Instructions for reporting equipment details for vehicles

For the purposes of your car tax assessment, the Tax Administration determines the taxable value of each vehicle subject to tax. If the age of a vehicle is less than 24 months, the Tax Administration will need details on the vehicle’s equipment in order to determine the its taxable value.

As of November 2023, the requirements for reporting vehicle equipment have been changed. If you file a vehicle-specific car tax return, you must also include details on the vehicle’s equipment. This applies to all vehicles that are less than 24 months old and that have been registered in Finland or taken into taxable use in Finland on or before 20 November 2023. Before this change, the Tax Administration would request equipment details to be reported in a separate account.

You can usually see your vehicle’s equipment listed in the contract of purchase. You can also ask the motor dealer or official importer to provide these details to you.

If you do not submit the required details on equipment or if you submit them late, you may have to pay a late filing penalty or a punitive tax increase.

Which vehicles’ equipment details must be reported?

Details on the equipment of a passenger car or van must be reported in a car tax return if there is less than 24 months between the date of the vehicle’s first registration and the date when the vehicle is first registered in Finland or taken into taxable use in Finland.

Equipment details do not need to be reported for fully electric cars or tax-exempt camper vans.

If you file your car tax return in MyTax or via the Tax Administration API, the system will instruct you to enter these details if they are required.

What kind of equipment must be reported for car taxation

In addition to equipment, your vehicle may include a number of supplies. When filing a vehicle-specific car tax return, you only need to report the vehicle’s equipment, not its supplies.

A piece of equipment is a built-in part of the vehicle, such as

• an integrated navigation system
• air conditioning
• a sunroof.

Supplies, on the other hand, are individual products separate from the vehicle itself. These include

• a second set of tyres and rims
• floor mats
• seat covers and safety seats for children
• non-integrated navigation systems.

What equipment details must be reported?

You must specify your vehicle’s level of equipment and possible accessories in the car tax return.

Level of equipment refers to a set of equipment defined by the vehicle manufacturer or importer. An equipment level usually consists of multiple pieces of equipment and has its own name for marketing purposes. In addition, there may be individual accessories, which are additional pieces of equipment that can be separately selected to be included in the vehicle.

Enter your vehicle’s equipment level in the car tax return’s “Level of equipment” field. If you are filing the return electronically, select the equipment level from the drop-down list. If the correct equipment level is not included in the list or if you cannot select a specific equipment level for some other reason, select “Other level of equipment”. In this section of the paper form, you can write an account of why you cannot name a specific equipment level. Alternatively, you can give this account as a separate attachment.

If you have selected a specific equipment level, also report any individual accessories included in the vehicle that are not a part of the equipment level’s standard set of equipment. If you are not sure, answer Yes to the question on accessories.

If you selected “Other level of equipment” in the electronic car tax return, enter the equipment level’s name in the field provided. If your vehicle does not have a named equipment level, you can state so in this field.

Do all pieces of equipment need to be listed in detail?

 Provide a detailed list of the vehicle’s equipment in the following situations:

• In the electronic car tax return, you selected “Other level of equipment” as the equipment level.
• On the paper form, you reported something other than a named level of equipment as the equipment level.
• You reported accessories that are not a part of the equipment level you have selected. In this case, you only need to list the additional pieces of equipment that are not included in the selected equipment level. If you are unsure about which pieces of equipment are included in the equipment level and which are accessories, you can list all the equipment.

Add the list of equipment as an attachment to the car tax return. If you file the return electronically, you can also list the equipment in the field reserved for the purpose.

Do equipment details also need to be reported in a refund application?

The instructions above concern the reporting of equipment when filing the vehicle-specific car tax return. In addition to the tax return, information on equipment must be included in applications for export refund and in applications for refund of car tax based on tax exemption or tax reduction. The equipment must be specified if the application is filed on 20 November 2023 or later.

When submitting refund applications, you must report equipment in the same way and for the same vehicles as in tax returns. The difference between submitting a tax return and submitting a refund application is in how the 24-month age limit is calculated. In an export refund application, you must calculate the time between the date of the vehicle’s first registration and its date of export. In other refund applications, you must calculate the time between the date of the vehicle’s first registration and its date of registration in Finland.