Reporting fringe benefits

An interest benefit for a housing loan is established when the employer collects annual interest on a housing loan it has granted to an employee that is lower than the reference interest rate commonly used in the market.

“Reference rate” means the Euribor rate for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, or another reference rate that a bank generally uses when granting credit for its customers, such as the bank’s prime rate. This type of an interest benefit is handled as wages in taxation.

Reporting fringe benefit

Enter the amount of the taxable interest benefit under the income type 302 Interest benefit for a housing loan.

Withholding tax and compensation collected from the employee

You can combine the amount you withhold on the benefit with all the other taxes withheld, and then enter the sum under the income type 402 Withholding.

If you collect an amount of money from the employee in order to reimburse you for the expenses relating to the benefit you give, report it under the income type 407 Reimbursement collected for other fringe benefits. Do not subtract this amount from the amount that you indicate under the income type 302. 

Even if you had collected an amount that exceeds the tax value of the fringe benefit, the tax value is still the maximum reimbursement to enter in the earnings payment report. This means that you cannot submit a report to the Incomes Register where the reimbursement would exceed the benefit itself.

A car benefit, often called company car, is established for an employee when the employer provides the employee or their family with a car that the employer owns or possesses, and allows its private use.

Reporting fringe benefit

Enter the car benefit under the income type 304 Car benefit. Fill in the following

• the type of the benefit: either “limited car benefit” or “full car benefit”
• the vehicle’s age group: A, B, C, or U.

If the vehicle’s expenses are based on a driver’s logbook instead of a fixed monthly value, enter the ‘Odometer reading’. Enter the private-use kilometres driven.

According to the Tax Administration’s official decision, you can indicate the number of kilometres by every pay period or, alternatively, on the last report for the year at the latest. If you do not receive information on the private-use kilometres until after the month when the benefit was available to the employee, you must make corrections to the submitted reports as necessary.

You must also indicate the vehicle’s emissions value if the tax value of the company car is reduced by virtue of it being a zero-emissions vehicle or a low emission vehicle. The value can be reduced if CO₂ emissions are 0 to 100 g/km. Reports to be submitted in 2022 to 2025 the Incomes Register must contain the vehicles’ emissions ratings.

Withholding tax and compensation collected from the employee

You can combine the amount you withhold on the benefit with all the other taxes withheld, and then enter the sum under the income type 402 Withholding.

If you collect an amount of money from the employee in order to reimburse you for the expenses relating to the benefit you give, report it under the income type 401 Compensation collected for car benefit. Do not subtract this amount from the amount that you indicate under the income type 304. 

Even if you had collected an amount that exceeds the tax value of the fringe benefit, the tax value is still the maximum reimbursement to enter in the earnings payment report. This means that you cannot submit a report to the Incomes Register where the reimbursement would exceed the benefit itself.

A bicycle benefit, often called employer-provided bicycle, is established when the employer provides a bicycle for an employee for private use. The bicycle may be owned by the employer or acquired through a leasing agreement.

To enter the tax-exempt part, use 363 Bicycle, tax-exempt share and correspondingly, use 364 Bicycle, taxable share for the amount deemed as wages and thus subject to tax. Employers must include this fringe benefit in the earnings payment report although no taxable benefit value were to emerge.

Under the tax rules, the fringe benefit in the form of a bicycle is tax-exempt up to €1,200. If the worker has both the bicycle and commuter tickets as his or her fringe benefit, their combined tax-exempt parts can maximally reach €3,400 per calendar year. This means that you must subtract the bicycle’s tax-exempt part from the commuter tickets’ maximum tax-exempt amount.

If you collect reimbursement, indicate it under 420 Reimbursement collected for bicycle benefit. Enter the entire amount you collect, even if it is higher than the part deemed as wages and thus subject to tax. You must subtract the amount you collect from the amount deemed as wages and subject to tax. If there is no amount deemed as wages to subtract it from, you must subtract it from the tax-exempt part. The 364 and 363 codes for type of income are for the remaining difference i.e. for the remaining tax values of the benefits.

If you give your worker this fringe benefit and simultaneously reduce his or her wage amount paid in cash, see guidelines and examples in Reporting data to the Incomes Register: fringe benefits and reimbursements of expenses under 1.1.3 Bicycle benefit.

An employer-subsidised commuter ticket, often called employer-provided commuter ticket, is a personal public transport ticket provided by the employer to the employee for commuting between the employee's residence and place of work. 

To enter the tax-exempt part, use 341 Employer-subsidised commuter ticket, tax-exempt share and correspondingly, use 342 Employer-subsidised commuter ticket, taxable share for entering the amount deemed as wages and thus subject to tax. Employers must include this fringe benefit in the earnings payment report although no taxable benefit value were to emerge.

Under the tax rules, the employer-subsidised commuter ticket is tax-exempt up to €3,400. If the worker has both the tickets and a bicycle as a fringe benefit, their combined tax-exempt parts can maximally reach €3,400 per calendar year.

If you collect reimbursement, indicate it under 415 Reimbursement for employer-subsidised commuter ticket. Enter the entire amount you collect, even if it is higher than the part deemed as wages and thus subject to tax. You must subtract the amount you collect from the amount deemed as wages and subject to tax. If there is no amount deemed as wages to subtract it from, you must subtract it from the tax-exempt part. The 342 and 341 codes for type of income are for the remaining difference i.e. for the remaining tax values of the benefits.

For more information, see guidelines and examples in Reporting data to the Incomes Register: fringe benefits and reimbursements of expenses under 1.1.2 Employer-subsidised commuter tickets.

An employee receives accommodation benefit when the employer provides the employee with an apartment owned or possessed by the employer, based on a lease relationship related to the employment, or as a benefit included in the pay. 

Reporting fringe benefit

Enter the accommodation benefit

• either under the income type 301 Accommodation benefit
• or under the income type 317 Other fringe benefit. If you opt for the 317, you must also fill in the Type of benefit: Accommodation benefit.

Withholding tax and compensation collected from the employee

You can combine the amount you withhold on the benefit with all the other taxes withheld, and then enter the sum under the income type 402 Withholding.

If you collect an amount of money from the employee in order to reimburse you for the expenses relating to the benefit you give, report it under the income type 407 Reimbursement collected for other fringe benefits. Do not subtract this amount from the amount that you indicate under the income type 301 or 317. 

Even if you had collected an amount that exceeds the tax value of the fringe benefit, the tax value is still the maximum reimbursement to enter in the earnings payment report. This means that you cannot submit a report to the Incomes Register where the reimbursement would exceed the benefit itself.

A telephone benefit, often called employer-provided telephone, is established for an employee when the employer pays the costs of the telephone subscription it has acquired and paid for the employee, even for the employee’s private use outside working hours.

Reporting fringe benefit

Enter the telephone benefit

• either under the income type 330 Telephone benefit
• or under the income type 317 Other fringe benefit. If you opt for the 317, you must also fill in the Type of benefit: Telephone benefit.

Withholding tax and compensation collected from the employee

You can combine the amount you withhold on the benefit with all the other taxes withheld, and then enter the sum under the income type 402 Withholding.

If you collect an amount of money from the employee in order to reimburse you for the expenses relating to the benefit you give, report it under the income type 407 Reimbursement collected for other fringe benefits. Do not subtract this amount from the amount that you indicate under the income type 330m or 317. 

Even if you had collected an amount that exceeds the tax value of the fringe benefit, the tax value is still the maximum reimbursement to enter in the earnings payment report. This means that you cannot submit a report to the Incomes Register where the reimbursement would exceed the benefit itself.

Reporting the benefit once a year

If the income earner only has a telephone benefit, you can report the telephone benefit in advance on the January report for the entire year in one go according to how the benefit has been processed in the payroll calculation, if

• no other income is paid or no other benefit given to the person and
• the telephone benefit is not subject to earnings-related pension, unemployment, or accident and occupational disease insurance contributions.

Such a situation may occur if a telephone benefit has been given to a YEL or MYEL insured self-employed person or a shareholder, for example.

An employee receives meal benefit when the employer provides its employees with meals at a price below the fair value or completely free of charge. The benefit may take the form of a lunch voucher, plastic card, a mobile app or an employer-provided lunchroom.

The amount of meal benefit must be reported to the Incomes Register on a monthly basis, independent of the type of meal benefit.

Reporting fringe benefit

Your employees pay a reimbursement equal to the meals’ tax value

• You must invariably use the income type 334 Meal benefit.
• Leave the amount in euros blank.
• Tick Yes for Reimbursement for a meal benefit corresponds to taxable value.

Do not use the 317, and do not report the amount your employees pay you under the 407.

Your employees pay a reimbursement but it is lower than the meals’ tax value

• Enter the meal benefit
  • either under the income type 334 Meal benefit
  • or under  the income type 317 Other fringe benefit. If you opt for the 317, you must also fill in the Type of benefit: Meal benefit.
• Enter the amount in euros for the meal benefit.

Withholding tax and compensation collected from the employee

You can combine the amount you withhold on the benefit with all the other taxes withheld, and then enter the sum under the income type 402 Withholding.

If you charge the employee a lower reimbursement for the meal benefit than the taxable value, report it under the income type 407 Reimbursement collected for other fringe benefits. Do not subtract this amount from the amount that you indicate under the income type 334 or 317. 

Even if you had collected an amount that exceeds the tax value of the fringe benefit, the tax value is still the maximum reimbursement to enter in the earnings payment report. This means that you cannot submit a report to the Incomes Register where the reimbursement would exceed the benefit itself.

Reporting in other reporting situations

If the meals are treated as being a meal offered to an intern, or a meal involving “meal subsidy” payments, see guidelines and examples in Reporting data to the Incomes Register: fringe benefits and reimbursements of expenses under 1.2.3 Meal benefit.

Other fringe benefits that the employer provides in non-monetary form can include, for example employer-provided garage, motorcycle or boat; life and pension insurance premiums treated as wages, other insurance premiums paid by the employer and not collected from the employee, a benefit resulting from a non-personalised gift voucher, and fringe benefits received by a person working as a seafarer.

If you opt for not entering data separately for the accommodation, telephone and meal benefits, you can enter them under this income type. If you have already reported them separately with their own income types, do not add the benefits to the total sum for this income type.

Reporting fringe benefit

Report such benefits as a total sum using the income type 317 Other fringe benefit.

You must also fill in the Type of benefit to inform the Incomes Register of what fringe benefits are included in the total sum. Include one or more than one of the following: accommodation benefit, telephone benefit, meal benefit, or other fringe benefit.

Withholding tax and compensation collected from the employee

You can combine the amount you withhold on the benefit with all the other taxes withheld, and then enter the sum under the income type 402 Withholding.

If you collect an amount of money from the employee in order to reimburse you for the expenses relating to the benefit you give, report it under the income type 407 Reimbursement collected for other fringe benefits. Do not subtract this amount from the amount that you indicate under the income type 317. 

Even if you had collected an amount that exceeds the tax value of the fringe benefit, the tax value is still the maximum reimbursement to enter in the earnings payment report. This means that you cannot submit a report to the Incomes Register where the reimbursement would exceed the benefit itself.