The time to check your tax return is now – last year’s statistics show a 170% increase in deductions for expenses for the production of income
Tax Administration Bulletin, 4/4/2022Pre-completed tax returns for all individuals who receive wage income or retirement income are now available in MyTax. Those who have not enabled e-messaging on Suomi.fi will receive their pre-completed returns later in April by post. If you have enabled Suomi.fi messages, you receive an email informing you that your pre-completed return is ready.
Mixed in-office work and remote work because of the coronavirus pandemic? Remember to check your travel expenses and your deduction for workspace
Kirsi Tuunala, Senior Tax Specialist with the Tax Administration, points out that it is important for all individual taxpayers to check the pre-completed tax return carefully. If all the amounts and information are correct, you do not need to do anything.
− Open your pre-completed tax return and check that the amounts of income and deductions are correct. For 2021, when many people have worked from home because of the pandemic – but on some days, they also worked at their office or other workplace – the pre-filled expenses for trips between home and work are probably wrong. Other lines of the tax return that are worth a careful check are those where you claim tax deductions for workspace costs, Kirsi Tuunala says.
− If the individual taxpayer has worn a face mask when riding public transportation, and he or she has also bought the face masks and paid for them, a tax deduction is still available in the same way as in 2020, one year ago.
The deductible amount for this additional commuting cost is €2 for each day when you made the trip to work and back.
Those who have worked from home most of the time should check the pre-filled amounts and information regarding their deductions for a “home office”. The full deduction amount is €920, available to individual wage earners whose count of days worked from home in 2021 is above 50% of all working days.
The higher tax credit for household expenses is not yet effective for 2021
Another deduction that many taxpayers have claimed is the credit for household expenses. Kirsi Tuunala reminds those who are completing their tax returns that the maximum amount is still €2,250 per person in 2021.
− What we are reporting now are the tax credits, work expenses, and taxes for 2021. Although you may have read the news about a raised tax credit, we remind you that it does not yet apply to this tax return. One year from today, when you send the tax return for 2022, the credit for household expenses will be higher.
Typical deductions and credits in 2020
When we look at deduction statistics from last spring, the highest number of claims was for commuting expenses. Claims related to expenses for the production of income came second. Compared to 2019, an increase of 170% was noted. The growth was probably due to the fact that many wage earners began working from home, claiming deductible expenses accordingly. The tax credit for household expenses holds the third place in our popularity ranking.
Popular deductions, ranked by how many individual taxpayers claimed the deduction
1. Expenses for commuting to and from work
Number of individual taxpayers: 785,000
total expenses claimed: €2.1 billion
2. Expenses for the production of wage income
Number of individual taxpayers: 476,000
total expenses claimed: €683 million
3. Tax credit for household expenses
Number of individual taxpayers: 457,000
total expenses claimed: €2.1 billion
These statistics can also be compiled in a different way: when ranked by amounts in euros, the leading deduction claim among individual taxpayers was for household expenses.
Ranking typical deductions by euro amounts
1. Expenses for commuting to and from work
Number of individual taxpayers: 785,000
total expenses claimed: €2.1 billion
2. Tax credit for household expenses
Number of individual taxpayers: 457,000
total expenses claimed: €2.1 billion
3. Expenses for the production of wage income
Number of individual taxpayers: 476,000
total expenses claimed: €683 million
Deadlines for making corrections to pre-completed returns are 10 May, 17 May, and 24 May. These dates concern wage earners and those who receive pensions.
You can see your personal deadline on your pre-completed return and in MyTax.
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