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Foreign estate of a deceased person – how to report income received from Finland

A foreign estate of a deceased person comes into existence if the deceased person lived abroad at the time of death and had income taxable in Finland.

Foreign estates are non-resident taxpayers. This means that the estate must pay tax only on Finnish-sourced income. The most common type of Finnish-sourced income received by foreign estates is income from immovable property located in Finland. Examples of this type of income include

  • rental income from an apartment or a real estate unit
  • capital gain
  • income from timber sales.

In the year of death, the foreign estate is taxed in the same way as the deceased person would have been taxed if they had lived. Starting from the year following the year of death, the foreign estate is taxed as a corporate entity. The income tax rate applied to the estate is therefore 20%.

File a tax return on Finnish-sourced income

Unlike Finnish estates, foreign estates do not receive pre-completed tax returns. A foreign estate receiving income taxable in Finland must file the income tax return on Form 6 on its own initiative. The tax return must be filed by the end of April in the year following the tax year in question. If the deceased person’s estate does not have access to MyTax, the tax return must be filed on paper.

In addition to Form 6, the estate must submit a free-form account of the Finnish sources from which the estate has received income, for example whether the income is rental income from an apartment or income from timber sales.

Tax return on (Form 6) and how to complete the tax return (in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish)

Capital gain from the sale of immovable property

If a foreign estate receives capital gain from selling immovable property, such as an apartment or a holiday home, file the tax return on Form 6 and enclose a free-form account of the following information:

  • what was sold
  • date of sale
  • selling price
  • acquisition price (value assessed in the inheritance tax assessment)
  • other deductible expenses, if any.

Note: Since the foreign estate is a corporate entity, it cannot use the deemed acquisition cost. When the amount of capital gain or capital loss is calculated for an undistributed estate, the property’s acquisition cost is considered to be the value assessed in the inheritance tax assessment. Any expenses incurred in making the capital gain, such as selling expenses or improvement costs, can also be deducted from the selling price.

Capital gain or capital loss from immovable property is filed as gain or loss from personal sources of income on Form 6.

Rental income from a real estate unit or an apartment

If a foreign estate receives rental income from a real estate unit or an apartment located in Finland, file the tax return on Form 6 and enclose a free-form account of the following information:

  • what has been rented out
  • rental income
  • deductible expenses.

Rental income (after deductions) is filed as gain or loss from a personal source of income on Form 6.

Income relating to agriculture or forestry

If the foreign estate receives agricultural or forestry income from Finland (e.g. income from timber sales), file the tax return on Form 6 and enclose a free-form account of the following information:

  • type of income
  • calculation of income and deductible expenses.

Report agricultural income on Form 6 as gain or loss from an agricultural source of income. Report forestry income as gain or loss from a personal source of income.

Note: From tax year 2025 onwards, rental income from agricultural land and forest is no longer taxed as income from an agricultural source of income but as income from a personal source of income.

An income share from a tax or business partnership

If a foreign estate receives an income share from a partnership, file the tax return on Form 6 and enclose a free-form account of the following information:

  • Partnership from which income has been received
  • If the estate has received income from more than one partnership, itemise the partnerships and income shares received from them.

You do not need to report income shares on the tax return if a taxable income share is not known when you are filing the return.

File an income share from a partnership on the tax return on Form 6 as income from the same source as on the partnership’s tax return.

Requesting and changing prepayments

Foreign estates can make prepayments, i.e. pay tax in advance, on Finnish-sourced income. You can request prepayments if the amount of income, after deductions, is at least €2,500. A foreign estate must file the tax return on Form 6 by the end of April in the year following the tax year even if the estate has requested prepayments.

Prepayments can also be imposed by the Tax Administration on the basis of the most recent full tax year, if needed.

Foreign estates can request prepayments or changes to prepayments on Form 5017e Tax Prepayment Request / Change Request.

If the prepayment is too small, you can request larger prepayments. If the prepayment is too large, you can request smaller prepayments. The prepayments can also be cancelled if no tax will be imposed on the estate. The prepayment amount must correspond to the actual tax for the tax year as closely as possible.

When you are requesting changes to prepayments, enter details of only the relevant tax year in the request. Example: Prepayments for rental income have been imposed on the deceased person’s estate for tax year 2026, and you request changes to the prepayments in February 2026. Enter the rental income in section “Profit/loss derived from personal sources of income, for current tax year” on the form.

Winding up a deceased person’s estate

In Finnish taxation, a foreign estate ceases to exist when the estate’s assets are distributed. The estate’s shareholder or agent must submit a photocopy of the deed of estate distribution or some other proof that the estate has been distributed to the Finnish Tax Administration.

If you are the only shareholder of the foreign estate and the estate’s assets have been transferred to you, submit an account of the matter to the Finnish Tax Administration, so that the Tax Administration can wind up the estate.

Legislation and other regulation of the deceased person’s country of residence affect the distribution of inheritance. The estate’s shareholders must inform the Finnish Tax Administration when the estate’s assets have been distributed or submit an account if the assets have been transferred to the possession of another taxpayer in accordance with the regulation of the deceased person’s country of residence.

How to submit the deed of estate inventory to the Tax Administration

Managing the estate’s taxes in MyTax

When a person passes away, their tax information can no longer be accessed in MyTax. However, the tax matters of the agricultural and forestry operations transferred to the estate can be managed in MyTax if the estate has a Business ID. The estate’s Business ID is the same as that of the person who passed away.

  • In order that the estate’s taxes could be managed electronically, the estate’s shareholders must grant someone, for example one of the estate’s shareholders, a Suomi.fi authorisation for tax matters. How to grant a Suomi.fi authorisation for tax matters
  • In addition, the agent must have a mobile certificate, for example, to be able to log in to MyTax. After login, they can view the estate’s information by selecting “Act on behalf of a company”.

More information on the taxation of foreign inheritance

Page last updated 12/1/2025