Overseas work
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.
No changes are usually effected regarding the Finnish taxes that are payable on your other types of income during the period when you work in another country. For example, if you have capital income, the taxes will continue to be payable in Finland.
Several factors are involved in the tax assessment of your foreign-sourced wages. These include the duration of your stay, the kind of employer you work for, the nature of your work, and the country where you work. This section contains articles discussing various situations in which Finnish tax may be collected on wages or fees sourced in other countries.
Your wages may be exempt from Finnish tax if the regulation known as the ‘six-month rule’ becomes applicable. For a discussion of various relevant tax situations, and for more information on the requirements of the six-month rule, please read the descriptions below.
If you leave Finland to work overseas as an employee of a Finnish public body (including the State of Finland, Finnish municipalities, the peace-keeping forces of the Finnish Defence Force), you will pay tax in Finland in the usual way. The six-month rule that offers tax exemption is not applicable in these cases. The provisions of tax treaties usually prevent taxes from being levied by the country where you work.
Automobiles: If you have any questions regarding taxes on imported cars, please contact Finnish Customs (not the Finnish Tax Administration).