Report foreign inheritance to the Tax Administration
Submit the inheritance tax return to the Tax Administration within 3 months from the date of death. Please note that you must file the return even if the estate has not been distributed yet.
Fill out the inheritance tax return form
File the inheritance tax return in MyTax.
If you cannot use MyTax to file the return, fill out and print the inheritance tax return form.
You need not prepare a deed of estate inventory if the deceased person did not have a domicile in Finland on their date of death.
Submit photocopies of the relevant documents
Enclose photocopies of the following documents:
- a foreign deed of estate inventory or some other similar list of the deceased person's assets and liabilities
- if the decedent’s spouse died earlier, also enclose his or her foreign deed of estate inventory or equivalent
- the will left by the decedent
- the estate's deed of distribution if the estate was distributed by this time
- the spouses' prenuptial agreement, if any
- a calculation within the meaning of matrimonial law, of an amount of money to be paid to the surviving spouse or to the estate
- deed of sale, if the estate’s assets have been sold
- a real estate agent’s or other expert’s estimate of the fair market value of the property on the date of death, if such an estimate has already been acquired
- a foreign authority’s decision on the inheritance tax
- other document on matters relevant to the death estate or the heirs’ portions.
Send photocopies of the documents to the Tax Administration and keep the originals for yourself. If a document is not in Finnish or Swedish, enclose a Finnish or Swedish translation. The translation must be made by an authorised translator or be otherwise reliable.
File your return in good time
If you cannot file in MyTax, send the inheritance tax return to the Tax Administration by letter within three months from the date of death.
In Finland, send the return to the address:
Verohallinto
Perintö- ja lahjaverotus
PL 760
00052 VERO
Outside Finland, send the return to:
Finnish Tax Administration – Verohallinto
Inheritance and Gift Tax (Perintö- ja lahjaverotus)
P.O Box 760
FI-00052 VERO
If you do not have all the information yet and you cannot apply for an extension of time for filing the inheritance tax return, you can file an incomplete inheritance tax return and complete it later. Make sure you state in the return that some information is missing. When you receive the missing information, send it to the above address.
If you file the inheritance tax return late, you may be required to pay a late-filing penalty or punitive tax increase.
Frequently asked questions
If it is not possible to receive detailed information about the inheritance coming from a foreign country by 3 months from the date of death, you may be granted an extension for filing the inheritance tax return. The reason for not having enough information may be that the foreign estate is not yet inventoried when the Finnish tax return must be filed.
It is necessary for every one of the inheritors to submit a written request for extension of time by 3 months of the date of death. If you want to have someone else submit the request on your behalf, write a letter of authorisation to that person. Complete the form for "Letter of Authorisation for Tax Representation (3818e)"
Alternatively, you can log in to MyTax to ask for an extension of time.
First select the Tax matters tab, then go to Inheritance taxes to click Activities relating to inheritance tax. Select Extended time for filing a foreign inheritance.
Give the following information:
- The deceased person's name, Finnish personal identity code or date of birth
- The deceased person’s date of death
- The date are you requesting the extension of time to
- The reasons why you need an extension
If you cannot use MyTax to ask for extension of time, fill out the paper form Extension for an estate inventory or for filing a deed of inventory
Enter the following information:
- your name and contact information; your family relationship to the deceased person
- deceased person’s name, Finnish personal ID (if any), last domicile and date of death
- state when and how you received information about the inheritance or will
- date until when you want to extend the period of submitting the inheritance tax return
- reasons why you want to extend it
- time, place and signature for the application
Enclose photocopies of documents indicating the deceased person’s date of death and other personal details. Keep the original documents for yourself.
Send the completed form to:
Verohallinto
Perintö- ja lahjaverotus
PL 760
00052 VERO
Submit the application to the Tax Administration within the original or extended filing period.
Yes. The obligation to submit a report on an inheritance also applies to inheritances of less than €20,000 in value.
The rate to be used is the average exchange rate that was valid on the deceased person’s date of death, or the average exchange rate on the date closest to it. Convert other currencies into euros before entering them into the inheritance tax return.