In Finland, you do not compile a tax return from scratch. The Finnish Tax Administration (Verohallinto, or Vero) prepares a pre-completed return for you in the spring, and most people get their tax decision with it. If every figure is accurate, you take no action; you only submit corrections if information is missing or incorrect.
What the pre-completed return is and when it arrives
Vero builds your pre-completed tax return (esitäytetty veroilmoitus) in the MyTax (OmaVero) portal by the end of March. The agency populates the return using the income estimates and details from your previous year's tax card, alongside data reported directly by employers, pension providers, and banks.
You get an email or text notification when the return is ready in MyTax if you have activated Suomi.fi Messages or supplied your contact details to Vero for electronic tax mail.
If all the information listed on the form is correct, you do not need to do anything. Most people receive their tax decision (verotuspäätös) alongside the pre-completed return in spring. When no changes are made, that decision and its payment details stay in force.
Your municipality of domicile for the tax year is the one you lived in on the last day of the year before the tax year. Church membership is fixed the same way.
Deadlines and how to correct it
For the spring 2026 return cycle, the due dates for submitting corrections were 1, 14, 21, or 28 April 2026. Your personal due date is printed on the first page of your return and displayed clearly in MyTax.
Deadlines depend on how you submit your amendments:
- Corrections filed in MyTax must arrive by 23:59 on your due date.
- Corrections submitted on paper forms must arrive at Vero by 16:15 on your due date.
According to the Vero pre-completed tax return instructions, corrections in MyTax are completed in 5 stages and submitted at the "Preview and send" stage. You do not attach receipts to the submission. Instead, you must keep all receipts for possible later checks. If Vero requires documentation, officials contact you by letter or phone from numbers starting with 0295.
If you correct the return, you receive a new tax decision by the end of October, and your refund date or back-tax due dates may change. Your payment dates may also shift if your spouse corrects their return.
If you have a child under 18 who does not have a Finnish personal identity code, you can add them to your return by submitting a certificate from the child's country of residence. Each eligible child raises the maximum credit for work income.
Deductions worth checking on the 2025 return
Tax deductions work differently depending on whether they lower your income or directly lower your bill. The household credit (kotitalousvähennys) is subtracted directly from tax. Commuting expenses and expenses for the production of income (tulonhankkimiskulut) reduce your taxable income. Because of this structure, a tax credit has the greater financial effect on what you pay. How the tax itself is made up is covered in income tax in Finland.
Expenses for the production of income and commuting
Wage earners receive an automatic €750 deduction for the production of income. You only need to declare individual work-related expenses if they exceed €750 in total.
Commuting costs (matkakulut) are deductible according to specific conditions:
- Travel is calculated at the cost of the cheapest means of transport, which is normally public transport, even if you drove or bought a more expensive ticket.
- Full-year work normally equates to 11 months of commuting, as annual leave is excluded. Days spent working remotely must also be left out.
- Private car costs can only be claimed if there is no public transport available, the one-way walking distance to public transport is at least 3 km, the round-trip waiting time is at least 2 hours, or you leave home or come back from work between 00:00 and 05:00.
- On the 2025 return, travel by private car is deducted at €0.27 per kilometre. Commuting by bicycle (including electric bicycles) is deducted at a flat rate of €100.00 per year.
- Vero applies a €900 personal liability threshold (omavastuu), after which up to €7,000 of commuting costs is deductible. These threshold and cap amounts are identical for 2025 and 2026. When declaring, report the full amount of your travel costs without subtracting the €900 threshold yourself.
Household expenses credit
The household expenses credit works as follows:
- The credit is 35% of the labour portion of an invoice from a company (including VAT), or 13% of gross wages plus indirect wage expenses if you hire an individual directly. Materials and travel expenses cannot be included.
- The credit carries an annual €150 personal threshold and a maximum limit of €1,600 per person per year. These amounts remain the same for both 2025 and 2026.
Upcoming rule changes for union and home office deductions
Certain deductions available on the 2025 return (filed in spring 2026) change for subsequent tax years:
- Trade union membership fees can no longer be deducted starting from tax year 2026. However, they remain deductible on the 2025 return filed in spring 2026.
- Fees paid for an unemployment fund in Finland remain tax-deductible in 2026.
- Wage earners cannot claim the formula home office deduction from tax year 2026 onward, but can still claim it on the 2025 return. Broadband expenses remain deductible after 2025 if your total production-of-income expenses surpass the €750 threshold.
- The formula home office deduction for 2025 is €980 if remote work accounted for more than 50% of your working days, €490 if remote work was regular but no more than 50%, and €245 if remote work was occasional.
Tax refunds — when they are paid
There is no single national payout date for tax refunds (veronpalautus). Instead, payments depend on the calendar month in which your tax assessment ends, spanning between July and December. Most individual taxpayers received their refund in 2026 on 3 August 2026 or 3 September 2026.
According to Vero refund schedule details, scheduled refund dates for 2026 align with assessment completion months:
- Assessment ends in May: refund paid on 3 July 2026
- Assessment ends in June: refund paid on 3 August 2026
- Assessment ends in July: refund paid on 3 September 2026
- Assessment ends in August: refund paid on 5 October 2026
- Assessment ends in September: refund paid on 3 November 2026
- Assessment ends in October: refund paid on 3 December 2026
Refunds earn credit interest calculated from 1 February 2026 until the payment date. The interest rate is 0.5% for 2026 and is added automatically on the day of payment. Refunds can arrive at any point during the banking day rather than strictly first thing in the morning. Your exact refund date and amount appear in MyTax.
If you do not have a bank account registered with Vero, your refund is issued as a postal money order through Nordea. This requires a valid postal address in Finland. Refund balances below €15 are not distributed via money order.
Back taxes (residual tax) — due dates and interest
If your tax withholdings during the year fell short of your final liability, you must pay residual tax (jäännösvero), commonly called back tax. Most people with back tax in 2026 pay their first instalment on 3 August 2026 and their second on 1 October 2026.
Residual tax of more than €170 is divided into two separate instalments. Amounts under €10 are not collected. For assessments finishing across 2026, instalment dates fall as follows:
- Assessment ends May: 1 July and 1 September 2026
- Assessment ends June: 3 August and 1 October 2026
- Assessment ends July: 1 September and 2 November 2026
- Assessment ends August: 1 October and 1 December 2026
- Assessment ends September: 2 November 2026 and 4 January 2027
- Assessment ends October: 1 December 2026 and 1 February 2027
If you or your spouse amended your tax return, do not pay back tax using the preliminary slips. Pay only after your new tax decision arrives, as figures on unfinalised returns are not final.
Back tax accrues interest from 1 February 2026 to the due date at a rate of 4.5% for 2026. This interest is factored directly into the payment slip amount, and Vero automatically subtracts €20 from the accrued interest total. If you pay past the due date, late-payment interest of 9.5% applies for 2026.
You can avoid residual tax and interest by keeping your tax card rate high enough, or by requesting an additional prepayment (lisäennakko) in December or January.
Missed something after the assessment ended
If you discover an error or omitted an expense after your assessment has closed, you can file a claim for adjustment (oikaisuvaatimus). You must submit this claim within three years starting from the beginning of the year that follows the relevant tax year.
Leaving Finland during the year
A foreign citizen ceases to be a tax resident in Finland as soon as they depart the country. If you move abroad permanently, you must notify the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (Digi- ja väestötietovirasto, or DVV) within one week of departure, and report your new foreign address to Vero using form 3817e.
To get a refund into a foreign account after leaving, report the account details to Vero. You can submit foreign bank account details via MyTax, or on paper using form 7208e for IBAN accounts or form 7201e for non-IBAN accounts. Account details cannot be submitted over the phone.
If you continue to receive earnings from Finland after leaving, request an adjustment to your tax card and reduce or cancel any prepayments. You will still receive a pre-completed return for the calendar year of your move during the following spring, which you correct in MyTax or on paper if anything is missing or wrong. Any income earned prior to your move to Finland or after your departure is normally not reported on your Finnish return, unless it directly relates to Finnish employment, such as employee stock options.
