Inheritance
If decedent or beneficiary lived in Finland at the date of death, Finnish inheritance tax will be payable on any receipt of assets as an inheritance, regardless of whether the beneficiary is a natural heir or a beneficiary of a last will and testament.
What filing obligation does the Estate have?
The Finnish Population Information System will automatically transmit information on deaths to the tax authorities. There is therefore no need to notify the Tax Administration regarding the occurrence of the death itself. Instead, the parties to the estate should arrange a meeting - called the inventory conference (perunkirjoitus; bouppteckning) within three months of the death to perform an inventory. The inventory deed (perukirja; bouppteckningsinstrument) resulting from this meeting should be delivered to the Tax Administration within one month.
For more information, click Inventory of the estate; documentation.
Who are the taxpayers of inheritance tax?
The taxpayers are the natural heirs and any other beneficiaries based on a last will and testament. Tax computations regarding inheritance tax are officially performed separately for each party to the estate. Tax amounts are directly proportional to the value of the assets received. However, the next of kin who are natural heirs have tax allowances, determined by a classification of family relationships. It should also be noted that if the tax authorities have determined the asset value to be less than €20,000 it will remain below the threshold for inheritance tax.
For more information, click Computing inheritance taxes.
When is payment due?
The processing time varies among local tax offices in all regions of Finland. As a consequence, the due date may be 3–6 months after the documents have been submitted. The local tax office will send official tax-assessment decisions to all heirs once the assessment has been completed. The official decision is a statement that displays whether the tax authority has approved the inventory of the estate, and includes the results of asset valuation and the amounts that have been subtracted. If no inheritance tax is payable, the tax-assessment decision will be delivered solely to the person marked on the inventory deed as in charge of management of the estate.
We recommend that you keep the official decision safe, together with the inventory deed. The official decision shows the amounts resulting from the valuation of inherited assets, as endorsed by the tax office. These values will be used as the basis for your further taxes on capital gains (or deductions for capital losses) if you sell some assets later and make a profit (or loss).
For more information, click Perintö- ja lahjaveron maksaminen (in Finnish).
Can I appeal against the official decision?
If you are not satisfied with the decision on inheritance tax, you are entitled to lodge an appeal with the Tax Administration within 5 years after the close of the calendar year when the official decision was dated. You will nevertheless be expected to pay the tax amounts on the due dates as displayed in the original official decision.
For more information, click Muutoksen hakeminen perintöverotukseen (in Finnish).
In inheritance taxation, assets are valued according to their fair market value at the time of death. ’Fair market value’ means the probable selling price of the assets.
Shareholders of the estate should set up a meeting within 3 months after the date of death, and within one further month deliver the estate inventory deed to the tax office.
If real property or buildings in Finland have been inherited, Finnish inheritance tax will always be payable even if both the decedent's and the beneficiary's countries of residence were countries other than Finland.
Gifts given before death can either be pulled back into the estate or taxed as ordinary gifts.