Berry picking or other seasonal work – how to take care of your taxes
Seasonal workers arriving in Finland from another country require a tax card for wages paid by a Finnish employer.
If a worker has a Finnish personal identity code, they do not need to visit a tax office in person to obtain a tax card.
If a worker does not have a Finnish personal identity code, they can apply for a personal identity code and tax card by visiting a tax office. In some situations, the Finnish Tax Administration’s employees can arrive in facilities of employers that employ large groups of foreign workers.
To obtain a personal identity code, a Tax Administration employee must identify the applicant in person.
What is seasonal work?
Seasonal work refers to work in agriculture and tourism that is tied to a certain time of the year. Seasonal work includes berry and fruit picking and mushroom hunting. Seasonal work requires a significant increase in labour levels during a certain time of the year.
What counts as seasonal work? (Finnish Immigration Service)
Personal identity code and tax card for seasonal workers
Foreign workers require a tax card and a Finnish personal identity code.
The law requires that a Tax Administration employee meets every newly arrived worker in person and checks their passport or documentation for foreign travel to verify their identity.
1. Book an appointment
Employers can book an appointment in MyTax or by calling the service number +358 29 497 010 (available in Finnish and English).
This is how you can book an appointment in MyTax
You can also request a Tax Administration employee to visit your facilities if you have several seasonal workers who require a personal identity code. Our visits are based on specific decision-making at the Tax Administration: each visit is separately decided.
After receiving your request for an appointment, we will call you (our telephone numbers begin with 029 497) to discuss your request in detail. The purpose of the call is to make it easier for both parties to take care of the registrations.
If an on-location visit is agreed upon and you have ordered a reminder, you will receive a reminder one or two days before the agreed date.
Please note that personal identity codes are issued only at certain tax offices.
Tax offices where you can get a personal identity code
2. Bring the documents required with you
To apply for a personal identity code, complete the registration form Registration information on a foreigner staying in Finland temporarily (6150e). You need to sign the form during your appointment.
You also need to bring the following with you:
- a valid passport or official proof of identity with a photograph, from which you can be easily identified;
- your employment contract.
To apply for a personal identity code, complete the registration form Registration information on a foreigner staying in Finland temporarily (6150e). You need to sign the form during your appointment.
You also need to bring the following with you:
- a valid passport with a photograph from which you can be easily identified;
- a valid residence permit or visa, where applicable (depending on the length of your stay and your nationality);
- your employment contract;
- proof of your right to work; and
- a residence permit that also gives you the right to work in Finland if you are a non-resident of the EU or EEA and you work in Finland. For employees arriving in Finland from outside the EU, a certificate of employment, a visa for a fixed period, or a residence permit for a fixed period gives the right to work in Finland.
- Permits entitling their holder to work in Finland are granted by the Finnish Immigration Service.
More information about
What kind of a tax card do seasonal workers need?
If a worker stays in Finland for at most six months, the worker is a non-resident taxpayer. The employer collects tax at source of 35% from wages. Before collecting tax at source, the employer can deduct €510 a month or €17 a day from the wages if such a deduction is indicated in the tax at source card.
The worker can select progressive taxation in place of tax at source. Progressive taxation means that the worker pays tax based on the amount of income they receive. For seasonal workers, progressive taxation can often be a more favourable option than tax at source. Progressive taxation requires that the worker is a resident of an EU or EEA state or another state with which Finland has a tax treaty. Apply for progressive taxation by using Claim for progressive taxation of earned income (6148e) . In this case, you will be given a non-resident taxpayer’s tax card.
If a worker does not have a Finnish personal identity code, a tax card must be applied for at the same time as a personal identity code.
If a worker already has a Finnish personal identity code, the claim for progressive taxation of earned income (6148e) can be sent to a tax office by post. The mailing address is indicated on the front page of the form.
If the employer applies for a tax card on a worker’s behalf, the employer must have a letter of Authorisation for Tax Representation (3818e).
If a worker’s stay in Finland is longer than six months, their wages will be taxed similarly to those of residents of Finland.
Read more:
Other instructions
In addition to the withholding of taxes, employers have other obligations related to the payment of wages.
Workers who receive at least €800,02 in monthly pay are covered by the Finnish health insurance scheme based on their work. The employer must then withhold the health insurance contribution (health care contribution and daily allowance contribution) from the wages of the worker. The health insurance contribution is included in the tax rate if the worker has a tax card for non-residents. In addition, the employer must pay the employer’s health insurance contribution.
Read more about health insurance contributions collected from workers who arrive in Finland.
Employers may also have to take out the following social insurance for seasonal workers and pay the related premiums to the insurance company they have chosen:
- earnings-related pension insurance (more information: the Finnish Centre for Pensions and appropriate insurance companies)
- accident insurance and group life insurance (more information: the Finnish Workers’ Compensation Center and accident insurance companies).
If the Finnish legislation on seasonal work applies to a seasonal worker, no unemployment insurance contribution is paid for the seasonal worker.
The Finnish act governing seasonal workers (Laki kolmansien maiden kansalaisten maahantulon ja oleskelun edellytyksistä kausityöntekijöinä työskentelyä varten, 907/2017) provides the following definition of a seasonal worker: he or she is a citizen of a third country (a country other than an EU Member State, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland) whose country of residence is elsewhere than in an EU Member State, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, who is staying in Finland legally and for a temporary period in order to perform work on a seasonal basis under a temporary employment contract, which is signed by the worker and an employer established in Finland. (Finnish act governing seasonal workers (Laki kolmansien maiden kansalaisten maahantulon ja oleskelun edellytyksistä kausityöntekijöinä työskentelyä varten)
Insurance premiums do not have to be paid in Finland if a seasonal worker arriving from an EU/EEA state or Switzerland is a holder of an A1 certificate, issued by their country of residence, proving that they are covered by the social insurance system of that country.
If a worker has a non-resident taxpayer’s tax card (progressive taxation), they will receive a pre-completed tax return in the spring following their working year from the Finnish Tax Administration. The tax return will be accompanied by a taxation decision, indicating any tax refund or back taxes, as well as payment dates.
The information presented on the tax return must be checked. If the information is correct, the worker does not need to do anything.
If not all information has been pre-completed or there are errors, the worker must correct the information and submit the corrected information in MyTax or using a paper form.
If tax has been withheld on a worker’s wages in Finland, they may receive a tax refund. The Finnish Tax Administration requires the worker’s account number to pay the tax refund.
More information on submitting the account number
If a worker’s address in their home country changes, the change of address must be submitted to the Finnish Tax Administration for mailing the tax return and taxation decision. The new address can be submitted using the form Notification of mailing address (3817e).