
- a student’s earned income
The following are not included in the income
- child benefit
- home care allowance
- private daycare subsidy
- childcare allowance
- care allowance for pensioners
- child supplement to a pension
- maintenance allowance under the Rehabilitation Benefits Act
- reimbursement of family care expenses
- medical treatment and examination costs covered by accident insurance
- disability allowance
- housing benefit
- military aid
- front-line allowance
- student financial aid
- adult education grant
- scholarships and other similar grants awarded on the basis of academic achievement
- income support
- the daily allowance and travel allowance paid as part of income support
- maintenance allowance under the Rehabilitation Benefits Act relating to labour market-oriented adult education
- expense allowance under the Act on Public Employment and Business Services
- daily allowance in accordance with the travel regulations
- expense allowances, such as the daily allowance for overseas travel
- mileage allowances
When determining the family’s income, the following are deducted: paid maintenance payments and other comparable expenses arising from actual family circumstances, as well as a monetary benefit (right of residence and maintenance) reserved for a fixed period or for life in connection with the transfer of real property.
A child’s illness
If a child has 11 or more sick days during a calendar month, half of the monthly early years education fee will be charged. If the absence due to illness lasts for the entire calendar month, no fee will be charged.
Other absence
The monthly fee is also charged for periods when the child is temporarily absent. If the child is absent for the entire calendar month, half the monthly fee will be charged. If the child attends childcare for even one day during the calendar month, the full monthly fee will be charged, unless it is the so-called ‘fee-free July’.
Summer break and a fee-free month
The fee is charged for a maximum of 11 calendar months during the operating year. The operating year runs from 1 August to 31 July. July is a fee-free month, provided that the child’s early years education began in August and continued without interruption until the end of June. Use of the early childhood education place may be suspended for at least six weeks during the holiday season (2 May–30 September). In this case, no fee will be charged for a continuous absence, provided that the absence has been notified to the nursery manager by May at the latest, and for absences in May by 15 April. The monthly fee for early childhood education and care is no longer charged once the ECEC placement has been terminated.
The start and end of early childhood education
For the month in which early years education begins or ends, the monthly fee is charged in proportion to the actual time spent in early years education. When calculating the reduced fee, 21 operating days are used as the basis for calculation. If parents do not accept an early childhood education place that has been applied for and granted for their child, and do not cancel the start of the early childhood education relationship in accordance with the decision, they will be charged half of the monthly fee determined under the Client Fees Act.
Paternity leave
During the paternity leave period, the child is not entitled to early years education. However, the childcare place will remain the same during the period of absence, and no monthly early years education fees will be charged for that period.
Invoicing
The monthly fee for early childhood education is invoiced monthly in arrears. If necessary, the fee may be collected by direct debit.
If you wish, you can have the invoice sent directly to your online banking account by selecting the ‘notify of receipt’ option in your online banking for that particular invoice.
The collection fee and the sending of payment reminders have been transferred to Intrum Collection. If payment is still not made, Intrum Collection will refer the invoice to the enforcement authority for collection without further notice
Payment calculator
Use the fee calculator to estimate your family’s early years education fees.
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