Business trips
A business trip is temporary travel because of work duties. Employers may reimburse business trip expenses free of tax.
What are business trips?
Business trips are temporary, and made to a special place on account of work tasks. Such a special place of work is one where an employee works on a temporary basis only.
Illustration: Bertha's permanent work place is in Seinäjoki. Her employer has received a two-month commission from a company in Vaasa. During these two months, Bertha works in Vaasa at the premises of the client company. Bertha’s employer and her main place of work do not change. Bertha’s workplace in Vaasa is considered a special place of work.
Maximum duration of temporary work at a single location is 3 years.
More precise definition of business trips and the time limits for temporary work (in Finnish and Swedish only).
The following are not considered business trips:
- trips between the home and a primary place of work (i.e. commuting)
- weekend trips between the home and a special place of work during an assignment
- commuting between a secondary place of work and a place of accommodation.
If your employer has paid business trip expenses
Employers may pay kilometre allowance and/or per diem allowance for business trips. Such allowances are tax-exempt if they are based either on actual expenses or on the Official Decision of the Tax Administration on Allowances for Travel Expenses.
If your employer has paid the expenses for your business trip, you are no longer entitled to deduct the same travel costs as expenses for the production of income.
More information on kilometre and per diem allowances
If your employer has not paid business trip expenses
If your employer has not covered your travel expenses, you can deduct the costs as expenses for the production of income in your tax return.
File travel expenses according to the actual costs. There is no excess for the deduction, but only the part of the expenses that exceeds the standard amount for deduction for the production of income (€750) is deducted in your taxation.
If you have used public transportation for your business trip, travel expenses are tax-deductible at actual cost. The deduction for a business trip you did by driving your own car is €0.27 per kilometre in the tax assessment for tax year 2024. If you made trips driving a car that your employer has given you as a limited company car benefit, and for which you pay at least the fuel costs, the deduction is €0.21 per kilometre in the tax assessment for tax year 2024.
File these trips (unless your employer has covered them) under "Expenses for the production of income".
If your employer has provided you with a car as an unlimited fringe benefit and you use the company car for a business trip, you are not entitled to deduct any expenses because the travel does not cost you anything.
Frequently asked questions
Your work involves commuting between your home and the farms where you provide the holiday stand-in service, and for purposes of income taxation, each farm is deemed to be a special place where you work temporarily. You are entitled to tax-deductions for the actual costs of your transportation. You are regarded as having paid for the trips in order to produce or gain income, and there is no minimum threshold for claiming deductions. However, only the trips your employer has not reimbursed will qualify.
When you submit your tax return for the 2024 tax year, the deduction you can claim is €0.27 per kilometre assuming that you drove your own car. Fill in the Expenses for the production of income spaces on your tax return.
Example: Susan is a stand-in worker in agriculture as defined by law. She needs to visit a farm twice a day, driving her own car to commute there and back. However, Susan’s employer has agreed to pay for one round trip a day. The second round trip for which no reimbursement is received is a tax-deductible expense for the production of income. Susan can claim deductions.
Am I entitled to deductions for increased living expenses?
The farm substitution service falls outside of the tax rules concerning certain special sectors of employment, which cover those who work in the construction, earthmoving, and forestry sectors. As a result, you cannot claim the daily deduction for meal expenses.
However, you can claim deductions for increased living expenses, if a trip you needed to make when providing the substitution service caused an extra cost, higher than your usual living expenses. For example, you may have needed to spend more money on food and meals when visiting a farm compared to the amounts you spend normally. Please note that if you bring a packed lunch to work, your expenses for having prepared that lunch cannot be deducted. For more information on the requirements, see the Tax Administration’s in-depth guide on “Tax deductions for travel expenses in the tax assessment of individuals who earn income from employment” – Matkakustannusten vähentäminen palkansaajan verotuksessa (chapter 4) (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish).
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