Contact Kela in time before Christmas – changes in payment dates due to holidays

Kela’s customer service is very busy around Christmas and New Year, and Kela’s customer service points and phone service are closed over the holidays. If you need to contact Kela before the end of the year, we recommend that you do so well before Christmas. On New Year’s Eve, our customer service will be open until 13.00, while service for customers in urgent need of social assistance will be available until 16.00. Kela pays unemployment benefits and customers must file unemployment status reports earlier than usual due to Christmas. Customers whose application and supporting documents arrive at Kela by 10 December 2025 at the latest will have their social assistance payment for December deposited into their bank account before Christmas.

You can apply for benefits and send supporting documents in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish). You can also check how much you will get and the next payment date.

Customer service closed during holidays – limited opening hours on New Year’s Eve

Kela’s phone service and customer service points will be closed during Christmas from 24 to 26 December, on 1 January (New Year’s Day) and on 6 January (Epiphany).

On New Year’s Eve (31 December), Kela’s phone service is open 10.00–13.00 and phone service for customers in urgent need of social assistance is available until 16.00. For our customer service numbers, see www.kela.fi/call-kela.

The service points open on New Year’s Eve will close at 13.00 at the latest, but some of them will provide service to customers in need of urgent social assistance until 16.00. The following customer service points will stay open until 16.00: Helsinki (Kamppi), Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kajaani, Kuopio, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Oulu, Tampere, Turku and Vaasa. Check the opening hours and street addresses of all customer service points at www.kela.fi/visit-kela.

The holiday opening hours of the Centre for Interpreting Services for the Disabled are available on our website at www.kela.fi/interpreter-service-for-the-disabled-contact-information. 

Customers who speak Sámi can send a contact request to saame@kela.fi. More information on opening hours can be found at www.kela.fi/saame.

Changes affecting unemployment benefits

Because of Christmas, unemployment status reports must be filed earlier than usual and unemployment benefits will then be paid earlier than usual. You can see the date when you can file your unemployment status report in OmaKela or on the form you have received.

If the period of your unemployment status report ends 19–23 December 2025,

• you can submit the report on 19 December 2025
• the unemployment benefit will be deposited into your account on 23 December 2025 at the earliest.

If the period of your unemployment status report ends on 24 December 2025,

• you can submit the report on 22 December 2025
• the unemployment benefit will be deposited into your account on 29 December 2025 at the earliest.

If the period of your unemployment status report ends on 25 December 2025,

• you can submit the report on 23 December 2025
• the unemployment benefit will be deposited into your account on 30 December 2025 at the earliest.

We recommend filing your unemployment status report in OmaKela first thing in the morning on the date it is due, so that the report can be processed as soon as possible.

Apply for social assistance in time

The last payment date for social assistance before Christmas is 23 December 2025. You will have your social assistance payment deposited into your account before Christmas if your application and other required documents arrive at Kela by 10 December 2025.

In urgent situations, for example if you need a voucher for medicines or food, you can call Kela’s customer service at 020 634 2550 or visit a service point. On New Year’s Eve (31 December), between 3 pm and 4 pm, you can contact Kela’s customer service at 020 692 207 (in Finnish).

If you have an urgent need of social assistance outside Kela’s opening hours, you can contact the social services of your wellbeing services county. They may provide preventive social assistance to you at their discretion. In urgent crises during the Christmas holidays, you can contact the emergency social services of your wellbeing services county. You can check your wellbeing services county's contact information in the Suomi.fi service with the search words social and crisis emergency services at www.suomi.fi/map.

Changes to benefits in 2026

There will be changes to several of the benefits paid by Kela at the beginning of 2026. Some changes have already been passed by Parliament, while some still await review. Up-to-date information on changes to benefit amounts and criteria are available at www.kela.fi/changes.

You do not need to send your tax card to Kela

Kela gets the tax withholding information for 2026 directly from the Tax Administration, so you do not need to send your tax card to Kela. If you want to change your tax percentage, you can request a new tax card in the MyTax e-service.

We wish all our customers a peaceful holiday season and all the best in 2026!

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Use the OmaKela e-service for your contacts with Kela

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