My tax

Everyone over 15 automatically receives a tax card from the Finnish Tax Administration at the start of each year. The tax card is sent by regular mail or through a Suomi.fi message. The tax card can always be downloaded from MyTax, and it will also be sent to you by regular mail or you will be notified of it through a Suomi.fi message. If you are an employee, you must show the tax card to your employer. The tax card lets your employer know how much tax must be withheld from your pay. You can give the same tax card to multiple employers if needed. If you do not show/give the tax card to your employer, 60% will be withheld from your pay as taxes.

Your tax card has your withholding rate, income ceiling and additional withholding rate. The additional withholding rate is used if your income exceeds your income ceiling.

The withholding rate – also called tax rate – is the percentage that your employer deducts or withholds from your pay as tax whenever your employer pays you.

The income ceiling is an estimate of the total amount of pay you will receive during the year.

The additional withholding rate is used after your income exceeds your income ceiling. This means that for the rest of the year, tax is withheld from your pay according to the additional withholding rate. Request a new tax card before you exceed your income ceiling to avoid withholding with the additional rate.

If you receive pay from multiple employers, give the same tax card to all employers. 

Request a new tax card if necessary

When you receive your tax card at the start of the year, estimate how much income you will receive that year. Then check the income ceiling on the tax card. Is it high enough or are you expecting to receive more that year? We also recommend requesting a new tax card if you think you will receive less pay than the amount of your income ceiling.

If you estimate that you will receive a higher amount of pay, it is wise to request a new tax card. You can request a new tax card, called a revised tax card, in MyTax. Log in to MyTax using your online banking credentials or a mobile certificate. If you do not have online banking credentials or you are under 18, your guardian can request a tax card for you by logging in to MyTax with their own online banking credentials. If necessary, you can also request a new tax card by calling our customer service. Check our service numbers and request a new tax card by phone (vero.fi).

Keep an eye on how much you have already earned during the calendar year. Regularly compare the total amount of your pay with your income ceiling. This is particularly important if you have several employers. If your total pay from all your employers exceeds the income ceiling on your tax card, you may have to pay back taxes in the following year. You can check the total amount of your pay and the taxes you have paid from your payslips. When requesting a new tax card in MyTax, you are also shown the amount of pay you have received in the current year.

What does a tax card look like?

A tax card is not actually a card – it is a regular A4-sized document. The tax card comes in two languages, and the same information is given in Finnish and Swedish.

Checklist for summer job and taxes

Check out the list of everything you need to remember about tax matters when going to summer work.

A tax number is required at construction sites, installation sites and shipyards.

Everyone has a tax number used in their taxation. You can check your tax number in MyTax or from your tax card. The tax number is usually only needed at construction sites, installation sites and shipyards. If you work at such a site or work as a trainee on one, you must have a photo ID that also has your tax number. In addition, your tax number must be entered in the tax number register. The tax number register is a register of employees maintained by the Finnish Tax Administration. 

Students and teachers must also be entered in the register if they enter a construction site or a shipyard. The tax number can be included on a card issued by the educational institution, for example. In this case, the card is used as the photo ID.

Check whether your tax number is entered in the register (vero.fi). If your tax number is not entered, you can enter it in MyTax. Your employer or educational institution can also enter your tax number in the register.

If you must pay for something on a temporary business trip, your employer can reimburse you by giving you a daily allowance or a kilometre allowance. A temporary business trip is a trip that you make to another location because of your work and on the request of your employer; it does not mean travel between your home and your workplace. These reimbursements are tax exempt if they are based on actual expenses or the decision that the Finnish Tax Administration issues each year on the maximum amount of the daily allowance and kilometre allowance.

Your employer may give you a daily allowance for your business trip if your destination is more than 15 kilometres away from your home or your regular workplace, depending on which location you start your trip from. The duration of the business trip affects the amount of the daily allowance. The purpose of the daily allowance is to reimburse the expenses you incur, such as larger than usual lunch expenses. If your business trip includes free meals or meals paid by your employer, the amount of the daily allowance is smaller.

Your employer can also give you a kilometre allowance, which is also tax exempt. The Finnish Tax Administration issues a decision on the amount of the kilometre allowance every year. Whether you use your own car or your employee benefit car and the number of passengers affect the amount of the allowance, among other factors.

If your employer does not reimburse the travel expenses to you, you can deduct the expenses as work-related expenses in your taxation. In this case, report the actual travel expenses. If you used public transportation, such as a train, a bus or a metro train, you can deduct the price of the ticket as travel expenses. Other possible vehicles include your own car or an employee benefit car.

There is no out-of-pocket amount for work-related expenses. However, only the part of the expenses is deducted in taxation that exceeds the general deduction for work-related expenses. The general deduction for work-related expenses is a fixed-amount deduction that is automatically made from the taxable wage income of all income earners. The amount of the deduction is €750, so travel expenses that do not exceed this amount cannot be deducted separately.

Travel between home and workplace

Since travel between your home and your workplace is not considered a business trip in taxation, you cannot receive a daily allowance or kilometre allowance for these trips. You can deduct expenses from travel between your home and your workplace in your taxation according to the most affordable form of transportation. Usually, this means public transportation tickets.

Every spring, we send you a pre-completed tax return that has information on your taxation from the previous year. The tax return already includes some information, such as information on the pay you have received. It also has information on your taxes or the amounts that your employer has withheld from your pay according to your tax card during the previous year. If your tax rate was too low for the amount of your income, you have to pay taxes back. These are simply called ‘back taxes’. In contrast, if the amount withheld from your pay as taxes has been too high, you will receive a tax refund.

Always check the pay information and tax deductions on your pre-completed tax return. If all of the information is correct and no information is missing, you do not need to do anything. If there are errors in the information or some information is missing, correct or complete the information. If the error is in your pay, also inform the party that paid it, i.e. your employer. Also check that your bank account number is correct. You can find it on the first page of the tax return.

Make the changes or corrections in MyTax. You can make changes by selecting Check your pre-completed tax return in the Pre-completed tax return section found on the MyTax home page. You can also correct or fill in your bank account number in MyTax if you have not given it to the Finnish Tax Administration before or if your account number has changed. Read the instructions for changing your bank account number (vero.fi).

You can also check the due date for checking your tax return in MyTax or from the tax return. Make all changes or corrections on the due date at the latest. If you are returning your tax return by regular mail, make sure you reserve enough time for the postal service to deliver it, because the tax return must arrive at the Finnish Tax Administration on the due date at the latest. It is also wise to make the changes by the due date, because you may have to pay a late-filing penalty if your tax return is filed late. If you leave some information unreported, you may have to pay a punitive tax increase.

If you change any of the information on the tax return, you will receive a corrected tax decision. The decision states whether you will receive a tax refund or if you have to pay back taxes. It also states the payment date and payment information. The due dates for paying back taxes are between July and the February of the following year, and the tax refund will be paid to you between July and December.

Summary:

Every spring, you receive a pre-completed tax return with information on your income and the taxes you have paid in the previous year. Check the information, such as the amount of pay you have received, your account number, and possible deductions. If everything is correct, you do not need to do anything. If necessary, complete and correct the information in MyTax by the due date. If you paid too much tax in the previous year, you will receive a tax refund. If you paid too little tax in the previous year, you will have to pay back taxes. Check the amount of the back taxes and the payment date on the MyTax home page.

Tax certificate

Appended to the tax return is a tax certificate. The tax certificate shows the total amount of your income subject to tax in the previous year. Keep the tax certificate, because you might need it. For example, if you apply for a housing allowance from Kela, you need to append the tax certificate to your application. You can find the tax certificate in MyTax as well by opening Decisions and letters under the Communication tab.

Your tax refund is paid between July and December with the bank account number you have given to the Finnish Tax Administration. The smallest refunded amount is €10. Check your tax refund payment date on the MyTax home page. Interest is also paid on tax refunds.

Some instant loan companies advertise loans that allow you to receive your tax refund ‘in advance’. These are advertising slogans of the companies themselves and the Finnish Tax Administration is not involved and does not collaborate with companies granting instant loans.

If you did not pay enough taxes on your income in the previous year, you have to pay the remaining taxes retroactively as back taxes.

If the amount of the back taxes is €170 or more, you can pay the amount in two instalments and you do not need to pay the full amount in one go. If the amount of the back taxes is less than €170, it must be paid in one instalment. If the amount of the back taxes is less than €10, you do not need to pay it at all.

If you correct or supplement your tax return, the tax refund payment date and the back taxes due date may also be postponed. This means that the payment dates on the pre-completed tax return are not correct, and you will be informed of the new dates later.

Pay the back taxes by the due date. If you pay the back taxes late, you will also have to pay late-payment interest.

E-invoice or direct payment for back taxes

You do not need to remember the due date for back taxes if you subscribe to an e-invoice for the back taxes in your online banking service or make a direct payment arrangement with your bank. Do this at least 3 weeks before the due date of the back taxes.

Benefits are subsidies paid by Kela or your municipality’s social services, for example.

Benefits include:

• General housing allowance
• Housing supplement for students
• Study grant
• School transport subsidy
• Conscript’s allowance
• Basic unemployment allowance
• Sickness allowance
• Earnings-related daily allowance
• Labour market subsidy
• Basic social assistance

Benefits can be tax exempt or net taxable earned income.

The general housing allowance, housing supplement for students, school transport subsidy, conscript’s allowance and basic social assistance are tax-exempt benefits. Tax-exempt benefits have no effect on your taxation or your tax rate. You do not need to include them if you request a tax card, and they are not included on your tax return either.

The study grant, basic unemployment allowance, earnings-related daily allowance, sickness allowance and labour market subsidy are net taxable earned income. These are paid by Kela, and Kela receives your tax rate directly from us at the Finnish Tax Administration.

Benefits included on your tax return

The following information on benefits is included your tax return:

• The name of the benefit you have received
• The organisation that paid the benefit
• The total amount of the benefit in euros
• The amount of taxes withheld from the benefit

The most common benefits paid to young adults are the general housing allowance, housing supplement for students, study grant and school transport subsidy.

Kela does not automatically withhold taxes from the study grant.  If you receive study grants and also work, remember to consider the study grant when you request a tax card for your pay. If you do not receive a lot of pay and do not receive other benefits in addition to the study grant, your tax rate may be 0%.

You may get benefits from your employer. These include an accommodation benefit, meal benefit, car benefit and telephone benefit.

Employee benefits are called ‘fringe benefits’ and they are taxed just like your pay. This means that the fringe benefits are counted as your income in your taxation (and to the income ceiling of your tax card). Every year, the Finnish Tax Administration issues a decision that states the value of each fringe benefit. This is the value that is added to your income if you receive a fringe benefit from your employer. Fringe benefits and their value are included in your pay slips. Your employer reports the information to the Incomes Register. The Finnish Tax Administration receives the information from the Incomes Register and includes it on your pre-completed tax return. When you check your pre-completed tax return, remember to also check your fringe benefits.

Accommodation benefit

You receive an accommodation benefit if your employer arranges an apartment for you. In taxation, the size, age and renovations of the apartment affect the value of the accommodation benefit.

Meal benefit

Employers can grant the meal benefit in two ways:

• Your employer arranges free or discounted meals for you at your work place.
• Your employer gives you a lunch voucher or similar payment method that your employer pays for completely or partly and that you can use to pay for your lunch.

Car benefit

You receive a car benefit if your employer arranges a car for you to use.

The car benefit can be limited or unlimited. With an unlimited car benefit, your employer pays all expenses related to the car. With a limited car benefit, you must pay for fuel at least.

The value of the car benefit is counted as your income in your taxation. The purchase price, the year of entry into service and the accessories of the car affect the value of the car benefit.

Generally, the taxable value of the car benefit is a fixed monthly amount consisting of the car’s basic value and its operating expenses. However, the share of the operating expenses can also be calculated based on the number of kilometres driven for personal purposes. If you do not need the car for personal purposes that much, the kilometre-based value calculation method may be more beneficial for you. With the kilometre-based method, you have to keep a driver’s log. The driver’s log will help you separate the kilometres you have driven for personal purposes and the kilometres driven for your employer’s purposes.

Telephone benefit

If your employer pays for your mobile phone plan that is under your employer’s name but used by you, you have received a telephone benefit. Part of the telephone benefit is that you can use the telephone plan in your free time as well.

You can receive tax deductions for different reasons that reduce the amount of tax you must pay. For example, work-related expenses can be deducted. Some deductions are made from the amount of the tax, which means that they directly reduce the amount of tax you must pay. Others are made from your income. In this case, the amount of your taxable income is lower after the deductions than before them, which means you do not need to pay as much tax either.

The following deductions may be made from wage income:

• Travel expenses
• Deduction for work-related expenses
• Trade union membership fees
• Mandatory earnings-related pension and unemployment insurance contributions

If the deduction is made from your earned income, it is deducted from the gross income you have received during the year. ‘Gross income’ means the amount of pay or other income from which no tax has been withheld and no other payments have been made. Some of deductions are made automatically, but some you must report to us either on your tax card or tax return.

After the deductions are made, the remaining amount is used to calculate the amount of tax you have to pay on your income in the previous year. We do this comparison for you and let you know of the initial result on your pre-completed tax return. If you correct the information on your pre-completed tax return, you will receive a new tax decision later (after the due date of the pre-completed tax return). The new tax decision has the final amount of your tax refund or back taxes.

The amount of deductions from earned income is not directly the amount that is deducted from the amount of your taxes. This means that if you deduct an amount from your earned income, the amount of your tax refund does not increase by an identical amount. Instead, the deduction reduces the amount of your taxable income, or the amount based on which the amount of your taxes are calculated.

Use the tax percentage calculator to see the effect of different deductions on your taxation (vero.fi).

Deductions made directly from the amount of tax

Some deductions are made directly from the amount of tax you must pay. These deductions directly reduce the amount of the tax you must pay with an amount that is identical to the amount of the deduction. For example, tax credit for domestic costs and the study loan deduction are deductions made directly from the amount of your tax. This means that the amount of your tax refund increases and the amount of back taxes decreases by an amount identical to the deduction. If you know the amount of the deduction, you also know how much it will affect your tax refund or back taxes.

Reporting deductions

The Finnish Tax Administration makes some of the deductions automatically. The deduction for work-related expenses is one such deduction. A €750 deduction for work-related expenses is automatically included in the taxation of everyone who receives wage income. However, the deduction may not be larger than the amount of wage income. You only need to report the work-related expenses yourself if the amount of the expenses exceeds €750. Expenses from studying (e.g. school books) cannot be deducted in taxation as work-related expenses if you are in primary or lower secondary education, or studying in a degree programme of a university or university of applied sciences. However, there are some exceptions related to expenses from studying or training on which you can find more information on the ‘Study and training expenses’ page of vero.fi.

You must report certain deductions yourself, such as travel expenses from travel between your home and your workplace. Some deductions are automatically included on your pre-completed tax return, because the Finnish Tax Administration receives information from employers and trade unions. Trade unions report membership fees and employers report earnings-related pension and unemployment insurance contributions to us, so these are included on your pre-completed tax return.

Read more about tax deductions and reporting them (vero.fi).

If you receive a gift whose value is €5,000 or more, you must pay gift tax. You must also pay gift tax if you receive several gifts from the same person within three years and the combined value of gifts is €5,000 or more. Gift tax is always paid by the person who receives the gift.

A gift tax return must be filed within three months of the date on which you receive the gift (or the date on which the value of several gifts totals €5,000). File the gift tax return in MyTax on the All tax types tab. On the tab, select Gift tax return.

The gift can be:

• Money
• A real estate unit, such as a house or a plot
• A share in a housing company
• Movable property, such as a car or shares
• A share of a death estate

If the gift is given by two or more people, called ‘donors’, file a separate gift tax return for the share of each donor.

Gift for the purpose of maintenance

If someone pays your daily expenses or your bills on your behalf, you have received a gift for the purpose of maintenance. The gift is tax exempt even if it is not necessary for your livelihood. Gifts for the purpose of maintenance are tax exempt as long they comply with certain terms related to the gift and the method it is given. The gift can never be money; instead, the donor must directly pay your expenses on your behalf. In practice, this means that the donor pays your bills for you directly to the parties collecting the payments.

The following can be paid as gifts for the purpose of maintenance:

• Charges for housing-company expenditure
• Rents
• Electricity bills
• Telephone bills
• Internet bills
• Food
• Study fees for studying outside Finland

You must not be able to use the gift for any other purpose for the gift to be considered a gift for the purpose of maintenance. For example, if your parents give you money as a gift, it is not considered a gift for the purpose of maintenance, because you could also use the money for any other purpose than to pay your rent, electricity bill or telephone bill. This means it is very important that the person giving the gift pays the amount directly to the party that sent the bill.

However, not all bills and expenses are for things considered maintenance. If someone pays the monthly capital charges of a home you own or your inheritance tax for you, the gift is not considered a tax-exempt gift for the purpose of maintenance.

If you receive a gift for the purpose of maintenance in the form of money, you must pay gift tax. You must pay gift tax if you receive €5,000 or more from the same donor within three years.