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Customer Fees for Early Childhood Education and Care

The monthly fee that is charged for early childhood education and care is determined by the size of the family, the gross income and the service needs (care hours) chosen for the child.

The fee is adjusted annually and any changes in income must always be reported as soon as possible.

From this link, you can print an income statement form.

From this link, you can print an entrepreneurial income statement form.

The invoice concerning customer fees is sent monthly, and the sum of the invoice will be formed over the course of the previous month.

How the fees are determined

A monthly fee is charged for early childhood education. The fee is determined according to family size, care hours reserved and used, and the family’s gross income

Family size

The size of the family is determined by the people living in it: married or common-law (cohabitation) couples living in the same household, as well as the minor children of both partners living with the couple in the same household, are taken into consideration.

Family income

Family income is the income of the caregivers (married or common-law couples) and the family’s children’s income, which is taken into consideration when determining the size of the family. Income includes taxable income on labour and capital gains as well as tax-free income. Salary income is increased by a holiday allowance of about 5%. If the family does not declare their income, the highest fee will be charged automatically.

Service needs (care hours)

The client fee is determined by the number of hours entered into an agreement. The agreement is made in advance for at least five months. The agreement does not change during the holiday periods

If a child is continuously or regularly absent from early childhood education on a weekly or monthly basis for some or all of the calendar months, the guardian(s) can make a written agreement for fewer hours of full-time care.

Agreed care time hours / months Fee % Maximum fee
0-84 hours 60 177.00
85-125 hours 75 221.00
126-146 hours 85 251.00
147- hours 100 295.00

For example, if the contract states that the care hours will be 85–125 hours per month, 75% of the full fee will be invoiced.

If the number of care hours is stated to be fewer than full-time care (full-time care is considered to be over 147 hours a month), the guardians are advised to pay attention that the care hours will be sufficient each month – the agreed number of hours cannot exceed in any one month.

Parents must enter the child’s care times electronically at least one week in advance including which hours as well as days off by using an application (Edlevo).

Change of service requirement

A new agreement needs to be agreed on in advance with the head of the chlid´s early childhood education department. The fee will be changed from the date specified in the agreement and a new payment decision is always made about it. The new agreement will be in effect for a period of at least five months. The requirement for a service may change, for example, due to changes in work or studies.

Monthly fee

The client fee is charged for a maximum of eleven calendar months during the fiscal year (1 August – 31 July). July is a free month. However, if the care relationship has started from 1 September or later, the client fee will also be charged for July of the following year.

The client fee is determined by deducting the minimum gross income limit per month that matches your family size from the family’s total gross income. Use the remaining figure to calculate the amount according to the fee percentage.

Family size and minimum and maximum gross income limits from. 1.8.2022:

Family size,
Persons
Income limit for
the lowest fee
payment from 28 €/month
Minimum gross income for the highest fee
payment 295 €/month (*
2 3 175 € 5 665 €
3 4 021 € 6 510 €
4 4 530 € 7 019 €
5 5 039 € 7 529 €
6 5 546 € 8 036 €

*) Notice! There are invalid  income limits for the highest fee in “Information about client fees within early childhood education 1.8.2022” bulletin.

If the size of the family is bigger than six, the income threshold for determining the fee is increased by 197 for each additional minor child in the family.

Client fees are index-linked in accordance with section 16 of the Client Fees Act. Index adjustments are made every two years. The next index adjustment will be made on 1 August 2024.

Highest and lowest client fees

The maximum fee for full-time early childhood education is € 295 per child. A fee of less than € 28 per child is not invoiced.

Sibling discount

In early childhood education, the youngest child in the family is always counted as the family’s first child. Where there are several children from the same family in early childhood education, the following child in full-time childhood education will be charged a fee set at a maximum of 40 percent of the fee for the youngest child, but at a maximum of € 118. For other children, a fee is charged which is 20% of the fee set for the youngest child in the family.

Income details and fee decisions

Fee decisions

Fee decisions are always based on an income declaration. Income details must be provided no later than when the child begins early childhood education.

If no income details are provided, then the highest fee will be charged for early childhood education. The client fee is reviewed once a year.

If the family income or other circumstances change, the fee decision may be changed at the earliest from the beginning of the month in which an income statement or other satisfactory documents are submitted.

A fee that has been determined in the absence of income details will not be retroactively corrected.

Children in the same family may have different levels of early childhood contributions, as payment decisions use child-specific income (e.g. child support, pension, unearned income). This income only affects the care fee for the child in question.

Income information needed to determine the fee

  • Employees: the latest salary, showing accruals and fringe benefits
  • Students: Certificate of study, which is obtained from the institute and which shows the estimated time of graduation.
  • Single parent: Copy of the maintenance / joint custody agreement
  • Social assistance: copies of decisions and payments (e.g. sickness allowance, maternity and parental allowance or unemployment allowance, rehabilitation allowance, rehabilitation support, pensions)
  • Capital income: Copy of an income statement (e.g. rental income, dividend income)
  •  Entrepreneurs: 

Copy of the last completed tax assessment

Statement of withholding tax and prepayment tax for the current year

Copy of last completed income statement and balance sheet (not limited liability company)

Copy of the minutes of the last annual general meeting (limited liability company) and / or the accountant’s certificate of salaries and other dividends.

Notification of income changes

A family is obliged to notify the Early Childhood Education Administration (in writing and with appendices) if the income of the family changes significantly (more than 10%) or if the work, study situation or the size of the family changes.

To adjust the client fee, please submit an income statement form with attachments by email (varhaiskasvatus.laskutus@vaasa.fi) or by letter to:

City of Vaasa
Early Childhood Education
PO Box 2 (Raastuvankatu 33)
65101 Vaasa

Mark the envelope ‘Customer Fees for Early Childhood Education’

If the decision regarding the determination of the fee is based on incorrect information given by the client or their representative, then the fee can be retroactively adjusted.

The client fee will also be reviewed if applicable regulations are changed.

How joint custody affects the client fee

If the guardians of the child reside at different addresses but the child is provided with early childhood education in only one municipality, the payment is based on the income of the family where the child resides according to the population data register.

The fee is determined according to the current family size, gross income and the agreed period of care. The child’s guardians must mutually agree on how the invoice for the child’s early childhood education is paid.

Impact of absences on the client fee

  • Holidays do not reduce the client fee.
  • When a child is absent from early childhood education because of illness for at least 11 working days during the calendar month, then only half the normal monthly fee will be charged.
  • When a child is absent due to illness for all working days during the calendar month, there is no charge at all. Absence due to illness should be reported to the early childhood education centre as soon as the illness begins.
  • When a child is absent for all working days during the calendar month for any reason other than illness, then half the monthly fee will be charged. If the child has one day of attendance, the entire month’s fee will be charged.
  • The child is not entitled to early childhood education during family leave. Read more here.

Agreement on absence during the summer and how it affects the client fee

Agreement on absence during the summer and how it affects the client fee

July is a free month for all children that started early childhood education no later than August of the previous year (e.g. July 2024 is free of charge if the child started early childhood education by 31 August, 2023).

There is no charge under the Customer Fees Act for July, even if the child is attending care. However, if the child started early childhood education on 1 September or later, a client fee is always charged for July.

Families in Vaasa can also receive two free months during the summer if the child is away from early childhood education in both June and July.

In addition, an absence agreement can also be made for the period from 1 – 15 August, in which case the customer fee for August is refunded for 11 days for this period. It is also possible to separately agree on absence in August, which does not require an absence agreement for June-July.

Free periods are valid if the guardians announce any absence during the summer with a written agreement in Wilma by a separately given schedule.

The notification is binding and agreements that come in after the deadline will not be considered. If the child enters early childhood education during the agreed absence period, the agreement is stopped.

A child’s place at an early childhood education centre remains as normal despite the free periods during the summer, but home care support will not be available.

Absences over the Christmas holidays 2023–2024 and their effect on the client fee

Absences over the Christmas holidays 2023–2024 and their effect on the client fee

During the Christmas holidays 2023-2024, it is possible to get a reduction in the fee if a child is absent from early childhood education and care for the entire Christmas holiday. The reduction can only be received by making a written agreement about the absence before the deadline specified by your daycare unit. The contract form will be distributed as a hard copy or sent to caregivers via Wilma in November.

If the child is absent from the municipal early childhood education system between 22 December 2023 and 5 January 2024, four (4) days of the December fee and four (4) days of the January fee will be reimbursed to the parents in the December client fee.

The table below shows the care hours that are left to be used over the December-January period after the absence days have been reduced if the child’s early childhood education and care hours are lower than full-time:

 

Christmas holiday 22 December 2023 – 5 January 2024
Number of care hours/early childhood education in the contract December January
0–84 65 69
85–125 97 102
126–146 114 119
Number of care hours/preschool education and early childhood education in the contract
0–41 32 34
42–56 44 46

 

Reductions and exceptions

An application must be submitted in writing regarding a case-specific reduction of the client fee for early childhood education. Decisions are subject to social assistance criteria and their associated application guidelines.

From this link, you can print the customer fee discount or exemption form.

The application and relevant attachments will be returned to:

City of Vaasa
Early Childhood Education / Service Manager Maria Karvonen
PO Box 2 (Raastuvankatu 33)
65101 Vaasa

The application must include pre-copied attachments. A photocopying service is located at the Citizen Services (Kansalaisinfo) desk (Vaasa Main Library, ground floor).

As a general rule, reductions in client fees are not granted retrospectively, but at the earliest from the beginning of the month when the application was received at the Early Childhood Education Client Service.

Private daycare support

If a child is taken care of in a private daycare facility, the family may receive a service voucher. In this case, the fee for private daycare is the same as for municipal early childhood education.

The service providers approved by the City of Vaasa, i.e. service voucher daycare facilities, are

Click here to learn how to apply for a place in a private daycare facility.

  • The guardian receives a written decision on a service voucher from the early childhood
  • The guardian receives a written decision on a service voucher from the early childhood education administration
  • The client fee is determined in the city’s early childhood education administration on the same basis as the municipal early childhood education client fee.
  • The guardian pays the client fee directly to the private daycare centre.

The guardian also has the right to refuse the voucher offered, in which case the child is allocated a municipal early childhood education place.

For more information on private daycare and service vouchers, see early childhood education tutorials:

Preschool education in addition to early childhood education

Preschool education (4h / day) according to the Basic Education Act is free of charge. If a child needs early childhood education in addition to preschool education, a fee will be charged according to the table below. If the child needs care in addition to preschool education, 80% of the full-time care fee is charged.

Agreed care time hours / months Fee % Maximum fee
(from 1.8.2020-)
0-41 hours 35 103,00
42-56 hours 50 148,00
57- hours 60 177,00
shift care 80 236,00

During preschool holidays, full-time early childhood education is charged the full daily fee for days spent or booked. For preschool children only, who need care during the holidays, there is a fee for temporary care (€ 25 / day). A new service contract will be signed if a preschool child needs early childhood education after 31 May. This is subject to a client fee based on the family’s income.

Contacts

Contact us

Early Childhood Education and Basic Education Administration

We are open

  • Customer reception by appointment only.

Customer fees for early childhood education - checking customer fees, invoicing

Customer Service Secretary Johanna Paschinsky
tel. 06 325 2664
telephone times: Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9 – 11

Daycare centres:
Esikon päiväkoti, Gerby daghem, Gustavsborgs daghem, Hemstrands daghem, Huvikummun päiväkoti, Kaptensgatans daghem, Lönnbackens daghem, Malmögårdens daghem, Malmöntalon päiväkoti, Palosaaren päiväkoti, Pikkuonnin päiväkoti, Pukinkulman päiväkoti, Purolan päiväkoti, Raastuvankadun päiväkoti, Sundom daghem, Taikametsän päiväkoti, Teeriniemen päiväkoti, Trollbergets daghem, Tuuliniityn päiväkoti, Vikinga förskola

Customer Service Secretary Johanna Wasberg
tel. 06 325 2669
telephone times: Mondays 13 – 15, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9 – 11

Daycare centres:
Alkulan päiväkoti, Inkerinpuiston päiväkoti, Isolahden päiväkoti, Kappelinmäen päiväkoti, Klemettilän päiväkoti, Leipurin päiväkoti, Länsimetsän päiväkoti, Metsäkallion päiväkoti, Omenalehdon päiväkoti, Paakarin päiväkoti, Pikku kasarmin päiväkoti, Punahilkan päiväkoti, Ristinummen päiväkoti, Satamapuiston päiväkoti, Suvilahden päiväkoti, Tervajoen päiväkoti, Villin lännen päiväkoti

Customer Service Secretary Marita Metsäranta
tel. 06 325 2661
telephone times: Mondays 13 – 15, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9 – 11

Daycare centres:
English playschool, Folkhälsans daghem, Manna daghem, Pilke Kolibridalen, Pilke Pikkuponi, Päiväkoti Lyhty, Rantapääskyn päiväkoti, Steinerpäiväkoti Tiitiäinen, Touhula Kalliokatu, Touhula Kiillekuja, Touhula Pursimiehenkatu, Tuulenpesän päiväkoti, Verkanappulat Nappulaketo

Family daycare:
Veitikka
Finnish-language family daycare
Swedish-language family daycare

The early childhood education Service Manager