Leaving Finland to move abroad
If you leave Finland to move to another country, your taxation will depend on several factors, including the duration of your stay and, in particular, whether your stay is temporary or permanent.
If you are a Finnish citizen and are staying in a foreign country temporarily or for a short period, your stay will not affect your Finnish taxation. If you move abroad permanently, you will be considered a Finnish tax resident during the year of your relocation and for the subsequent three years (this is known as the ‘three-year rule’). Tax will be payable in Finland on both your Finnish and foreign-sourced income. At the end of the three years you will usually become a Finnish tax nonresident, after which you will only pay tax in Finland on your Finnish-sourced income.
Citizenship and ties with Finland
Finnish tax nonresidency may already begin during the three-year period if you are able to demonstrate that you no longer have close ties with Finland. ‘Close ties’ may refer, for example, to your retaining living accommodation in Finland, or maintaining your right to Finnish social security.
If you are a foreign citizen and leave Finland to live abroad permanently, you will become a Finnish tax nonresident from the day of your move. If, on the other hand, your stay is only temporary, your taxation in Finland will remain unaffected.
Factors other than the duration of your stay may affect your taxation in Finland when you leave Finland. Select instructions from the list below that apply to your situation.
If you leave Finland to work in a foreign country, you will still need to complete a Finnish tax return and submit it to the Finnish Tax Administration. You are expected to give the Finnish authorities complete details of the wages you earn, not only in Finland but also other countries, even though these wages may not be taxed in Finland.
The fact that you are studying in another country has no impact on your taxes, and thus you are not required to report it to the Tax Administration. However, if you also are gainfully employed while you pursue your studies in that country, you will be expected to observe the relevant tax rules that govern receipts of foreign-sourced incomes.
If Finnish-sourced pension benefits are being paid to you, the country of taxation will normally be Finland even if you move elsewhere.
If you are a citizen of Finland and you leave Finland to live in a foreign country, you will normally continue as a Finnish tax resident during the tax year of your relocation, and for the three following tax years (this rule is known as the three-year rule).
If you live in Finland your payment of tax in Finland also covers any foreign-sourced income that you may have. But you may also have to pay tax to the country of source. Double taxation is nevertheless eliminated either by giving you credit for foreign-paid taxes, or by exemption from Finnish taxation.
If you are a citizen of a foreign country or if you have no citizenship, the law prescribes that you will cease to be a Finnish tax resident immediately when you move away from Finland on a permanent basis. However, any short-term absences from Finland have no impact on your tax obligations.
If rental income is derived from a Finnish source, it will usually be taxed in Finland. Even if you are a tax resident of another country, you will pay tax on your Finnish-sourced rental income to the Finnish tax authority if the rental property (apartment/flat, unit, house etc.) is located in Finland.