How changes in the ownership of real estate affect real estate tax
Real estate tax is usually paid by the owner of the real estate unit. If you own a real estate unit on 1 January, you must pay real estate tax on the unit for the entire year. You are responsible for paying the tax even if you sell the property during the year or if the ownership is transferred to another party for any other reason.
See the instructions that correspond to your situation:
You do not need to submit any information on real estate transactions to the Tax Administration. We receive this information directly from the National Land Survey. However, make sure to check the information on the real estate decision when you receive it, and make changes if necessary.
If you purchase real estate in 2024: You will receive your real estate tax decision in the spring of 2025. The decision will include the property you have bought. If the real estate unit has multiple owners, check that the percentages of ownership are correct.
If you sell real estate in 2024: You are responsible for paying the real estate tax because you were the owner on 1 January 2024. If you made an agreement on the payment of the tax with the buyer and recorded it in the deed of sale, this is considered a private agreement between the two of you.
If you own a real estate unit that is divided into parts, you do not need to report the division to the Tax Administration. We will receive this information directly from the National Land Survey. However, make sure to check the information on the real estate decision when you receive it, and make changes if necessary.
If you have given real estate as a gift: You do not need to report the gift to the Tax Administration for purposes of real estate taxation. We will receive information on the change of ownership from the National Land Survey after the right of ownership has been registered.
If you gave the gift in 2024, you are still responsible for paying the real estate tax throughout 2024. If you gave the gift in 2023 but still receive a real estate tax decision this year, correct the error concerning the right of ownership.
If you have retained the right of use or possession to the real estate unit, you are still liable to pay real estate tax.
If you have received real estate as a gift: Register your right of ownership to the real estate unit according to the instructions of the National Land Survey. The National Land Survey will notify the Tax Administration of the change in ownership.
If you received the real estate unit as a gift in 2023, the responsibility for paying the real estate tax transfers to you at the beginning of 2024. You will receive a real estate tax decision from the Tax Administration in March. If you receive the real estate unit as a gift in 2024, you do not need to pay real estate tax on it until 2025.
Remember to also file the gift tax return and pay the gift tax.
National Land Survey’s instructions for changes in ownership of real estate (in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish)
The timing of the distribution of matrimonial assets determines who is responsible for paying the real estate tax. The Tax Administration always collects the tax from the party who owned the real estate unit at the start of the calendar year.
If the ownership details of the real estate unit have changed, make the required changes after you receive the real estate tax decision.
The point in time when the inheritance is distributed determines who has to file changes to real estate information and pay the real estate tax. The Tax Administration always collects the tax from the party who was the owner or possessor of the real estate unit on the first day of the year.
In some cases, the owner of the real estate unit does not hold the right of possession to the unit. Instead, this right may be held by a party comparable to the owner. In these cases, this party is responsible for the real estate tax.
A party comparable to the owner may be
- a surviving spouse who has the right to continue living in the home they shared with the deceased
- an individual who has been granted the right of possession as part of the distribution of a death estate
- an individual whose right of possession to a real estate unit that is included in the death estate is based on a usufruct legacy
- an individual who has been given the right of possession as a gift by the owner of the real estate unit
- an individual who has given the real estate unit as a gift to another party but has retained the right of possession.
If the real estate unit is sold, the seller is not considered a party comparable to the owner even if they retain the right of possession to the property. The party holding the right of possession may be considered comparable to the owner only if the ownership of the real estate unit was transferred without any form of monetary compensation.
Example: Parents have gifted their leisure property to their child. The parents have retained the right of possession to the property and are therefore considered parties comparable to the owner. The parents are responsible for paying real estate tax on the property. However, if the child bought the property from their parents, the parents would not be considered parties comparable to the owner even if they retained a lifetime right of possession to the property. In this case, the child buying the property would be responsible for the real estate tax.
Are the real estate units’ ownership and possession rights correct?
See the instructions for checking and correcting the real estate tax decision