You can inform your interest groups about the awarded grant, and about the Teosto Cultural Foundation, after we have published the information on our website.
Below, you will find important instructions about the use of your grant and funding. Please, read them carefully, including the grant decision emailed to you, before you log in to our online service and start using your grant.
Submit a payment request or report on the use of the support
Once you have read the instructions, proceed to the online service.
Online service →
Payment, withdrawal and use of grants
Once you have been awarded a grant or project grant, please, submit a payment request through our online service. The payment request is submitted via our online service by using the same login information used for the application. In addition to the payment schedule, you will need to provide other details such as your banking details. The request is signed electronically.
Grants for creators and projects are paid once a month, on the 25th of each month. You can choose the month when you want the payment to be made, provided you follow the below conditions. A payment request must be submitted at least 15 days before the desired payment date.
A grant for creators or projects awarded in the 2025 autumn round must be withdrawn and used during 2026 and 2027, depending on the amount and type of the grant. The grant can be withdrawn and used within the following guidelines:
- The €8,000 working grant or grant for expenses must be withdrawn no later than on 25 October 2026. The payment request must be submitted at the latest on 10 October 2026. The grant is paid in one instalment, and it must be used during 2026.
- The €32,000 grant for expenses must be withdrawn no later than 25 April 2026 with a payment request submitted by 10 April 2026. The grant is paid in one instalment, and it must be used during 2026.
- The €32,000 twelve-month working grant is paid in four €8,000 instalments. The first instalment must be withdrawn at the latest on 25 October 2026 with a payment request submitted by 10 October 2026. Subsequent instalments of the working grant are paid every three months after the first withdrawal, and it must be used between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2027.
- The €32,000 part-time (50%) twenty-four-month working grant is paid in four €8,000 instalments. The first instalment must be withdrawn at the latest on 25 February 2026 with a payment request submitted by 10 February 2026. Subsequent instalments of the working grant are paid every six months after the first withdrawal, and it must be used between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2027.
- Project grants must be withdrawn and used as specified in the grant decision.
For a grant for a working group, the person responsible for the group (=main recipient) handles the disbursement. They are responsible for distributing the grant among the group members and entering their banking details into the online service when they make the payment request. The grant is paid to the individuals and to the bank accounts the main recipient has provided.
Regarding the 12-month full-time and 24-month part-time (50%) working grants, it may be beneficial to schedule the payments so that you only withdraw the portion you intend to use within that tax year.
If the grant or project grant is not disbursed within these deadlines, the unused funding is cancelled. Any changes to grants for creators or projects must be agreed upon with the Teosto Cultural Foundation in advance. For more information, please, see under Changes.
Use of grants
All grants are to be used for the purpose specified in the application and the grant decision.
You may begin your work funded by a working grant, or using the grant for expenses or the project grant first after having received the grant decision. The funding can only be used for work or expenses accrued after the grant decision in accordance with the terms and conditions of the application round and the purpose described in the application.
The duration of a 12-month full-time and a 24-month part-time working grant is counted from the date on which you start your work which may be no earlier than January 2026. The grant must be used by 31 December 2027.
If the original purpose of the grant changes, contact the Teosto Cultural Foundation without delay to confirm if the grant can be used for the revised purpose. For more information, please, see under Changes.
Reporting
Grants awarded in the 2025 September round must be reported through our online service, depending on the amount and type of the grant, as follows:
- A report on the use of the €8,000 working grant or grant for expenses must be submitted no later than 1 March 2027.
- A report on the use of the €32,000 grant for expenses must be submitted no later than 1 March 2027.
- A report on the use of the €32,000 twelve-month working grant must be submitted no later than one year after the payment of the first instalment.
- A report on the use of the €32,000 twenty-four-month working grant must be submitted three months after the end of the grant period, but no later than 1 March 2028.
The project grants should be reported as specified in the grant decision
Please note that you can submit your report as soon as the grant is fully used.
In case additional information is needed regarding your report, we will contact you. Failing to submit a report for an awarded grant will prevent you from receiving a new grant until the report is submitted.
Changes
Postponing the use for a grant is possible under certain circumstances. Please, apply for postponement well in advance via our online service. The Foundation has to approve request. Your request must include the reason of the postponement and its length in months.
If a working group member is unable to use all or part of the grant allocated to them, they must inform the main recipient about their waiving in writing. The main recipient then emails this information to the Foundation (). If a new person joins the working group, the main recipient must notify the Foundation. The grant cannot be paid to a new member before the change has been approved by the Foundation.
If the main recipient of the working group changes, they must notify the Foundation of the change in writing by email (), both the original and new main recipient sign the notification.
If the recipient has received or receives funding for the same purpose from another source, they must notify the Foundation. The Foundation reserves the right to cancel or withhold the grant and/or reclaim the part of the funding that reasonably can be considered to be overlapping. Any unused part of an awarded grant must be returned to the Foundation.
The Foundation may suspend payment of a grant or reclaim funding if the project or work has not been or is not being carried out, or if the recipient uses the grant for purposes not described in the application or approved in the grant decision without prior agreement with the Foundation.
Communication
We notify applicants of the grant decisions by email. We kindly ask applicants to wait until the information has been published on our website before communicating it on your own channels.
All awarded grants are published on our website under Awarded grants, after which the grant decision is public and you can be freely share it with your own interest groups.
All grant decisions are also published on our Instagram and LinkedIn. The following hashtags are used #teostonkulttuurisäätiö #apurahansaaja #musiikinluovientekijöidentukija and/or #teostocuturalfoundation #creativeworkisbeneficial, #supporteroffinnishmusiccreators, you can tag our social media channels in your own posts for us to notify and share.
Foundation logos can be downloaded here.
Taxation of personal grants
If the funding is awarded to you personally and it qualifies as a grant to the recipient, it must be notified to the tax authorities.
We report all grants paid to individuals to the tax authorities each year in January after the end of the tax year. The report includes, among others, the name and personal identification number of the grant recipient, and the purpose and the amount of the grant paid during the tax year. For working group grants, we report the share paid to each member.
Working grants are tax-free up to the annually stipulated Finnish state’s artist grant amount. If during a tax year, the total amount of personal grants exceeds the maximum threshold of the state’s artist grant, the excess amount is considered taxable income. Deductions may be made from this taxable part of income, such as travel, professional literature, rental costs, equipment purchases etc.
Grants are taxable in the year in which they are paid. We recommend to schedule withdrawals to correspond with your actual usage during the tax year. If a grant recipient uses the grant for expenses for hiring, they are responsible for the standard employer obligations, such as withholding tax and employer social security contributions.
Please, note that tax regulations may change and interpretations may vary. The Foundation cannot offer definite tax advice. In unclear situation, please, consult the tax authorities. More information is available on the Tax Admiration’s website.
Social security for personal grants
Insurance is legally mandatory for all working grants awarded for four or more months. Short-term work can also be insured. Mela, the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution, provides social security for grant recipients related to pension, accidents and group life insurance. Mela also determines the insurability of a grant and the grant recipient.
Insurance premiums are included in the 12-month full-time or the 24-month part-time (50%) working grants. Therefore, the recipient must allocate approximately 15% of a working grant (12 or 24 months) to cover the insurance premiums. It is the recipient’s responsibility to obtain the insurance and pay the premiums.
The Foundation reports the €32,000 working grants paid to individuals to Mela (Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution) and provides additional information on all working grants upon their request.
For more information on social security for grant recipients, please, read their info paper or visit the Mela website.
Data protection
By submitting an application, report or payment request to the Teosto Cultural Foundation, the applicant provides personal information about themselves and possible working group members, which forms a register of personal data for the Foundation. The right to collect, store, use and otherwise process personal data is regulated by law.