Kela TO 1e (02.26) — Application for Basic Social Assistance (Hakemus: Toimeentulotuki)

What is Kela TO 1e - basic social assistance?

Basic social assistance (perustoimeentulotuki) is the last-resort financial help Kela pays when a person's or a family's income and assets are not enough for necessary living costs. Form TO 1e is the English application. The form asks you first to apply for any other benefits you may be entitled to, and suggests using Kela's calculator at kela.fi to see whether you qualify.

One application covers the whole family: you, your spouse or cohabiting partner, the children under 18 living with you, and other people sharing the home. It asks about your housing and housing costs, any move, every kind of income (wages and deductions, self-employment, benefits, child support, income from abroad, tax refunds), property and assets, and expenses Kela can take into account: healthcare, medicines, travel, eyeglasses, dentures, identity documents, early childhood education, a non-resident parent's contacts with a child, and the extra food costs of coeliac disease. The last page is a checklist of supporting documents.

FileIt takes you through the six pages section by section and prints your answers into Kela's own PDF. It shows only the questions that apply (for example the partner's details, or the deductions when someone earns a wage), checks every personal identity code and the IBAN, prints amounts the Finnish way (1 450,75), and reminds you which enclosures your answers need. The filled PDF is saved in your vault, and you send it to Kela yourself. FileIt never submits anything.

Who needs to fill out Kela TO 1e - basic social assistance?

• Someone whose income, savings and other benefits are not enough for rent, food and other necessary costs for a month.
• A family where one parent's wage or unemployment benefit doesn't cover the household's living costs.
• A person waiting for a decision on another benefit, who needs help in the meantime.
• A student, pensioner or job seeker with unexpected necessary expenses, such as medicines or eyeglasses.
• Someone moving home who needs help with removal costs (and with the rental deposit, on form TO 2e).
• Anyone already getting basic social assistance who must report changed details: tick the notification of changes and fill in only what changed.

When to use Kela TO 1e - basic social assistance

• After you have applied for the other benefits you may be entitled to. The form asks you to do that first.
• Before or at the start of the month you need help with. The form says the processing time is 7 working days.
• Urgently, if you have no money for food or medicine. The form says to apply and also call Kela's customer service or visit a service point.
• Each time you apply for a new period, and whenever details change during a period you already get assistance for.

What you need before you start

• Personal identity codes for you, your partner, the children and others living with you.
• Your address, municipality of residence, phone number and your bank account as an IBAN.
• Details of your housing: type of home, rent or maintenance charge, water and heating charges, electricity, home insurance and any housing loan.
• Every family member's income, net after taxes: wages and deductions, self-employment, benefits, child support, other income, income from abroad and tax refunds.
• Bank statements for all accounts (also foreign ones) for the two preceding months, for every family member, if this is a new application.
• Details of property and assets: savings, cryptocurrency, shares and funds, a car, a summer cottage or other property.
• Invoices and receipts for the expenses you want taken into account.
• Any completed Kela appendix forms your answers need, such as TO 2e (rental deposit) or TO 4e (self-employment income).

What’s on Kela TO 1e - basic social assistance

The 2026 edition has 6 pages. FileIt asks for it in 13 parts, and it is signed by Applicant:

1. 1 ApplicantApplicant
2. 2 Bank account numberApplicant
3. 3 ApplicationApplicant
4. 4 Family circumstancesApplicant
5. 5 Residential circumstancesApplicant
6. 5 Residential circumstances - movingApplicant
7. 6 IncomeApplicant
8. 7 Property and assetsApplicant
9. 8 Expenses - healthcare and travelApplicant
10. 8 Expenses - eyeglasses, dental, documents, child care and otherApplicant
11. 9 EnclosuresApplicant
12. 10 Additional informationApplicant
13. 11 SignatureApplicant

How to fill out Kela TO 1e - basic social assistance, step by step

1 1-3. Applicant, bank account and period

Your identity code, name, address, municipality and phone, your IBAN, and the period you are applying for. Tick 'notification of changes' if you already get assistance and only some details have changed. Then you need to fill in only the sections that changed.

2 4. Family circumstances

Your spouse or partner, and whether you live together or apart (with the date and the reason for separation). Then up to three children under 18 (tick dual residence where it applies), two other people sharing the home, and whether anyone is staying abroad or is in prison during the period.

3 5. Residential circumstances

The kind of building and the type of housing: rented, subleased, right-of-occupancy, owner-occupied, assisted living, with parents, homeless or other. Then the housing costs you pay: rent and who it is paid to, water, heating with the monthly estimate, electricity, sauna, home insurance, loan interest and other costs. If your housing costs are above the municipality's reasonable limit, explain why you need to stay.

4 5. Moving

Tick whether you are applying for a rental security deposit (also fill in form TO 2e) or for help with removal costs, give the estimated moving date, and say why you are moving.

5 6. Income

For each kind of income, answer No or Yes and say who gets it: wages (estimated amount, pay dates and deductions such as enforcement, union dues and commuting), self-employment, benefits, benefits applied for but not yet decided, child support, other income, income from abroad and tax refunds. Benefits paid by Kela need not be reported. If nobody in the family has any income, explain how your expenses are paid.

6 7. Property and assets

Does anyone in the family have money in the bank or in cash, cryptocurrency, gambling account balances, shares or funds, a second home, land or forest, a vehicle, savings or pension insurance, or a share in an estate? If yes, say who, and give the type, amount and value.

7 8. Expenses

Tick the expenses you want taken into account and give the details the form asks for: healthcare invoices and medicines, healthcare travel, eyeglasses, denture treatment, identity and residence documents, early childhood education and before/after school programmes, travel for a non-resident parent's contacts with a child, the extra food costs of coeliac disease, and other costs. For several of these you can ask for a voucher (maksusitoumus) instead.

8 9. Enclosures

A checklist of supporting documents grouped by section, from rental agreements and bank statements to receipts and medical statements. Documents already sent to Kela need not be sent again. FileIt reminds you when an answer, such as a rental deposit, self-employment or income from abroad, needs its enclosure ticked.

9 10-11. Additional information and signature

Anything else, with the section number it belongs to. This is also where you explain why your basic amount should not be reduced, or ask for supplementary or preventive social assistance from the wellbeing services county. Then write the place and date and sign.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying before you have applied for the other benefits you may be entitled to.
• Reporting wages before tax. The form asks for net amounts after taxes and other deductions.
• Leaving out a partner's or another family member's income or assets, when the application covers the whole family.
• Sending a new application without bank statements for all accounts for the two preceding months.
• Ticking a rental security deposit without also completing form TO 2e.
• Answering No to every income question without explaining how your expenses are paid.
• Forgetting to tick 'notification of changes' when you only report changed details.

After you fill it out

Sign and date page 6 and put together the enclosures you ticked in section 9.

Mail everything to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA, or send it online at www.kela.fi/english, as the form says. FileIt does not send it for you. You can follow the application in Kela's e-service.

Keep the filled PDF in your FileIt vault with the invoices and bank statements you sent, so the next month's application or a notification of changes is quicker to prepare.

Kela TO 1e - basic social assistance: frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Blank form (PDF), published by Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kansaneläkelaitos / Kela): https://www.kela.fi/benefit-forms/TO1e.pdf
• Official instructions and guidance: https://www.kela.fi/social-assistance
• Edition shown on this page: TO 1e 02.26 (checked 2026-10-19).

FileIt is not affiliated with or endorsed by Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kansaneläkelaitos / Kela) or any government. This page explains the form in general terms and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Always read the official instructions, and check that you are using the edition the recipient accepts. Page last reviewed 2026-10-19.

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