Task Package 1: The First Job and Tax Matters

Goal of the exercises: The exercises help young students learn about tax matters related to the first job and identify the characteristics of a safe employer. While the first job is often a summer job, it can also be a longer employment relationship.

You can introduce the exercises by asking how many students have

  1. planned to apply for a job next summer;
  2. already applied for a job; or
  3. had a job.

Your students can raise their hand when they hear a question that applies to them. If your students are more experienced, you can ask them what they consider to be the correct age to start in a first job. The correct answer is 14 years (source: How to get your first summer job? How to get a summer job without experience (duunitori.fi)).

Material

Read the example of warehouse worker Liina and answer the following questions:

    1. Where can the tax card be found?
    2. How did Liina provide her employer with her tax card?
    3. What data must the payslip show?

Test the tax percentage calculator at vero.fi and answer the questions. Enter your municipality of domicile and the year of birth given in the exercise or any other year in the calculator. Note: The answers are based on the calculator’s data for 2023.

  1. Liina earns €1,560 a month in her summer job from the beginning of June until the end of August. She does not have any other income during the year in addition to her summer job. What is Liina’s tax rate?
  2. Ben starts in a new job, earning €12.24 in hourly wages. His employer estimates that he will have 30 working hours per week. Ben works throughout the year. He is not a member of any parish, and he was born in 2003. What is Ben’s tax rate?
  3. Lauri, aged 19, has worked a total of 55 hours over two weeks. His hourly wages are €10.24. Because Lauri is older than 17, his employer collects a pension insurance contribution of 7.15% and an unemployment insurance contribution of 1.50% from his wages. Lauri’s tax rate is 1%. How much is Lauri paid in wages on the payday? Enter the amount at the accuracy of one euro.