Tax relief

This guidance concerns both individual and corporate taxpayers.

Tax relief can only be granted in exceptional circumstances. Relief can be granted on taxes and late-payment charges, either on the entire amount or just part of the amount.

Relief cannot be granted on a prepayment of income tax before the end of tax assessment. You can see the end date of your tax assessment on your tax decision or in MyTax.

You can submit a request for relief if your ability to pay taxes has weakened significantly due to sickness, unemployment, obligation to pay maintenance, or due to another special reason.  However, certain circumstances do not necessarily mean that your ability to pay taxes has reduced. In other words, relief is not granted just because you are sick or unemployed, but the decision is always based on how the grounds for your request affect your ability to pay taxes. In addition, just because you have low income or debts does not automatically mean that you are entitled to tax relief.

As a rule, tax liabilities related to business operations (e.g. VAT) do not entitle entrepreneurs or companies to tax relief if their operations continue. A company can request tax relief mainly for reasons of fairness. If business operations continue, relief is usually not granted just because the ability to pay taxes has weakened. 

The Tax Administration can grant relief on taxes paid to the State of Finland, such as state income tax, inheritance tax and gift tax. The Tax Administration also handles relief requests that concern municipal income tax, real estate tax and health insurance contributions, unless the municipality has retained the authority to decide on these matters to itself.

See the list of municipalities that decide on tax relief independently (available only in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish)

If you are granted relief on municipal tax, you are automatically granted relief on church tax, too. However, if you only submit a request for relief on church tax, the local parish will decide on whether relief can be granted.

The submittal of a request for relief does not suspend the recovery of tax. Recovery is interrupted only if relief is granted.

Submitting a request for relief

You can request relief in MyTax, by filling out Form 7302 or by submitting a free-form request.

Requests must contain the following:

• personal details
• the tax you want relieved
• grounds
• date and signature
• a letter of authorisation (if someone else is submitting the request on your behalf)

Send the request form or letter to:  

Finnish Tax Administration — Verohallinto
Tax Collection Unit
P.O. Box 6002
FI-00052 VERO
Finland

You can enclose documentation, such as a medical certificate or a certificate of unemployment. If your request concerns inheritance tax, you must also indicate the deceased person's name, personal ID and the municipality where they lived at death.

Do not send any original documents to the Tax Administration, photocopies are enough. The Tax Administration files the application and its enclosures electronically. Any paper documents will be destroyed after they have been saved as electronic records.

You will receive a written decision on relief

Granting tax relief is the result of an overall review of your situation and ability to pay taxes. Both your and your family's disposable income and assets are taken into account.

Normal processing time is approximately 2–4 months. The decision cannot be appealed. However, you can submit a new request if new circumstances arise.