Membership fees
How you pay the membership fee of the fund (Sotekassa), depends on whether you are a member of the unemployment fund only or also a member of a trade union.
If you are a member of the unemployment fund only (without being a member of any trade union), you pay the membership fee directly to the fund.
If you are also a member of a trade union, you pay membership fees only to your union according to their instructions. Your union makes sure that the fund receives its share of the membership fees.
How is the membership fee determined?
If you are a member of Sotekassa only (without being a member of any trade union), you must pay the membership fee of the fund yourself. The fund will mail an invoice for the membership fee once a year, usually during January.
The fund has a fixed membership fee, which is the same for all members regardless of life situation and income. The membership fee of the fund cannot be exempted for any reason.
The membership fee of the fund is only 42 euros per year (3,50 euros per month) year 2026. If you join the fund in the middle of the year, we will only charge you for the remaining months of the year.
Sotekassa (the unemployment fund of social and healthcare workers) cooperates with the following trade unions:
- Tehy ry
- Suomen Fysioterapeutit ry
- Suomen Toimintaterapeuttiliitto ry
- Suomen Työterveyshoitajaliitto r
If you are a member of Sotekassa and one of the trade unions mentioned above, you pay membership fees only to your union according to their instructions. Your union makes sure that the fund receives its share of the membership fees.
As a member of a trade union you should contact your own union in all matters relating to membership fees. Contact information for the unions can be found here.
NOTE! Simply paying the membership fee of the union does not automatically make you a member of the unemployment fund, you must always apply for membership of the fund in writing. Read more about joining the fund
Membership of Sotekassa enables you to receive better financial protection than the basic security paid by Kela during unemployment or lay-off. As a member of Sotekassa, you can also take advantage of the employment support services offered by the fund.
If you join a trade union only, you get all kinds of benefits from magazines to legal aid, but not earnings-related unemployment allowance. To get unemployment security you must join an unemployment fund even if you are a member of a trade union.
If you join both an enemployment fund and a trade union, you can receive unemployment allowance and enjoy all the benefits of the union.
If you join both union and fund, you pay membership fees only to the union. Your union will make sure that the fund receives its share of the membership fees.
Deducting Membership Fees in Taxation
Yes. Membership fees paid to an unemployment fund are tax-deductible. You may deduct the membership fees that you have paid during the tax year.
The Sotekassa membership fee is the same for all members. If you have been a member for the entire year, the annual membership fee is EUR 42.
From 2026 onwards, trade union membership fees are no longer tax-deductible. If you are a member of both a trade union and Sotekassa, you may deduct only the unemployment fund membership fee in your taxation.
Each year, Sotekassa automatically reports its members’ paid membership fees for the previous calendar year to the Tax Administration. The information is usually transferred directly to your pre-completed tax return.
However, you should check that the membership fee has been correctly entered on your pre-completed tax return. If the information is missing or incorrect, you can report the membership fee yourself in MyTax or correct the information on your tax return.
Please note that only membership fees that have actually been paid are tax-deductible. If your membership lasted for only part of the year, the deduction is based on the membership fees you have paid (EUR 3.50 per month).
