How to pay a back tax
See how much and when you will have to pay more tax for the past tax year. Find the facts about your back tax either in MyTax or your tax decision. You get the decision enclosed with your pre-completed tax return in March or April.
If you edit the pre-completed return or if your spouse does the same, the back tax and the due date will probably change. We will send out new decisions by late October if not earlier. The new decision will inform you of the final, changed back tax and its due date. Pay back taxes only after you have received the new decision. Do not use information which is not final.
Mode of payment, the bank codes needed for paying
The following methods of payment are available for paying back taxes:
- Your e-bank: Copy-and-paste the account number and reference code numbers from MyTax to your e-bank screen. The numbers and codes are also printed on the bank transfer forms that were enclosed with your pre-completed return.
- Using an e-invoice: Request e-invoicing in your e-bank. See the instructions for requesting e-invoices.
- MyTax: Pay the back tax on the Web, in MyTax. The payment will be charged from your bank account immediately. You cannot edit or change due dates.
Note: although the payment is made, the status shown in the MyTax balance will not change immediately upon payment. Please allow 1–2 business days. However, the specification screen in MyTax will show the completed payment immediately.
If you are self-employed or an operator of a trade or business, and you have an e-invoice address, you can pay your back taxes with a web invoice. Read more about the web invoice.
Using MyTax for paying and verifying the codes needed for paying
After you have got your valid and final tax decision, you will be able to see the exact amount of your back tax in MyTax. Another way besides MyTax for account and reference numbers checking before you pay a tax is to call 029 497 026, the Tax Administration’s service number for payments.
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Log in to MyTax (opens in a new window).
First, go to Payment status on the home page, then click Paying taxes and payment details.
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The See payment details button under Back tax is for quick checking of the information you need for paying.
To use MyTax for paying, click Pay individual income tax.
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If no back taxes are shown on the page, go to Payment details for other taxes and select Individual income tax. You will now be able to verify the facts and information or pay the back tax.
Due dates during 2025
Most individual taxpayers will have their back tax due dates in August, September, October and November. You can check yours either by looking the date up on the tax decision letter or by logging in to MyTax.
If you have more than €170 to pay, the sum of back taxes is divided in two instalments. If the amount to pay is less than €10, it is not collected from you at all.
| End month of tax assessment | Due date – first instalment | Due date – second instalment |
|---|---|---|
| May | 1 July 2025 | 1 September 2025 |
| June | 1 August 2025 | 1 October 2025 |
| July | 1 September 2025 | 3 November 2025 |
| August | 1 October 2025 | 1 December 2025 |
| September | 3 November 2025 | 2 January 2026 |
| October | 1 December 2025 | 2 February 2026 |
Yes, you can pay your back taxes in advance of the due dates.
However, you may have added data to your pre-completed tax return, or your spouse may have done the same. In this case, it is important that you wait until you receive a new, revised tax decision. Then you can pay the back tax. The amount of your back tax will probably be different if additions, changes, etc. were made to your original return. In any case, when all corrections and revisions are taken care of, the Tax Administration will send new decisions both to you and to your spouse by late October if not earlier.
However, even if you pay before the due date, there will be no changes to the size of the interest collected.
Yes, there is nothing to prevent you from dividing the total amount into instalments. Then you will need to pay every instalment one by one, and make sure that the entire sum gets settled by the due date of your back taxes. Pay the instalments either in MyTax or in your e-bank. Use your reference number constantly, every time you make a payment.
However, to pay the back tax in instalments at a time when the due date has passed cannot be done. To do that, you would have to submit a request to the Tax Administration for a payment arrangement.
For example, after you added data to, or edited, or made corrections to your pre-completed tax return – or your spouse did the same – the due date will probably be changed. In any case, when all corrections and revisions are taken care of, the Tax Administration will send new decisions both to you and to your spouse by late October if not earlier. Please wait until you receive it before you proceed to pay the back tax. You can use MyTax to check whether a new, revised tax decision is issued to you, or whether your tax return is still in process.
Interest on back taxes
Any amount of back taxes will collect interest for late payment, the period of interest calculation starting on 1 February 2025 – ending on the due date of the back tax. The interest is automatically included in the amount shown in MyTax and on your tax decision. In 2025, the rate is 6.5%.
The Tax Administration will always subtract €20 from the result of the interest calculation. If the amount stays below €20, the Tax Administration’s subtraction will concern the interest amount fully.
How can I avoid back taxes and late-payment interest?
It is possible to completely avoid having to pay back taxes and late-payment interest if you make sure during the year that the size of your tax-card percentage rate or prepayments is high enough.
Another alternative is that in December or January, you submit a request for a calculation of an additional prepayment of tax, on the grounds that it is likely that your withholding or prepayments or other advance payments will not cover your entire tax liability for the year. In that case, you will not be required to pay interest for late payment. Read more about additional prepayments.
If you pay late
If you pay after the due date, you must add late-payment interest to the tax. Pay the late-payment interest together with the back tax. For 2025, the rate is 11.5%.
We recommend that you use MyTax to send any payments that are past their due date. In MyTax, the interest is already included in the sum you need to pay, so there will be no need to calculate it yourself. Another possibility is that you pay the tax in your e-bank. If you do so, check the correct amount including interest in MyTax or calculate the amount of interest yourself with the interest calculator.
Reminders concerning an unpaid tax, payment arrangements
If you have not paid your taxes, you will receive a tax summary with a reminder message. The Tax Administration will send you a summary containing the reminder 1 to 3 times, before transferring the unpaid taxes to the Enforcement Authority for enforced recovery. How many times you receive the reminder message will depend on whether there are other unpaid taxes besides the back tax that you have not paid.
If you cannot pay by the date indicated in the message, you can apply for a payment arrangement. After the Tax Administration has set up a payment arrangement for you, you will have more time to pay your tax debt and you can divide the total into smaller instalments. Read the instructions for requesting a payment arrangement.
Problems with payments?
If you notice that the bank reference number was not as it should be, please call 029 497 026 (telephone service number for payments, standard call rates).
If by mistake you made a payment twice or more times the Tax Administration will send the excess amount back into your bank account unless you have
- Upcoming back tax instalments or prepayments, falling due soon
- Other taxes still unpaid, past their due dates
- Tax debts undergoing recovery with the Enforcement Authority
Accordingly, the Tax Administration will first apply the excess amount on any instalments of back taxes, prepayments, other overdue taxes, or on debts that have entered into enforcement proceedings.