The grant confirmation sent to the grant recipient by email contains the information required to complete the grant commitment the grant system. A prerequisite for using an individual grant is a Finnish personal identity code and a SEPA bank account. For organisational grants, the organisation’s Business ID is used in both the grant commitment and the payment process. The grant will be considered cancelled if the payment has not been initiated within three years from the date of the grant confirmation email.
The grant commitment and the payment plan must be completed in the grant system by the 20th day of each month. The payment plan follows the grant period specified in the decision (4–12 months; research groups 12–36 months), and payments are made in line with the progress of the project.
Payment schedule and instalment amount
The grant is paid in accordance with the payment plan submitted by the recipient, following the implementation schedule of the project. The project and the use of the grant must begin no later than three years from the date of the confirmation notice; otherwise, the grant commitment will lapse and the grant will be cancelled.
Grants are paid by the last working day of each month. If the payment plan is incomplete, it cannot be implemented.
Exeptions:
- No grant payments are made in July. The July instalment can be requested together with the June instalment.
- In December, the payment date may be earlier depending on public holidays.
WORKING GRANTS
A full-time (12 months) individual working grant is typically paid in 5–7 instalments, but the number and size of the monthly instalments may vary. When preparing your payment plan, please note that a single monthly instalment of a working grant may not exceed €7,000. Payment requests submitted in the grant system are approved by the Foundation for Economic Education’s office.
A working grant of at least four months requires the recipient to take out statutory pension insurance for grant recipients (Myel insurance). Please apply for the insurance after starting your grant-funded work in accordance with the instructions provided by the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution (Mela). We recommend preparing the payment plan for the entire grant period at the beginning of the project to ensure that your Myel insurance covers the full grant period.
EXPENDITURE GRANTS
Expenditure grants are typically awarded for conference travel and research visits. Payment requests for these grants can be submitted before the project is carried out. If the grant decision does not specify the duration of the grant period, the grant is also considered a cost grant.
Conference travel grants are usually paid in a single instalment. Before submitting a payment request for a conference or research visit, please send the organiser’s acceptance notification or invitation letter to the Foundation by email (apurahat@lsr.fi) if it was not included as an attachment to your application.
For research visits, instalments may, with justification provided by the recipient in the payment system, deviate from the standard maximum amount. This may be necessary, for example, due to advance rent payments required at the host institution.
GRANTS FOR ORGANISATIONS
A grant awarded to an organisation is paid to the organisation’s bank account based on its Business ID (not a personal identity code). Grants may be requested for payment in a single instalment.
Proceed to the grant commitment and payment process
Changes during the grant period
We understand that research may be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. The payment of a working grant can be temporarily suspended, for example during a fixed-term full-time employment or parental leave. Please notify the Foundation of any changes (apurahat@lsr.fi) and contact Mela regarding the practical arrangements of the temporary suspension.
Once your change request has been approved by the Foundation, please submit a corresponding interim report in the grant system. Minor changes to the payment schedule can be handled during the grant period based on a justified explanation submitted by email (apurahat@lsr.fi).
Statutory obligations
Grants are tax-exempt to their recipients up to the amount equivalent to the Finnish state grants for artists as annually confirmed (in 2026: maximum €27,129.93).
According to the Finnish income tax law (Tuloverolaki 1535/92, 82§) the stipendiums and other grants for education or research, or prizes for meritorious scientific, artistic, or non-profit activity, are with certain conditions subject to taxation.
The Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution (Mela), which is responsible for the insurance of grant recipients, requires recipients of grants awarded in Finland for work lasting at least four months to take out statutory pension insurance for grant recipients (Myel insurance).
Mela (The Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution responsible for grant recipients) requires a statutory Myel insurance of those receiving a working grant for a minimum of four months. The awarded working grant includes the portion subject to insurance. The Foundation for Economic Education reports of awarded grants to Mela within the first payment month. The grant recipient must independently contact Mela to arrange the required insurance coverage. More detailed information on insurance is available on the Mela’s website.
Grants awarded by the Foundation for Economic Education include the eventual costs incurred in working. For groups, a requisite for the eventual use of complementary workforce is that the person in charge of the group takes care of the application for the statutory social security.
